Having had my presentation, I tried to make it an effective one as I possibly could. Here is an overview analysis of my presentation, and how I managed to make it happen all through.
In my introduction, I did not introduce myself as creative as it should have been, mainly because the audience comprised my friends and professor, and I possibly assumed that there was no need to. I now understand that regardless of the nature of relationship between my audience and I, I have to introduce myself creatively. As such, in the future I will be introducing myself in a creative, friendly manner to win my audience’s attention and acceptance.
At first, I noticed I was pausing often between my sentences, to get a grip of what I was going to say next. In a formal context, breathings and pauses in a public presentation can be used to an advantage. It helps the audience to incline in and listen, and also have time to meditate to what has just been said (Clifford, 2011). In the future, I will improve on that point and use pauses as a breather in my communication to enhance effectiveness, and not as an indication of forgetfulness of the content.
I also realized that I did not make eye contact from time to time. As a presenter, maintaining eye contact with your audience is very essential in effective communication. It helps indicate trust-worthiness, reliability and shows interest in the audience (Clifford, 2011). In future I intend to adjust this by maintaining eye contact with the audience so as to make them feel a part of my presentation.
I maintained a relaxed composure throughout my presentation, and made sure that I was considerably slow and articulate to ensure that everyone understood what I was saying. I also used words like “so” and “I mean” constantly in an attempt to emphasize and explain points that needed clarification.
It was a good experience that helped me hone my public speaking skills and I intend to implement the aforementioned strategies to improve on my weaknesses.
References
Clifford N. L. ( 2011). Simple Keys to Effective Communication. Retrieved 16 December, 2013
