Module 8-1
Agribusiness course has opened up many opportunities learning opportunities for me. I had always longed for an opportunity to serve all people. This partly explains my interest in agribusiness. I never knew that I would get a chance to improve my negotiation skills. Of all my learning experiences, there is one that really crowned my days in school. The skills I gained in product marketing and distribution will remain my lifetime experience that I shall always ride on. My experience was built on several trips to the field to collect data. Sometimes I felt it was tedious to balance between my class work and field research.
My respondents were mainly framers’ would wake up early to collect data and later attend my classes in the afternoon. Farmers are busy fellows who work alongside their farming calendar. I had to learn some patience skills because my schedule could not anymore work out. Collecting marketing and distribution data gave me an opportunity to make new friends met farmers in market centers, at their homes and on the way to the market. These were the times when I improved my approach skills as well as established networks. A lot of information resides with the farmers. What benefited me most was the practical experience I obtained in marketing. The theory I learned in the agribusiness course provided a good ground of reasoning in the field. Throughout the avenues of life skills and experiences are gathered. The best use of such skills and experiences can be realized.
Module 8-2
Working closely with my course mates and later the farmers, made me an efficient team player. Outside school, teamwork skills are inevitable. These skills will assist me in accomplishing assigned tasks, later at my workplace. As a future officer in the agricultural sector, I would apply my negotiation skills to build on strong teams that will effectively meet deadlines. Coordination of colleagues at my work place will be my task .my emotional intelligence accumulated over the years in my course is a reliable skill in peace building.
The choice of my topic was based on the interest I had to serve others felt inspired by the contribution of the people I met throughout my course towards my development. In life we are never who we are because of who we were born. Instead, our character and personality is a product of several other people we interact with. Sometimes we change our behavior in response to different situations. Throughout my undergraduate studies I have had interactions with several people from various walks of life. These people included my course mates, lecturers and the people I interviewed in various research projects. I value such people because they helped me to become creative .moreover, my decision making skills were improved. Friends give as encouragement, they challenge our potential and support when we are dull. It is crucial to mention that my undergraduate studies greatly opened up my mind and has enhanced my view of the world.
Learning and individual development was not restricted in our class. My classmates also had a story to tell about their experiences .James and Mill had fascinating and captivating experiences they shared. They had good presentations regarding the experiences they obtained in their undergraduate studies. This covered their future plans and the impact they intended to create through use of acquired experiences.
Mill chose a topic on school life. He prepared a good presentation on the same. Of all my peers, he was the laziest while we were in college. The daily assignments and weekly research sessions made life difficult for him. Strict deadlines accompanied with penalties made him to hate undergraduate studies. We encouraged him to work hard but not without some penalties. He never imagined that he could multi-task. He gained emotional stability and emotional intelligence skills.
For James, recognition of the administration support greatly inspired him. His presentation was centered on the experiences he gained while working as a part-time office manager. Numerous skills are required in the working place. One can also acquire several skills and expertise in work place. His presentation was also good. However, the presentations needed some improvements. Use of several slides per minute was a major weakness in the presentations of my peers.
Rushing during presentations is not necessary. Individuals may decide to include several slides in their presentations. Taking a lot of time during presentations creates boredom. This implies that less time should be taken in discussing data collection and methods. Creation of presentations from articles requires extraction of main components .the subheadings in the article forms the basis of such extraction.
It is prudent to retain the introduction used on the main paper or article in the presentation. To be creative and vivid, a provocative image can be included in the PowerPoint. This will show the main idea of the article. The thoughts of other people on the selected topic should not be over-reviewed. Much time on reviews is a waste of energy. Reasonable time on literature review is necessary. The crucial aspect should be to elaborate on the interrelationship of the research with other similar documented researches. People are less interested with what has been done. The listeners always want to discover the new aspects in a given project presentation. Literature is reviewed to illustrate the importance of the work being presented. Giving a lot of literature is not a proof that one has read many articles.
Prior preparation is crucial for good presenters. A good presentation always accompanies adequate rehearsing. It is necessary to prepare on the anticipated questions. Asking oneself numerous questions and trying to provide answers is an added advantage. Adequate information is a requirement for data validation. It is very important to demonstrate a mastery of the discussion.
In about five minutes prior to the actual power point presentation, one is able to peruse the whole paper. This is will ensure that there is adequate time for presentation of the finer details. Evidence from the field should support ethnographic data. Statistics can be boring to discuss in paragraphs. They require to be summarized in tables. Tables are easier to visualize. Little interruption is therefore expected from the people listening to the presentation. In circumstances where the presentation involves interviews, quotes and responses of the interviews can be highlighted.
It is prudent to have adequate time to lead the followers of the presentation through the conclusion. It is regrettable for spending all the allocated time in other areas of the presentation and none in the conclusion. Most presenters fail at the conclusion level. This is also a point where some listeners become keen to assess whether there is a good conclusion. The conclusion must be relevant.
Presentations of our ideas to others will always be a usual activity. People admire good presentations that communicate greater details in short time. Too elaborate presentations can be time wasting. Scholars need to acquire skills in PowerPoint presentations.
PowerPoint is a technology that makes presentations appealing and easy to follow. Skills are exchanged among individuals but are not localized to certain people. This program, like any other skill, is best learned through continuous practice. For future article presentations, James and Mill, have to adopt the skills needed for delivering good presentations. Experience is what isolates learners from experts.
