Oral Presentation 2 - Privacy Woes In Social Networking Sites - Reflections

Criteria:

 •    Impactful
 •    Engaging (includes eye contact and stage presence)
 •    Informative
 •    Professional demeanour
 •    Exhibit confidence
 •    Good time-management

Suffice to say, OP2 was a much better experience compared to OP1. Being genuinely passionate about the project gave us the impetus to excel. Lest the minor flaws and hiccups, I am pleased with our team’s overall performance during the presentation.

Reflection:

Team:

Sufficient preparation was the key to a good performance, which was why my team had a total of three rehearsals. Through the months, our team had built up good rapport, which explained the excellent camaraderie we had while presenting. Consequently, our delivery came forth as smooth and clear. Being well prepared and confident, we had little difficulty tackling questions raised during the Q&A, which were answered systematically and comprehensively.

Individual:

Bearing in mind the flaws from OP1, I reminded myself to actively engage the audience. Having known the flow of the PowerPoint-slides, it helped in anticipating the subsequent points during the presentation. As a result, I could speak more fluently and devote more emotions into my speech. One objective I laid down was to create a light-hearted presentation that serves to educate and inject fun with humour. I believe I had succeeded in doing so.

Despite efforts in sprucing up my speech, I was still bogged down by nervousness. I was susceptible to mental blocks; this led to instances of awkward silences and stuttering. I could have dealt with those situations better by keeping myself more composed. Also, I found myself speaking too quickly towards the end, especially when I had already exceeded the stipulated time. I hereby apologize to all if my speech resulted in some confusion.

Additionally, something unusual I noticed was my tendency to exhibit abrupt actions (e.g. turning my head too quickly), that could have made my presentation seem less professional. For future presentations, I shall be more conscious of my body language; No matter how good my speech is, poor body language can undo all the hard work.

For your convenience, I have embedded my team's presentation slides for your reference and enjoyment =P

Social Networking Presentation

Criteria of an Effective Meeting

I apologize if my previous post (reflection on the video recording of Meeting 1) was lacking in a clear criterion for my definition of an effective meeting.

What constitutes a good meeting? The following are the factors I would keep in mind when evaluating my performance as a team member:

1. Fully understand the agenda of the meeting, and prepare well before attending
2. Be an active participant of the meeting. That is, offer constructive feedback frequently, and perform active listening
          a. Two-way communications between members of the team
3. Staying on topic, and not deviate from the agenda
4. Exhibit positive body language and non-verbal cues
5. As the minutes taker of the meeting, I should be effectual in taking down important points mentioned by the speakers. After the meeting, disseminate the minutes to the team as soon as possible.

With respect to the above criteria, I have not fully met the expectations set by myself.

First and foremost, I have failed in making an impact during the meeting. I was largely quiet during major part of the meeting. My ‘excuse’ of being an active listener cannot be fully accepted simply because I have not translated my analysis to the actual group discussion. This was a pity because I have thought of numerous ideas which I thought could have benefited my team. I was held back my fear for being a deviant and being criticised.

Nevertheless, I have made a mental note of my criteria listed above. I would remind myself that being criticized is part of the learning process, and also that the team goals outweighs my own personal apprehension for being put down.

Being a good listener is my strength. Thus, I hope to maintain this positive trait of mine, and put in conscientious effort in being a better team member.