What is ES2007S?

If I have to choose one word to describe ES2007S, it would definitely be MEMORABLE. The people I meet, the activities we did, the jokes we cracked. These would certainly become be part of me for the rest of my life.

These 13 weeks spent in ES2007S is definitely worth it. Throughout the course, we have discussed about many issues relating to communication. The different assignments such as blogging, peer teaching, cover letter drafting, proposal writing and oral presentations have definitely sharpened my communication skills.

I realized the importance of “expectation” in communication. When two people having different expectations for a certain issues, the communication process would not be effective. Looking at the blog post on cultural differences would clearly illustrate my point (Steph’s blog post about the eel).

Through this course, I have also learnt to collaborate with people through the group assignments. Working with my team mates has really shown me the power of group work; what one man alone cannot achieve.

Being exposed to the various styles of presentation made me realized how different styles can influence different groups of audience, how sharing personal experiences and some humour can make a presentation more impressionable and entertaining. “Presentation is about you, not the slides”. This is something I will bear in mind for my future presentations.

The little tips that I picked up through this course would definitely serve me well as teacher in future. The course may have ended but the relationships we have fostered have not. Examination is round the corner. Work hard! Lastly, Brad, lessons for ES2007S was definitely enriching and relaxing. Is there a ES3007S? =D

Learning through experience

The legendary 7-eleven

Yesterday, 8^th November 2010, marks the day of my last presentation for ES2007S. Looking back, I really have to thank my team mates, Yong Chean, May and Wei Ping for all the hard work for the past 8 weeks. You guys have really shown me what project work is all about. It might be a coincidence that the three of them are from the engineering faculty. When the project first started, I have to admit that I was not very comfortable with the group. The approach taken was very “unconventional” in my sense. As time progresses, I started to adapt to the way things are done and yes, we overcome several obstacles as a group. There was the oral discussion, there was the proposal and finally, the oral presentation that took place yesterday – a presentation that I will perhaps, remember for the rest of my life.

Preparations

Personally, I feel that rehearsals are really important for group presentations. Due to the packed schedules of each individual, we only had rehearsals on Sunday. Prior to the multiple rehearsals we had on Sunday, each member of the team actually drafted out a “script” for our respective parts and they were placed together to see if the flow of the presentation was good. From the product that we presented yesterday, I think that this is actually a good strategy. For a presentation to be smooth, I think it is essential that everyone in the team not only knows about his or her own part but also the parts of the other team mates.

For me, I went through the presentation in my head several times before going to bed on Sunday.  On the whole, I feel that I have done enough preparation for content as well as preparing myself mentally for the presentation.

Delivery

Being the first speaker after the brief introduction by Yong Chean was actually quite stressful. It is the first time that I am doing a presentation whereby I have to “sell” the proposal.  I think I was loud enough and was articulating well when I was presenting. However, I was a little disturbed by the photos that were flashed on the screen.

These photos were meant to compliment my part of the presentation to really bring out the current situation of the students. Due to the bad resolution, I noticed that many of the audiences were trying to figure out what was on the picture. I tried to remedy the situation by switching off the light for certain photos and switching it on again after the photo. I guess this was something that I should have avoided as they were really very distracting.

The “technical glitch” had also thrown me off the track and I felt that my presentation was not as concrete as what I had planned. I mentioned words like “feasible” which I feel that is not really very appropriate since my team has yet to share the solution with the audience.

I am not sure if my eye contacts were good, but I did try to establish some form of eye contact with the audience.  I cannot recall on my non-verbal. Hence, it would be really nice if some of you can feedback on this.

 Visual aid/Slides

I think my slides were fine except for the bad resolutions of the photo. There were minimal words; hence the audience would be putting their attention on me. The slides were simple and the animations were placed there for a purpose – to catch the attention of the audience. The video was quite well done and I feel that the duration was just right.

Overall, I felt that the slides for the group were quite organized. The slides for each person did not deviate in style very drastically and I feel that we managed to link our parts quite smoothly.

It would really be appreciated if all of you can give some feedback regarding the presentation. Some recommendations and tips on how to improve would be great! Last but not least, if you have burning questions regarding the presentation and did not have a chance to ask in class, feel free to list them in the comment area, my team and I will certainly clarify your queries.

Thanks for being such wonderful audience! =)
(Edited)