Blog 1 post Aliya Jones

Briana Sanchez

Group 1

    Reflection 

I can confidently say this presentation has led me to learn a lot about myself and how to handle myself and my emotions during speech. Going into this assignment I knew public speaking was something that made me nervous, but I did not realize how much pressure could affect the way I presented myself until I was actually speaking in front of the class. Even though my topic was the evolving art of public speaking, I felt as though the experience in itself of me speaking publicly for the first time in a while was a teaching experience. It forced me to step outside my comfort zone and adapt quickly under pressure. 

I was very impressed by how well and efficiently my classmates did, especially considering the small time frame we had to prepare. Our group only had around fourty-eight hours to put together slides for our visuals, and then the difficult part, the seven minute speech. In my opinion that was the hardest part of this assignment. Making the slides and finding the information was stressful, but in preparing an actual speech in such little time felt extremely overwhelming for me. Since everyone in my group had different schedules, we did not have any real opportunity to practice together before our presentations. We basically just had to trust ourselves and each other that all the pieces would come together once we got in front of the class. Looking back at it now, I believe our ability to work under pressure was one of the strongest parts of the entire project.

I think my classmates did a great job in terms of content and visuals. Most people seemed to be very knowledgeable about their topics, and even though everyone had their own sections and topics the groups still felt connected in a way. My group had seven people so every person was responsible for creating their own slides and presenting their own information. I honestly was scared going into a group project so quick into the class because I was doubtful everyone would be able to complete their parts. However , I think everyone had an equal responsibility and I think that motivated us to really know our material. Even though we were all really stressed, it was clear to me everyone put genuine effort into understanding their topics rather than just copying information to the slides.

Even though i was proud of the effort that i put into my section, I think my weakest point was my speech portion. I was almost completely reading off my notes, which made parts of my presentation sound scripted instead of the natural flow I was going for. Looking back at it, I think its because I was extremely nervous going into the presentation, especially because i was the first in the class. Being the introduction into the project, made me extra nervous because i felt as though I would be setting the expectation for others, which made the pressure feel super intense. Before the presentations started my anxiety was through the roof. I remember feeling so nervous that i could barely even think about anything except the fact that i had to speak in front of the class.

Once i actually started presenting, i noticed myself speaking way faster than i usually do. At first, it felt like i was just trying to rush through my slides because I just wanted to get it over with. I think that the nervousness made me focus more on finishing quickly instead of actually connecting with the the audience and those people who took time out of their day to listen to me. However , sometime on my second slide. I had a small moment of clarity where i realized i was actually doing just fine. I remember taking a second, taking a deep breath in, and thinking to myself “no, i got this” after that i started calming down slightly and felt more comfortable continuing my presentation. Even though i was still extremely nervous, that one moment gave me all the confidence I needed to keep going.

One thing I would definitely improve in my future presentations is to rely less on my scripts and instead take my time while speaking, i realized that when someone only reads directly from notes, it creates almost a distance between the speaker and the audience.

Instead of sounding conversational it sounded rehearsed and robotic. If i could redo the presentation i would focus on more walking the listeners through my topic instead of trying to naturally instead of trying to perfectly follow every word I had written down beforehand. I think this would not only make me sound more confident, but also have the audience more engaged in what i am saying. 

Another thing i would like to improve on is audience interaction, during our presentation. I noticed that the moments that caught peoples attention the most were the moments the speakers sounded genuine and natural, involving with the class. In my future speeches, i want to implement asking more questions to the audience because i believe that involving others makes information feel more personal. I believe asking questions is imperative to keep the audience involved and paying attention. I think its even more important to do so in this class considering it is over three hours long and not everybody's attention span is able to withstand that. I think that asking questions encourages people to actually go deep into thought rather that just listening and not absorbing the information. I also think it helps create that needed connection between whoever the speaker is and the audience, which is something extremely important in public speaking.

This presentation also changed the way I view public speakers in general. Before this project, i never fully appreciated how difficult it is to confidently speak with consistency in front of larger groups of people. In my opinion, it is extremely difficult. I'm aware to some people it comes naturally, but for others, including me, i have to work my way up to the point where iu feel comfortable and can speak with ease in front of crowds. After this experience i feel as though i developed a lot of respect for public figures and speakers, who do this daily. Speaking in front of people requires confidence and adaptability to stay calm and composed, even when nervous. It is so much harder than it looks.

At the same time, i also gained respect for the audiences themselves. One thing that surprised me was realizing just how meaningful it is to me when people genuinely listened. My professor was very kind and supportive after the presentations, giving us all positive feedback, which made me feel so much better about my performance. Eve though i was extremely nervous before, the feeling i had after was almost euphoric. I felt relived and proud of myself for getting through something that had seemed terrifying only minutes before. 

Overall, this presentation taught me much more than just information about public speaking, but gave me the experience. It showed me how to handle pressure and adapt quickly. How to keep moving forward even when anxious. Even though u struggled with relying way too much on my notes, i now know how to improve myself, and learned a valuable lesson. I think this was an amazing experience and great for self reflection. But what i think is most important of all, is that public speaking is not necessarily about being fearless. It is all about being able to push through when its hard, to continue speaking and communicating your thoughts despite the fear.