First Time Presentation Blog 1

 Daleah Batista 

Blog 1

    I enjoyed the first presentation of the class which was based on chapters 1-12 of the book I speak. For me, the presentation was a unique form of learning material. Instead of reading the complete twelve chapters all by ourselves and getting bored and frustrated by extensive paragraphs full of words that we might not even think are English, we divided all of the work and each member of the class provided their little grain of sand and together we made a beach. In a usual online class, various students lose interest and prefer to pay attention to the phone rather than the same person for hours in this scenario the teacher. These presentations force us to be active, to be confident, to be out of our comfort zone. By making the students explain the topics in their own words the teacher not only made me pay more attention but I understood better the chapters with the examples that my classmates were given. I feel like on this presentation we all felt the same way. I liked that I could watch my classmates present because it helped me present. Sometimes is better to have an example or feel related to something before doing it the first time. When I was presenting I felt that my friends were watching, I felt comfortable, and most important I felt confident in my speaking, in my presentation, in my speech. 

    During the presentation, various of my classmates gave examples and talked about their own personal experiences. By giving examples and telling stories that related to the topic that was being presented my classmates helped me be more attentive and active during class and during the presentation. Danny talked about freedom of speech and how we are not going to die when we need to talk in front of people even if we feel like it will happen, this made me laugh. Also, my classmate Darleys which added an example speech of John F. Kennedy, "Why Go to the Moon", and she explained that this was an example of a speech using roots of rhetoric. I enjoyed as well that my classmates used terms that I understood and that their presentation included humorous animation that explained the complex lecture.  Even though there were many topics that needed to be presented to be exact twelve my classmates managed to keep the presentation interesting and energetic through the three hours that the class lasted. After attending and participating in this presentation I feel that my knowledge and understanding of how to make and write a speech have improved completely.  

    Throughout the presentation, various topics were shown and talked about, "The Roots of Rhetoric, the purpose of speeches, habits everyone should have when it comes to making a presentation, what type of visual and sensory aids should be included, what are ethical principles of informative speaking and more." This presentation gave me the foundation and the base in order to make an excellent presentation and an excellent speaker overall. People encounter themselves every day of their lives having to talk to multiple people. In this world, it is a must to know how to express yourself, what tone is appropriate given different situations, and how to reach and connect with others. Because of this presentation, I know that most of the time is better to be yourself during a presentation or an interview rather than perfect. When we have a project in school or a homework where we need to talk in front of a group of people the first thing we do is try to use unknown words and learn every single word of our paper by memory, rather than trying to understand what is being asked and the topic that we need to elaborate in other for the our words and our speech to be unique and in our own words. 

    In this presentation, it was talked about the importance of sitting for meaningful and memorable quotes, videos, or pictures, rather than looking for them on a sketchy website. It is important to remain informed of everyday events that happen around the world, by watching the news, through social media, or reading articles. The more knowledge that you know the more knowledge you can share and give to other people. It is important to prove that you have knowledge of the topic that is being talked. It is more effective for me to understand a topic that I have base knowledge about rather than a rare topic that I have never heard of in my life. In the presentation, my classmates talked about the importance of connecting with the people that are listening to you, to your audience. If I provide animations, videos, or memorable and meaningful examples of  the subject that I am presenting, it will facilitate me to have the listener's attention and to connect with them on a deeper level. 

    I consider myself an extrovert, I enjoy meeting new people, making friends, and knowing new perspectives. I have always been confident even with my language barrier when I first came to this country as an immigrant from La Habana, Cuba. I have always have friends, at parties I make everyone dance and have fun. However, when it comes to speaking in front of a group of people for a school project I become as little as a pinch of salt and an introvert. Every time I have presented a project in my life, I have felt anxious, stressed, and uneasy speaking and explaining the work. As soon as I knew I would have to present for this class I felt my legs weaken even the day before the presentation I could not sleep not even a minute. When I got to class, and the first person presented I felt assured and secure in myself. For me, it was extremely helpful to be in a group, and to see my other classmates experiencing the same things that happen to me, and in that moment I realize that I did not want my presentation to be perfect, I wanted to connect with the listeners and provide them with the same confidence that the speakers before me had provided me.