2013年4月19日星期五

ES2007S Blog Post #5


Reflection on oral presentation


Growing up in a conservative Chinese culture, I become an individual who will easily get nervous when speaking in front of a group of people. Also, I have a trouble in bringing out the sentences or words in my mind out of my mouth.  That is why I rely a lot on the cue cards. Then after Madam Fazilah pointed out this point to me. I realized it also reflects my lack of confidence, results in not a relatively persuasive presentation. If I am not confident about myself, how the audience makes the efforts to believe in me. However, I am so thankful that my fellow teammates set a example to me that speak with confidence; practically, without cue cards, the whole presentation turns more natural, smoother and somehow better-delivered. After this oral presentation, I would like to take the initiatives to improve my presentation skills in terms of delivery, language and even confidence.

One more thing I gained from this oral presentation is that presentation skills do count. Well, I used to hold a view that presentation skill is just one kind of soft skills that I was taught not to put much emphasis on. After several rehearsals with my teammate, I felt that somehow their presentations make a difference to the audience. I can say that I will pay attention to the message they deliver should I were the audience. And if the audience shows interest, there bears a chance for them to take some measures as a response for the message received. Take the business investment as an example; if the representatives of target company show interest during the presentation, it is more likely for them to sign the contract.

As a non-native English speaker, I consider my oral presentations today as a reasonably good one. There is a large room for me to improve my presentation skills. I believe that as long as I put focus on this soft skill, I will become better. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to deliver a presentation confidently, fluently and persuasively to a large group of people.

1 条评论:

  1. Hello Xudong~
    I have the same problem with you that I cannot give fluent and well-organized speeches without a script or advanced preparation, which makes my presentation not very natural and professional. Since English is not our first language, we do have a long way to go in order to improve our spoken English. I think we should practice more and give us more confidence so that we will be able to put away the script gradually. Anyway, your portion is great and concise, and your manner is also good. Hope your performance will be better after more practice!
    Linna

    回复删除