6_DeAndaA

Alex De Anda MHR 324 TUTH 3PM Nov. 21st, 2010 A Better Presenter

Dear Professor Kim,

When it comes to public speaking and talking in front of a group of people, I used to be very nervous and self-conscious. I would get very sweaty, my face would turn red, and my words would stumble and not make sense. I would forget what I had to say, and was very shy. This stayed with me through middle school, until I got to high school. When dealing with my first presentation in high school, one of my good friends and I had to present on a topic in front of the class. I thought I was going to have even more trouble presenting now that I was in high school. But my friend, who was very outgoing and friendly, told me to not worry and not be afraid of speaking. He told me that not only do presentations go by very quickly, but it allows you to be known in class. He thought me how to speak more, be more engaged and involved, and become an overall friendlier person. Since then, I have never had any trouble speaking in front of my class mates, or others in general. On the contrary, I think now I have the tendency to speak too much.

Although I am no longer nervous or shy about speaking and presenting, I know that there are still many areas that I need perfecting. One such area would be presenting more clearly to the audience. I believe that the how the audience grasps the message is most important. So I think that bettering how the message is given to the audience is always a skill that can be bettered. Another area that I feel I could use more work in is engaging with the audience. Some of my past presentations have not involved the audience or grabbed their attentions as much as others. When the audience is involved, whether in giving responses, participating, or laughing at some of the humor in the presentation, then this usually means that it has gone very well. I think a simple solution for this would be asking for responses from the audience, passing out candy to those would participate, or just including some good humor into what is being presented.

I think another good area to work on during presentations is the overall flow and delivery. From the materials on the PowerPoint to the materials being spoken, I think being prepared helps the presentation. A simple way to be better suited for this is to create flashcards to study and go over the materials that you need to remember. My tone of voice and expressions is another area that could be worked on, since how the presenter is during the presentation matters. A good practice would be to smile and be energetic about the material. You don’t necessarily have to enjoy what is being presented, but rather just “sell” the fact that you are to the audience. I think the biggest area would be dealing with the nervousness that comes up.

Even though I fell very comfortable being in front of people, there is always some kind of nervousness that comes up. A solution to this would be going over the night before to rehearse the material being presented and get a good feel for what it all is. When actually in front of people, a common good practice is focusing on one individual instead of the entire room, that way the number in the audience has little effect. Another way is focusing on the wall behind as if speaking to an inanimate object. I believe this is one of the biggest areas that can be worked on. I also think that once this particular area is handled and can be overcome, everything else seems to fall into place and come along easier.

Although these are just a few areas, I am sure there are many more that I could use aide in. I hope to learn all this and more in the remaining time we have in class.

Best wishes, Alex De Anda