Presentation Zen Speech: Crafting the Story

First, I just have to say that I had a great time putting these slides together! I love looking up pictures and playing around on Powerpoint. I really focused on trying to get the essence of PresentationZen and tried to make my slides as eye-popping as I could get it to be.

I definitely think I have improved from my first speech. I was more prepared for what I was going to say and didn't look down at my notes at all until a little bit at the end. I still came across as confident (probably because our class is such an inviting audience) even though I always get the jitters on the walk to the front of the classroom.

In terms of being prepared- I thought my slides were pleasing to the eye and were great supplements to my oral presentation. I tried my best to make them relevant AND interesting so the audience would unconsciously stir up some emotions while I was speaking. I also tried to give as many examples and stories as I could in order to drive my points home.

I could definitely spend more time practicing, however. I need to improve the process of how I go through my presentation from slide to slide so that I am always actively interacting with the audience. Finally, I need to cool down on the "UMs"! I didn't realize I say "UM" so much while speaking. That is one thing I will work hard on fixing by the end of this semester. I think I use it as a filler word while I am gathering my next burst of speech. I may need to record myself while practicing now so I can count how many times I say it before my next presentation...