Pechakucha Presentation

 (I was absent on October 26th)

2021-11-09

    In today's presentation, I noticed three points the presenters could improve on, and two points I thought enhanced their presentation.

    The first point they could maybe improve on was their voice, more specifically, the volume of their voice, and the tone of their voice. In some parts of the presentation, I found it hard to hear their voice and this may be just me because I don't have very good ears but I believe this is another reason why speaking loud and clear is important (taking into consideration that there are people like me with bad ears). I understand this would be easier without masks but since masks are required for the time being, I believe taking measures such as drinking plenty of water and incorporating vocal practices can open up the vocal cords and help with talking louder. Another factor I believe could be improved on regarding "voice", is using intonations to emphasize certain points of your presentation. For instance, when talking about something exciting, you can use a higher-pitched voice, and when talking about something sad, you can talk slower. I realized voice is another tool that can be used to express the image or aesthetic of what you are talking about and using it efficiently can step up your presentation game.

    The second point of improvement I noticed was keeping sleeves up. Specifically, I noticed a lot of people often had to pull their sleeves up at least once a minute especially because they move their arms a lot (which is a good thing because it means they are using gestures). However, this may be distracting which is why I came up with the idea of using hair ties to keep them stable. Specifically, I noticed while practicing that using hair ties that are slightly narrower than your arms and using them to help stabilize the sleeves are a great way to stop them from falling down repeatedly. (Unfortunately, I forgot to bring two hair ties on the day of my presentation and couldn't put the idea to use..)

    The third point is more of a suggestion or an "add-on" instead of a point that needs to be improved, but I personally believe it would be more interesting and humorous if there were to be a joke once in a while. Specifically, this may be an advanced technique, but I'm always surprised by how unnatural people look compared to when they usually talk. More specifically, I notice that some of my friends look so stiff and serious while presenting, when I know that's not how they usually are. Thus, I believe loosening up by saying a joke or a pun here and there can help ease the tension and take your natural self up on the stage with you.

    Moving onto the positive points I found, the first point is that a lot of the presenters was holding eye contact for at least 2-3 seconds and not just glancing across the room. This made me feel engaged in their talk, and allowed me to stay focused.

    The second positive point I found was that majority of the presenters looked confident. I believe and know (ーat least for my case) from my experience, that confidence is something that's hard to maintain especially in a situation where all eyes are on you including mr. hungry grizzlybear (Mr. Paterson). I believe gaining confidence takes time, which is why I believe we should take days to practice, but basically, what I want to say is that confidence may take time, but is not impossible to achieve. (woah I did not mean to sound like a motivational speaker.)

    To conclude, I've learned five new things about presenting in this class, that I want to make use of the next time I do a presentation.

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