#6 Reflection on Learning

I've always had a gift for presenting. To show for my intense involvement and preparation in any group project, when it comes to the presentation segment, I have the magical ability to appear like a free-rider, thanks to my nerves. As a result, presenting has always been an intense fear of mine. In fact, one of my main reasons for taking ES2007S was to conquer this very fear.

When I first joined ES2007S, I had already resigned myself to ascribing good presentation skills to naturally effervescent personalities. As enthusiasm was never a strong point for me, I felt disadvantaged and was hoping ES2007S would equip me with skills to at least scrape by in presentations decently. Over the weeks, I realized that enthusiasm doesn't have to be as contrived as I had thought and that all I needed was a change in mentality. Prior to ES2007S, I went into presentations thinking "This is a compulsory school project.". By focusing on the fact that neither my participation in the project nor the audience's participation in its presentation was voluntary, I was trying to keep my enthusiasm level in check but in doing so, I was harming my own presentation. The result was low confidence and its jittery symptoms.

Observing my classmates' performances in their respective peer teaching sessions brought my attention to important details that made a good presenter but I was still struggling with my ability to pull it off naturally. I first realized a shift in my mindset when it came to my peer teaching session which was on job interviews. It was probably the first time that I had felt that what I was presenting transcended more than just a class assignment. This was vital information that was clearly relevant to my classmates and possibly even one of the reasons they had joined ES2007S in the first place. I felt responsible for conveying this information to them and that sense of purpose empowered me. Yes, I had paced my presentation poorly and had missed out a whole chunk of what I wanted to say but I was surprised by how comfortable I had felt while presenting enthusiastically and consequentially, how well I had been able to subdue my nervous behaviour. The feedback from the class was constructive and I started to dispel my fear of presenting.

The real challenge was the final oral presentation on my group project- directNUS. Since it was back to presenting a group project, instead of information that was actually essential to my classmates, I wasn't sure if I would be able to garner the same, largely positive feedback I had received in the peer teaching session. I believed in our group's idea but I grappled with the fact that its appeal is subjective. I didn't know if I could be enthusiastic without feeling awkwardly presumptuous. I studied my classmates' performances in their final OPs and this allowed me to slowly realize that this OP was really a culmination of the entire project. Regardless of whether or not our idea would receive strong support, I was proud of the amount of work that I had invested into the project. Once I had established this as a justifiable source of motivation, I began to feel confident about presenting naturally again. Sure enough, save for a a few glitches, I managed to portray my group's idea in an enticing and more importantly, natural, manner. I was especially relieved that I was able to pace my presentation and deliver it exactly as I had intended, which was an anomaly for me.

I know that I am not a great presenter yet and that there is definitely a lot of room for improvement  for me. But I know that I am much closer to the presenter that I aspire to be, thanks to ES2007S. I'm aware that this post has exceeded the word limit but I would just like to end with a short 'thank you' to the class, including our dear Brad. I can safely say that bulk of the module was learnt through examining my fellow classmates. Both the analogous and incongruous aspects of our approaches to all the different components have been sources of reaffirmation and inspiration for me. It's been fun and I look forward to a class gathering with cheap food in the near future! Good luck for your finals, everybody! And for the lucky souls to whom the previous sentence does not apply, congratulations on your graduation! :)

#5 Reflection on Oral Presentation

Reflecting on the oral presentation, I feel inclined to compare myself to how I was pre-ESS2007s, during the peer teaching presentation and the mock presentation. I think I can fairly say that I have improved a lot in terms of handling my nerves, exuding professionalism and managing my time. In stark contrast to the trembling wreck that I used to be pre-ES2007S, I was very much calmer.

I won’t deny that there was still some nervousness as could be detected by my creaky voice. However, the fact that I could remember my script and deliver it exactly as I had intended to, with few pauses in between, is a major personal achievement for me.

The class mentioned that I had performed better in the first part of my presentation and I believe this is probably because the animation-packed nature of the presentation provided a logical sequence which helped me deliver my script more fluidly. When it came to the second portion, however, I was slipping back into the ‘bullet-point-followed-by-paragraph-description’ mode and thus I stumbled quite a bit. The lesson I learnt from this is to perhaps pay more attention to such areas and focus on memorizing concepts instead of scripted chunks. This would, of course, require me to also build up the confidence to verbalize the memorized concepts impromptu.

One key area I would like to improve on is voice control and this is partly due to watching my team-mates, Zi Hao and Xi Min, in action. I felt that they demonstrated impressive voice control which embellished their presentations with a sense of professionalism. Playing back the recorded video, I also realized that I subconsciously used the words ‘so’ and ‘umm’ a lot as fillers. Unnecessarily looking at the screen is another area I want to work on as well.

As for the positive aspects of my performance, I felt that I managed to establish good panning eye contact with the audience. I employed cues (both verbal and non-verbal) to direct the audience attention to specific areas on the slides to ensure that they were still following me even when eye contact had to be breached. I am also glad that the class found me articulate and appeared engaged. I was also heartened to know that the class had high praise for the slides and that they enjoyed them. With regard to the slideware, I felt that it was an integral part of the presentation as it encapsulated the complexity of the project in a manner that was very accessible to the audience. I am glad that the class responded to the slides very well.

This oral presentation felt slightly sentimental for me as it was the culmination of many grueling weeks slogging it out over the different stages of the group project. Needless to say, it was a gratifying experience to see it being received so well by the class. I would like to thank the class and Brad for their kind words and constructive criticisms. I would also like to thank my team mates for their cooperation.

As a team, we have decided to approach a stakeholder with our proposal after our exams. Though it might just remain a pipe dream, I’m excited by the prospect of directNUS becoming more than just a school project. Wish us luck, guys!

If i may continue..

Hello class!

As you all know, I ran out of time during my group's peer teaching session earlier today. Since we'll be having mock job interviews next week and like I said, non-verbal communication accounts for 90% of what you are trying to convey in your job interview, I feel that is quite a disservice to you that I did not manage to cover what I had intended. So here are a few pointers picking up from where I left off. This is a long post but I hope you'll find it useful!

In the hot seat
Politeness
-don't yawn
-don't keep glancing at your watch
-switch off your cellphone
-do not interrupt the interviewer

Eye contact
-in a panel interview, establish eye contact with the interviewer that posed the question and when you're done delivering your answer, establish eye contact with the rest of the panel
-looking down is only acceptable when taking notes

Posture
-enter the interview room with your head up and walk in a self-assured manner (indicates confidence)
-sit down with your legs crossed at your ankles or feet placed flatly on the ground (indicates professionalism)
-sit up straight and slightly leaned forward (indicates attentiveness and interest)
-sit on front portion of the chair, but not on the edge
-do not slouch (indicates sloppy work ethic, carelessness, low energy)
-the further up you cross your legs, the more defensive you appear
-refrain from raising on leg/ankle on the other leg (appears casual or even arrogant)
-refrain from placing your feet to far apart or stretching your feet too far in front of you (appears casual)

Gestures
-limit your gestures (otherwise, appears unprofessional and dramatic)
-body language experts say that the less your hands are waving around, the more confident and in control you are
-refrain from crossing arms (indicates negative attitude, closed personality, defensivesness, even aggressiveness)
-arms should be loosely placed with hands clasped loosely on your lap or the table
-smile and nod when appropriate (keep the smiling under control if the interviewer appears very no-nonsense and serious)
-if interviewer says something amusing, it is appropriate to laugh only if interviewer laughs first

-do not fidget
-refrain from touching face or hair (indicates discomfort and is very distracting and unprofessional)

Mannerisms

-know your nervous ticks and suppress them (e.g. twirling hair, shaking leg, clearing throat, picking nails etc.) or you will appear awkward and nervous
-interviewers will expect you to be nervous but make sure that when you are answering questions, try to keep your nerves under control so as not to take away from the strength of your answer

Voice-adopt a clear, controlled voice delivery
-refrain from being monotonous (appears unexciting)
-instead, vary your tone and pitch (appear engaging) but do not overdo it!
-when posed a question, breathe (always a good idea), pause (as mentioned by Titus) and react.
-you should act as if you are an equal to the interviewer, not a subordinate. consequentially, do not take on an apologetic or defensive tone during any part of your interview

Read the interviewer's body language
That's right. Turn the tables to help you determine how to gear your response.
-hand fiddling, loss of eye contact are signs of boredom. wrap up what you have to say and ask the interviewer if they require further details
-finger drumming or rubbing one's face indicates irritation. bring your point home and clarify that you are indeed answering the question.
-crossing arms or leaning away shows the interviewer is uncomfortable. perhaps you are invading his/her space. shift yourself to create more space between the two of you.

Lastly,
PIE! - Poise Interest Expressiveness

Poise: appear confident, comfortable, in control of yourself, in control of your nerves and attentive

Interest: exude interest in the job, the company, the interviewer by establishing eye contact, refraining from behaviour that makes you look disinterested and maintaining good posture

Expressiveness: demonstrate high positive energy by being enthusiastic, smiling and emoting (not excessively though!) your answers. however, refrain from expressing negative emotions (scowling, or frowning) when bringing up negative things.