1,000 word

 

Blog Post (1000 words)

Salim Adjouadi

SPC 2608

September 26, 2022

In this a blog post, I present a reflection of my own thoughts and the new things that I have learned about the interesting presentations of my classmates. My classmates of Group 2 analyzed the topics covered in Chapters 5 through 9, and my classmates of Group 3 focused their presentations on topics covered in Chapters 10 through 12. 

Group 2

Melany spoke of the process of research and the steps involved in conducting research.  Through this topic, I learned that when preparing a presentation, one needs to learn about the audience you are addressing, the relevance of your topic to this audience, and all the facts that are important to the topic covered. It also involves crediting all the sources and understanding the details needed to make the presentation clear and understandable.

Melanie talked about the credibility of the sources used in the research process to make sure that the material gathered and the claims you make are verifiable, and that the content is relevant. I learned through this presentation that the source used should be objective and unbiased. I agree with Melanie that perhaps one of the most important things is to use sources that are credible and to avoid any biases for or against the topic covered.

Jonathan in his presentation focused on web search resources. I learned that the most used search engines are Google, Bing and Yahoo. I agree with Jonathan that websites should be sorted out for what is right and wrong. This reminds me of what my dad told me: that an intelligent person is one that knows that half of what one reads is not true, but the wise person is the one that knows which half is true. Just because things are written somewhere in the web, does not make them necessarily true.

Keisey shared with us the topic of organization and outlining. I agree with her that good organization skills make the speaker look well prepared and more believable. Abertyves followed and shared with us all the essential components of an outline that make the presentation whole. Laura focused on what holds the presentation together and on the need of transition statements. I also learned that creating suspense and making use of quotations from well-known people help maintain attention of the audience.

Kevin spoke of other important issue like eye contact, use of gestures, and facial expressions to improve the delivery of a presentation. He also mentioned that different speakers use different modes of delivery, some using memorization and no slides, other prefer to use the slides by fear of not remembering the order and words of the presentation.

Gabriela talked about the use of voice when presenting, something completely new to me but very informative. She mentioned things like clarity in enunciation, pause, volume, and rhythm. I realize through Gabriela’s presentation that those speakers who use all these skills are the ones that are most captivating and most convincing when making a presentation.

Nairy told us that the words we use matter, and the right words can help us express ourselves better. It is also important to follow all the ethical standards when creating the language using the correct words with which we express ourselves.

Maylan spoke of the need for using sensory aids to make presentations memorable and easier to understand. I should mention to Maylan that it is also important to keep in mind if in the audience we have attendees that are hard of hearing or are visually impaired or blind, and to determine how best we could help them through these aids to appreciate the presentation.

Group 3

Samantha spoke on why the presenter should relate the topic by projecting knowledge and by using personal examples. A key thing that was highlighted is the fact that we need to relate the topic to the audience early. In this way, the audience is captured, making them care about the topic you are addressing. I also learned that the audience would appreciate the information more if the main ideas were clear and that they could interact with the speaker by asking questions.

Yadira focused on what a speaker needs when presenting information, I learned from Yadira that you need to organize the information, build on what is known, and use sensory aids to make the presentation easier to understand. I also learned that informative speaking requires one to define, describe, explain, and demonstrate. I thought it was interesting to know that the use of humor can help.  I did not think about injecting humor in a presentation, but it is true that humor can make the audience relax and become more receptive.

Sophia spoke on demonstrating things and the ethical issues involved when showing a product and explain how it is used along with its benefits. In doing so make sure of the quality of the information presented, quote people when using their words, and make sure you do not misinform or mislead. Make sure the information is relevant to the audience and if it involves a specific age group.

Vladislava spoke of persuasive messages to influence an idea, a concept or a product. I agree that it is true that we are all affected by persuasive messages whether it is about politics, charities, or commercials. These messages all try to influence our thinking. A good presentation or speech can thus be used to convince, inspire, and used for call to action. Vladislava tells us also that we need to perform an audience analysis to learn of their beliefs, values, likes and dislikes and needs, to determine which messages would be more persuasive.

Sarah informed us on critical thinking and reasoning to improve the delivery of a message. This complements well the presentation made by Vladislava. Through this presentation, I learned of the meaning of inductive reasoning (from observation to general conclusion) and deductive reasoning (from premise to specific conclusion). I also learned that we need to avoid generalities, either/or type of choices, fallacies, and name calling.