Critical Reflection

Module Learning

I have never been a decent speaker. In my academic years, I have always struggled with presentations, whether formal or informal. This is why at the start of this effective communication course (CVE 1281), I set out a goal to improve my presentation skills, and be more confident while presenting under pressure. I was tasked to be the speaker of my group, and I relished in taking up the challenge, even though I was not confident in my ability. Due to my role, I had to regularly present and speak up to the class and other groups on the project that my group was working on.

At the start, my voice was shaky and I was always nervous before the speech even started. I would often stutter as I would get lost in my train of thoughts while presenting. However, after multiple attempts, I started to enjoy the moment, and became aware of the bad habits in my presentations. With each presentation, I adjusted my mistakes, and I could feel my speech getting clearer with better articulation. I was also able to think better as I was a lot calmer in front of an audience, even under pressure.

Advice and inputs given from classmates and Professor Blackstone massively improved my presentation skills and confidence when presenting. Important factors such as where to stand, voice projection and eye contact were some of the key inputs that I felt benefit me the most. All of these inputs and practice culminated in me giving a decent presentation for my team’s pitch on our proposed solution. I presented well, and could remain calm when asked questions on my product. Even though there was definitely room for improvement, I felt I improved as compared to my past capabilities.

Having a calm head when presenting and being confident is such an important feature when I go out to the workforce as an engineer. As engineers, often times we will need to present complicated parts and drawings to our bosses. With strong presentation skills, I can communicate these complicated details to them, while also staying calm even when being bombarded with questions.

 

Project Learning

One aspect of the research that I learned from the most, was my presentation skills. As mentioned above, I was tasked to be the speaker for my team. This role required me to communicate effectively with the other group and also to my professor, such that they would understand my group’s proposed solution. I had to constantly give updates on my group’s progress, which would require me to filter out the important details, and speak in a clear concise manner. As I presented weekly, I realised that as I stood up to present, my thoughts would suddenly be blurred, and I would forget the key points I had already prepared to present. I would also not be aware of the things I was doing such as swaying from side to side, and insufficient eye contact.

However, by using the assertion-evidence approach, I managed to clear the thoughts in my head when presenting. I realised that the more information I put on my slides, my brain would not be able to process them when I am presenting. However, this approach ensured minimal data and words on the screen, and it prevented my mind from cluttering up whenever I went up to present. I was able to present better as the slides guided me to what was important. I also noticed that as my mind was more relaxed due to this method, I had more natural eye contact with the audience, and the flow of my presentation improved.

I realised that by improving the slides, I managed to improve my whole presentation as a whole, as the different aspects of presentation such as eye contact, flow, articulation of words are all linked to one another. I look forward to applying my newfound presentation skills in my future workplace. Most of the slides made by engineers regarding engineering tend to be data heavy and are too cluttered. With improved slides, I can manage to present the complicated details of an engineering project to my future clients with confidence, poise and clarity.