Chapter Presentations Reflection

    During the first few weeks of our Public Speaking class everyone was placed into groups for the whole semester to work on all projects assigned to us in the course. With the first project, our class had to prepare and deliver presentations explaining Chapters 1 through 12 and the appendix of the textbook; “iSpeak 13^th edition”. The purpose of this project was to ensure the professor that we (the students) understand, execute, and organize a well put together speech about the textbook material with our own interpretation and knowledge. Professor Sinkoff divided the class into three groups and made it very easy and accessible for everyone to communicate with each other given the circumstances of the corona virus pandemic. She had us reflect on our first presentation by having everyone in their groups write about their experience with the project, working with one another, and give some insight on the work process behind each project.  She made the environment feel like a regular face to face classroom which was truly admirable.

      

    Each person from each group had to read and further examine the sections in the chapters that they were assigned to. Our group (Group 1) was covering Chapters 1 through 4 and I was specifically assigned to cover a section about the “Presentation Process” in Chapter 1 and the “Analysis of The Situation” in Chapter 4. Working with my group was surprisingly not difficult at all. Everyone was always accessible and willing to answer any questions that anyone from the group had. Help was always available whether it being about the content or the technology, and everyone was just overall really easy to get along with. Our group leader, Albert Labrada, made sure everyone read and knew the material before constructing the presentation and also had us meet beforehand to practice our speeches so we could be better prepared on the day of. The flow of our group really showed when we did our first presentation because, although we did have some technical difficulties, we all still managed to work together to fix everything, and delivered a great presentation. My team explained the concept of how to better prepare for a presentation/speech. We worked really hard to organize and execute a good quality presentation for everyone to understand. All the members of my group did a really good job in communicating the skills learned from the textbook and applied it to the presentation to keep the audience engaged. Everyone in our group was in sync with each other and in future presentations I know to expect a good team effort when working with everyone.  

            

    In group 2, I remember some of the presenters were talking about the importance of delivering speeches and described the five different modes of delivering a presentation which included; memorized, manuscript, extemporaneous, impromptu, and questions-and-answer.  This group focused more on the importance of delivering successful speeches and what’s behind the process of a successful speech like the ones we observe. This helped a lot because it allowed me to know when it is appropriate to apply these different modes to different topics, audiences, speakers, and situations. They focused more so on explaining the different concepts and taking us through the process of preparing for a presentation or speech effectively.  They clarified in great detail the key points of all the useful information in chapters 5-9 and analyzed the content very clearly. 

            

    Group 3 did a really good job with teaching chapters 10-12 plus the appendix about the types of presentations as well. There was a lot of informative videos and some that we didn’t get to see in class, but that I watched on my own time that included great strategies on how to deliver different types of messages through a presentation.  Whether it's speaking to inform, speaking to persuade, or speaking on a special occasion, there’s always a way to carry a message through effectively. This team stood out more to me because they actually talked about working as a group and the types of group presentations there are. So, we got to experience what it was like for them to work together while also teaching us how to better work together and communicate effectively throughout the semester, since all of our projects will be done together. I enjoyed their presentation the most because they gave useful information to take into future occasions like classes and/or opportunities outside of school to better work with people in any environment to execute a good presentation and/or speech. 

            

    As each group was presenting their chapters, I noticed that everyone was well informed of their specific sections. Everyone seemed to be very charismatic and confident in their ability to deliver the message behind their topic. Also, how engaging the presenters seemed to be when going over it with us (the audience). I learned better learning from other students points of views and used their key components about each section to educate myself and maintain my interest in what they had to say.  By being a part of this project, I gained knowledge and skills that will benefit me best in projects moving forward. The importance of public speaking is applied to us as college students, but it is crucial that we realize how this correlates to our daily lives as well. We use the act of public speaking to build, teach, influence, and encourage others and acquire them with the necessary knowledge.