FOP experience

Being not a natural good speaker, I never enjoy presenting especially infront of many people. However, I felt something different for my FOP experience. I felt that my FOP experience was interesting and I enjoyed it.

Due to the fact that FOP is an individual presentation and I was up against strong competitors, I was indeed more nervous as compared to my GT presentation. Despite the fact that I was more nervous, I was also more confidence and had better control over my presentation.  The reason being that the report was written by me and supported with the research I have conducted. Hence, I was very familiar with the content and had lesser problems internalizing the content.

I have received feedbacks that I was better in controlling my pacing and volume. However, there are still rooms of improvements for my pacing and pronunciations. Even though I still feel awkward about presenting infront of many people, my FOP experience has increase my confidence in presentation. 

GT Experience

My GT presentation was a fruitful experience to me.

First of all, I saw improvements in my presentation skills. I was able to deliver the content more naturally and with more confidence by applying the presentations tips and practicing without a script.

Secondly, I was able to clearly see my areas of weaknesses through the constructive comments I received and my own reviews of my presentation from the video filmed. I find that filming down my presentation is really useful for me to look back and reflect on myself. Watching the video allows me to put myself in the audience’s position to objectively evaluate myself.

The two main areas of my weaknesses lie with my pacing and nervousness. I was always being told that my presentations are too fast which in turn compromise the clarity of my presentations. In addition, there is always evident nervousness in my presentations. Again, these issues occurred to me in the GT presentation. Though I was not the fastest presenter, it is evident that my pronunciations are greatly affected by my pacing.  Besides, I was also nervous which causes some stuttering and affect the clarity of my presentation.

However, I am not disheartened by these issues. In fact, the GT experience boasts my confidence and greatly motivates me improve on my presentation skills.