Blogging For Reflection

 Adrian Hernandez Reflection on Class Presentation

• My Experience Creating And Working With My Group Members 

    For our second class assignment, I was at first hesitant to work alongside my peers which I did not know. I personally have always preferred to work individually to ensure my assignments are properly completed and to avoid a group member not being able to complete their portion of the work. However, my experience working in group one studying chapters 1-4 from our class book. I would say it was pretty organized for having twelve members of my group divide the work for our google doc slide by having each student create their own slide then on presentation day each student would present the slide they completed. My only criticism of this experience of working with such a large group for one PowerPoint presentation would be the lack of communication at times. For instance, there were occasions when I would try to contact my peers in reference to a question and it would not be addressed for a number of days yet this is understandable being everyone does have their own lives and work to complete. I had an enjoyable experience and had the opportunity to get to know some of my classmates. Learning on MDC Live can make connecting with classmates difficult when not working in a group environment.

• The Information Presented 

    The first PowerPoint slide presented was my group consisting of twelve members. Each student explained a different aspect of chapters 1-4 from the book “ISpeak: Public Speaking for Contemporary Life” by Judy C Pearson, Paul E. Nelson, and Scott Titsworth. Our group began by covering the basics of public speaking by starting our presentation off with a Youtube video about the benefits of public speaking and its importance towards your career. The next important factor in public speaking we explained was what to avoid in a presentation which was exhausting topics, illegal items, insulting the audience, and most importantly giving credit. Covering in our presentation what can create an effective speaker by acknowledging how you address and present yourself when presenting your information. In my group's presentation, I found the most important information to be in chapter two which explained how to prepare your presentations because I have personally struggled in the past to create PowerPoint slides. My group members explained in our presentation understanding and delivery are key to a great presentation.

    Furthermore, Group two covered chapters 5-9 and began their presentation by explaining research and presentation prep. The presenter spoke of a diagram that consisted of topic selection, practice, and delivery, organizing ideas, and preparing an introduction and conclusion. The presenter then in deep covered ways to prepare an introduction like finding examples of your topic or relative quotes I have always struggled with creating an introduction, especially for speeches thus in my opinion, I found this information very useful and will be applying this information on my next speech or writing assignment. The next presenter covered the types of sources to include in your presentation starting with a personal experience. She noted that using personal experiences to emphasize this is not a fact but rather something that has happened to you and can vary depending on the person. And some personal experiences can be considered not helpful. The following resource she suggest was library resources. I personally do not feel this source is as used or as helpful since it is not as updated as the internet. I am guilty of relying on the internet for my sources rather than the library due to the convenience of the internet being on my mobile devices and because I have adapted to online classes I have noticed I perform better with online resources. The presenter further explained the proper way to prepare your presentation. This was the second most valuable piece of information since I struggled with the foundation of creating a PowerPoint slide. She explained the steps including analyzing the roots of rhetoric, invention, organization, and style. But this group also did an excellent job by including tips for planning your presentation such as gathering materials, carefully reviewing the assignment expectations, using the invention process to accumulate information, planning to be organized, planning to be clear, selecting quality details, editing style, if possible practice, and enjoy the opportunity.  Overall I found the group two presentation very informative and motivating, I now feel very prepared to create and present my next speech.

  Finally, group three covered chapters 10-12 they began their presentations by explaining the types of presentations which are informative, persuasive, and special occasion presentations. They showed us when we are presenting informative presentations we should relate to the topic and also relate the topic to the audience. I used this method of relating to the audience during my presentation when I asked the class if they were nervous about presenting. The presenter also covered the purpose of informative presentations which is to create information hunger, help the audience understand the information, help the audience remember the information, and to help the audience apply the information. The next presenter showed us important skills for informative speaking which are to define complex words you will use and paint a picture for the audience. I find this to be important for any speech. I always found speeches where I can envision what the speaker is saying to be the most entertaining and easiest to retain knowledge from. The speaker also went over the ethical principles of informative speaking which are to fact-check your information, cite your sources carefully, be honest, seek to inform the audience, and speak to promote positive growth. To wrap things up  I also enjoyed group three presentations. I appreciate their hard work and organized presentation. 

Retaining Information

• I felt this assignment to create a reflection of each group presentation on public speaking was very beneficial. Reviewing each student's work help me retain the information better. And now I feel confident presenting and creating my speech for this class.