Reflection on Formal Oral Presentation

My group, Task Force, has finally completed our formal oral presentation on our proposal for the construction of Eco-Tree and Eco-Gallery in SIT’s future campus in Punggol. This marks the ending of the module.

Regarding my performance in the oral presentation, there were more negative than positive feedback. Being the fourth group to present, we had extra time to prepare. During rehearsal, we felt confident to speak fluently. However, I did not meet my personal expectations during the actual presentation. There was a moment during presentation that my mind went blank. Based on the feedbacks given, I had lapses in remembering my lines and as the presentation progressed, the speed of my speech increased due to nervousness.

Despite my poor performance, I was commended for maintaining a good posture and having accurate pronunciation and articulation. I was advised to slow down my pace of speech and take deep breaths to calm myself down. Additionally, to aid myself in remembering contents, I was suggested to address the benefits and key takeaways as to how I would have explained to my group mates. Instead of memorizing a script, I could have let the content I was familiar with to flow through my head and simply speak from my thoughts.

In my opinion, I felt that I was indeed presenting every single word I have memorized during my practice runs. Hence, this had caused me to blank-out when I could not remember my exact lines. This poor approach was the main reason for my unsatisfactory performance. To be a good presenter, confidence is a key factor as it gives the audience a sense of assurance that the presenter knows his content well. Furthermore, a good presenter should be able to present comfortably without relying on scripts.

In future, I will learn to familiarize myself with the content I have to present. It will definitely boost my confidence and hence not repeating the same mistakes again. I will continue the good habit of practicing regularly to present fluently. To conclude, our group presentation was still successful, and I am glad that the team’s efforts have paid off.

Edited 30 November 2017