First Presentation Experience

 Learning to Speak in Public

 

    I recently gave my first presentation in my public speaking class, which I’m taking this summer semester. It was a group project, and I’m still positively surprised by how quickly and effectively my group members and I worked together. In less than two days, we pulled everything together into a complete presentation. I’m grateful we were assigned to group four because we had a bit more time to prepare than some of the other groups, which definitely helped us stay calm and organized.

    One of the most amazing things about our group was how easily we collaborated. From the beginning, everyone was open to giving and receiving feedback, which helped us build a solid presentation. Even when we had a new member, Georgette, join us after the chapters were already divided, we worked quickly to assign her a part and integrate her into the group. She adapted smoothly and became part of the team right away. By the end of Wednesday night, everything was ready to go, and I couldn’t believe how well it all came together, especially because, in previous group projects, I’ve had bad experiences with team members not contributing. This time, it was the complete opposite.

 

I also want to highlight Raul, who naturally took on the role of group leader. His guidance helped us stay on track and focused. I’m especially thankful to our class managers, Paula and Ashley, who were with us every step of the way. They helped summarize the conclusion and were always available to answer any questions or concerns we had. Their support made a huge difference and gave the group a sense of direction and calm. Another strong point was our PowerPoint presentation. I loved that it had lots of visuals and very little text. It made the content more engaging and easier to follow. Considering we had to cover a lot of information and were only allowed three slides per person, I think we did an amazing job. Our visuals were relevant and helped illustrate the key points from our assigned chapters. This approach made our presentation not only informative but also visually appealing.

I have to say how grateful I am to have taken this class with Professor Sherri Sinkoff. She is truly an incredible and accessible teacher. One of the things I liked most about her is how she embraces and celebrates diversity, especially when she said that accents are beautiful. That meant a lot to me, as someone who sometimes feels self-conscious about my own accent. She also guided us through calming breathing exercises before we presented, which helped reduce my nervousness. As a naturally shy person who has never felt comfortable speaking in public, this kind of encouragement was exactly what I needed.

In general, I enjoyed watching all of the presentations. I was especially impressed by group number three, who delivered a strong presentation even though they were missing two members. Their ability to stay composed and carry on without their full team was inspiring. Also, Margahrita’s PowerPoint slides were both funny and creative; it was unfortunate she wasn’t able to present them herself. Her style really stood out and added a touch of humor and personality to their content. One of the things I appreciated most during the presentation day was the respectful atmosphere we created. Everyone listened attentively to each other, which made the experience feel supportive. For this being our first presentation, everything went surprisingly smoothly.

 That being said, I do believe there’s always room for improvement. One area I noticed was that some slides were a bit crowded with text. This stood out to me because one of my topics focused on how to make more impactful PowerPoint slides using simple and clear layouts. Too much text can overwhelm the audience and take attention away from the speaker. I think we can all benefit from keeping this in mind for future presentations. Another thing I believe we could work on is adding more interaction during presentations. I understand it’s difficult, especially since everyone is focused on getting through their own parts, but like the professor suggested, asking the audience questions or interacting with the class could help us grow as speakers. With more practice, I think our group and the class as a whole will continue improving in that area.

Professor Sinkoff’s feedback after the presentations also made a big impact. She took the time to compliment each student on their strengths, which was both encouraging and uplifting. It felt good to be recognized for the work we put in, and I’m sure everyone else felt the same way. Her positive reinforcement helped build our confidence, and I left class that day feeling proud of what we accomplished.

 I can’t forget to mention my teammates Rene, Samantha, and Ruth. Each of them did a fantastic job and really committed to making our presentation the best it could be. It was a pleasure to work with people who took their responsibilities seriously and brought their own unique voices to the project. Speaking of voices, I also noticed how many of my classmates have calm and professional tones when they speak, which made their presentations even more pleasant to listen to.

This class is already showing me that public speaking is a skill I can improve with practice. I’m excited about the opportunities ahead to develop more confidence and refine my speaking abilities. I know I still have a lot to learn, but this first experience has given me a strong foundation and motivation to keep going.

 I’d like to end with a funny experience that some of my classmates might relate to. I had a very clear script prepared for my presentation. I wrote it on Tuesday and practiced it several times. But when it was my turn to speak, I completely ignored it. The script was right next to me, but I didn’t even glance at it. I just started talking based on what I remembered from reading the chapter. It’s not the first time this has happened to me, and every time, I ask myself why I even bother writing a script if I end up improvising. I guess speaking in public just makes that to me!

Overall, this was a great and memorable experience. I’m also glad we got to write this blog post. It’s a fun and new way to reflect on our journey.

                                                                                               By Yusnaby Novales