Part 2: Presentation Self Critique
My presentation topic was Water Treatment in Canada; I focused on chemical and physical processes adopted to make sure that the quality of water is good for domestic use. Environmental and health agencies set the minimum requirements for internal water use, whereas manufacturers provide their guidelines. Some students did not make the presentation video as before the lockdown some of us got to present in the class, and the rest had to make a video within four minutes. This topic was my most exciting part and easy to explain in quality as it had several water treatment processes to discuss. Secondly, I used Microsoft slides together with the elucidation of the sequence of treatment processes. However, I was aware that the complexity of the water treatment processes could be somehow tough and challenging to explain to my audience. To overcome this weakness, I had to increase the slides’ pace and reduce the wording on my presentation; I had to rely mostly on the verbal explanation and images to clarify my points well. In sum, I had believed that by adopting this method of presentation would trap the audience interest throughout my presentation.
During my presentation, I asked my audience to provide feedback about my performance, where I received eight students. This feedback meant to thinks actively and engage them on a basic physical standard of getting out their take about my presentation. The feedback handout categorized into eight aspects: introduction, structure, quality of verbal communication, capable of non-verbal communication, presentation aids, conclusion, question period, and level of confidence. The first aspect of the introduction comprised gabber, subject, and massage. Out of eight students, all said gabber was present; two said it was powerful, and six said it was somewhat current. All the students commend positively on both my introduction and topic of discussion and the significance of the message. However, one student said that my massage was not compelling for the audience to continue listening, but others were positive about it. The second aspect was both structures, where all students commended that my presentation was creative and provided direction for what was covered. On supporting points, one student said that I did not give strong support on my topic of presentation. The third aspect was the quality of verbal communication—this aspect aimed at the use of volume, rate of delivery, intonation, and articulation. According to my peers, I had a comfortable amount, a flat rate of delivery, appropriate expressive, and well-spoken articulation. However, one student commented that I had a slow rate of delivery. The fourth feature was the effectiveness of non-verbal communication, which covered the use of posture, gestures, movement, and eye contact. On this aspect, my peers commented positively, although I realized I needed to improve on the use of gestures in my presentation.
The fifth aspect was presentation aids, which I used Microsoft PowerPoint slides and handouts. Out of eight peers, eight commended my topic as “concise,” one “no,” and the other “yes.” The sixth aspect was whether I summarized the key points, the purpose, and the call to action of my presentation topic. All eight peers commended “yes” on good summarization of points, “yes” on the original reinforcing message. However, five recommended “yes,” two “no,” and one was not sure on the call to action to my presentation topic. The seventh aspect was question period, which comprised of whether I approached the audience confidently, answers concise, and if it was non-defensive. According to the peer’s feedback, I had contacted the audience confidently, responded to questions concisely as well as non-defensiveness. The last aspect was the overall confidence level, where all the students commended above average.
Nonetheless, there was infinite importance of cultivating on my topic of discussion. The presentation helped me improve on how to communicate multifaceted information in well scrutinized and exciting ways to trap the attention of the audience, establish my self-confidence, and deliver my feelings and thoughts efficiently. The presentation also enabled me to improve my skills, for instance, the aptitude to present achievements and abilities throughout my job interviews.
Nevertheless, throughout my presentation, I identified three areas I needed to improve to better performance. According to the feedback from my peers, the primary areas of calling to action to my presentation topic. I realized that throughout my presentations, I did not persuade my audience cording to practice water treatment processes. I intend to suggest to my audience a concise strategy of water treatment processes such as aeration, degasification, and filtration methods when I will be presenting in the future. The use of gestures was not that perfect according to the feedback from some peers; however much I tried.
I look forward to clarifying and enhancing my presentation description by use of hands as a visual aid to improve my audience’s content grasping. Although peers commented positively on my gabber presence, most of them said it was somewhat present. I felt I did my level best, but I thought I should present in a rapid but robust and exciting manner in the future presentation.