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The class comm. 375 has shaped me as a better presenter, communicator, and more comfortable and aware of my gestures and behaviors when presenting.  Some of my weaknesses in the beginning were that I would kind of freeze up and did not put much energy or personality into my presentation. Also, I would concentrate more on delivering information that I forgot that no one really cares to hear what I have to say unless I make it interesting. I think everyone’s weakness was the misuse of Power point. I use to think bullet points were okay. However, now whenever I see anyone else have more than four words and it’s just plain, I can honestly say that I cringe.  Another weakness of mine, was that I would not have enough eye contact and was not always prepared. I’m a bit of a procrastinator, which I am working on currently, it really is one of my resolutions along with time management.  However, some of my strengths  are now that I put a lot of personality into my presentation, especially on my last lecture! I barley looked at my notes, granted I did ramble a bit, but that was suppose to be a part of it because that is my personality. Another thing I improved on was that I did not wait till last minute to do this project, therefore it turned out to be better than all my other ones. I’m going to work on being more prepared for future presentations by doing them days in advance or not doing them all at once.

    My philosophy on presenting is that it is needed for business corporations and just for everyday communicating. Especially when you bring up an idea to a group, having eye contact shows confidence and gives credibility. Hand gestures will keep the listeners more in tuned. I think that the most important part of the less was learning how to use a presentation aid and not to overload it with words. No one wants to read slides or have someone read them slides. There is no point for the presenter then.

  I really did learn how to use power point and have already used the lessons learned and applied them to every class I had that I had to present in. People paid more attention to what I had to say instead of reading the power point. The sales presentation was my least favorite because I really could not think of anything to original to make and many people did not like my groups idea. I loved the stand alone because it taught me how to make a video, which sounds crazy but I never knew how. My absolute favorite though was the last lecture, I really put my personality and humor into it and got to show people that I’m really not that shy person that seems to come out more in presentations. I loved the class however, I realized that I am not as good as I thought I was at presenting and the only reason I thought I was legit, was because everyone in my comm. 210 class was a bit more reserved. And when I got into all my communications classes I understood there were so many people better and creative. I still love to present but I think I will go another direction where presenting is not all that I do.

Randy’s style  is  very laid back. It feels like he is just talking to a friend not so much strangers. He puts a lot of humor into his presentation.  Another layout he choice is to present or show the audience where he is going with his speech. He presents his childhood dreams and then elaborates. His posture is very informal which makes him seem genuine. He laughs at himself. The only comment I can make about not being so genuine is that he keeps glancing down at his notes. I understand that he has to look at the notes but still kind of makes it look at a little planned out.

His pictures make you connect with him because they are simple childhood pictures of him. Finally, he shares some childhood stories that he has which helps connect with him and paint a picture like you were there with him.

bsucomm375mcfalls:

I don’t think they knew their product that well. What made it crumble was the fact that they could not present a reason for why their idea was unique. You could tell in their posture and stance that they were not too confident about their own product.. One of the judges had a good point that their competitor was having the same problems that they would have had.

They would have had to have a different approach and explain how it would succeed and what they could do differently than their competitor for me to invest into their company.

If I was them and I could do it over I would make sure I would have all the answers to their questions ready and planned out. I would have a visual aid and maybe hand outs for the panel. I would stand more confidently and look less nervous.

I thought the slides and timing was very well prepared and in fact worked well for him. The transitions were very smooth and he did not go over or not have anything to say. I think the audiences attention was captured and did not stray at all. Also the content of his presentation was very interesting. He explained about traveling around the world and the pictures complemented his speech. He also made a few jokes and had great humor. The photos not only displayed where he traveled to, but symbolized what he was saying as well. An example would be when he said something about broadening his view he had a picture of open land somewhere very cold. The map was helpful to see where he had gone to.

I think since I am a beginner it’s going to be difficult with the timing. Also I have no idea what I will present and I don’t know if my pictures will be the least bit interesting like his. His pictures were live and real, and mine will probably have to be off some website. However after seeing this show I think I am better prepared and look forward to the project.

The point of the slide show was that design plays a key role in our everyday life and that it is very important. For example, the pictures with the nice lounges or study areas showed a comfortable setting. By simply using appealing furniture and colors, made the room more interesting and cozy. Walking into that kind of a room would make me want to get my work done, relax, study, or just want to be there. He showed other rooms that were messy and simple, even remotes. By having a good design makes you want to use that product.  He showed powerpoints that were messy and cluttered. It mad eyou feel cluttered and not comfortable.

                I agree with the entire argument. Whenever my room is messy and cluttered, I don’t even want to be in that area. Whenever I see something with too many words, it makes me not want to read it at all. Design really makes things appealing. Of course, it is about function too, but some people wil pick the object that is cuter or more attractive. People like things that are appealing to the eye. It is very natural. So even the simplest thing like a certain font could make all the difference.

                For  the most part the slides did a good job at making its argument, however some slides had too many words in it and some words had space in between the letters that were unnecessary.  It made it less appealing for me to read.

I think Tufte would have not liked this presentation at all. First off he does not like the use of PowerPoint, so automatically he is not impressed. I think he would have applauded that Charles does use mostly pictures. However, in some slides, Charles uses words and paragraphs. He would argue that the slides take attention away from the speaker and the audience has to take time to read the slides, resulting in losing valuable content being presented. Also, he would have said it was unorganized and unprofessional.

Reynolds would have liked the PowerPoint more. It was simple and not many words. The only negative he would have argued would be about the slides with words and paragraphs on them. Also, maybe the moon and mars maps were unnecessary because the location names were too small. Reynolds would agree that Charles was very entertaining and was able to keep the attention of the audience very well.

My opinion of the PowerPoint and in general everything, was that Charles was very entertaining. When I first saw that the presentation was eighteen minutes long (yes, I think it is a presentation), I thought I am not going to watch this entire thing. However, right away he grabbed my attention and I ended up laughing through the entire thing. I did not understand the point of his presentation, it was a bit unorganized. If it was just for entertainment then it served its purpose. He would not have been able to do it without the PowerPoint.

            There are many reasons why this presentation has my seal of approval. What makes a good presentation to me, is having visual aid, connecting with the audience, involving the audience in the presentation, an appropriate appearance, and being credible.

            Dan Gilbert provides visual aids to help the audience with what he is talking about. Putting pictures for someone to see what exactly the speaker is trying to portray helps the audience have a better understanding. He connects with audience in the sense that the content is interesting or would make someone think about something they have never questioned before. In this situation it is, “ Why are we happy?” He also speaks clearly and does not have a monotone voice. Everyone has sat through speakers that are very boring and just stand in front of them, just delivering  a speech. Dan walks around and uses hand gestures to connect with the audience. He also involves the audience with telling them to imagine something. He tells them to imagine if they were paraplegic or won a million dollars; which would they be most happy with. Suprisingly, after a year, both are at the same level of happiness. So in doing that, he grabs the audiences attention more. Another important factor is having an appropriate appearance. He is well groomed and is not wearing pajamas or sweats. Having an appearance that lets people take him seriously helps out his argument. No one really wants to see someone scrubby giving a speech because it is not appealing. And if it is not appealing, than it is not very credible, which brings me to my next point, credibility. Dan not only looks credible but provides sources and data that back up his presentation.

            Finally, I think it was a great presentation because it actually kept me interested. It is hard for me to sit in one spot and listen to someone. I naturally am more of a speaker, not a listener. If someone can keep my interest for a long time, then they have to be doing something right. Dan Gilbert presented a very interesting presentation and has my seal of approval for best presentation.