akgriff’s blog

I have got to say what a relief it is having completed my final presentation. The weeks leading up to my presentation were filled with late nights looking for sources and examples. I could have used more time to organize my presentation but by giving my presentation last week I have found time to prepare for finals. When I first picked my topic, how to jump start a vehicle, I thought it would be rather simple to find sources for my topic but I was wrong. The process of how to jump start a car is simple enough and therefore there were very few sources.

Leading up to giving my speech I would go from feeling confident about my presentation to unsure. I was confident I understood my topic but unsure as to how the audience would receive me. While giving my speech I panicked and lost track of my speed, tone. I was watching the time keeper throughout my presentation to insure that I would meet the required time and not one time did I see her indicate how long I had been presenting. As a result I wrapped up my presentation before the six minute time limit.

If I were to give presentation 4 over again I would do two things differently. First, I would pick a different topic so I could find more sources and not have to struggle to meet the time requirement. Secondly, I would not have let the time keeper interfere with my speech. That being said, the mistakes I made during presentation 4 will give me an idea of what I need to improve in the future.

After completing the latest presentation I feel blessed to have been assigned to this group. We have great chemistry and are able to communicate well which made the whole process a lot easier and not so tedious. We met at least three times to determine what we wanted to accomplish, who would have what roles, and to distribute the work load. The only negative experience was the topic itself. When deciding what topic our group was going to present on we thought it would be a good idea to discuss the controversial Stroh Center, but it turned out to be harder than planned because there was not a to be could said outside of what could be stated in one sentence.

In the future I believe it is crucial that we pick a topic that can lead to better discussion. When we rehearsed the presentation it was easy to reach the time requirement but when it came to be presentation time I froze. Secondly, I feel that if we were given this presentation again it would be in the groups interest to perform a scenario in which the crowd can be involved so we can keep their attention. Also, we should have done our homework before choosing this topic. Our intentions were to present both sides of the Stroh argument before the under graduate students voted; the vote was on a Friday and we presented on Monday.

While I feel that my group and myself did everything in our power to put on a good performance, I feel that I should have suggested another topic. After watching the other groups it seemed that they had a better flow, performance because their topics allowed them to do so. In conclusion, I am blessed that my group was so willing to meet and were open to new ideas and are willing to go the extra mile to make our presentations work.

After delivering our presentation on chapter 6 Monday, I have to say that I am relieved that the presentation is done and over with. It seemed as though we had setback after setback trying to put our presentation together whether it be Emily and I getting sick and one of our group members going missing. Had it not been for the hard work of Erin, Annie, and Emily I am positive we would not have had as successful of a presentation. With two group members being absent we fell just forty-five seconds short of the fifteen minute minimum time requirement. While my group did a flawless job presenting the material, I realized that there are a few areas in which I need to improve my speaking skills.

            The first area that needs attention is my transitions. When I am speaking I forget that the audience cannot read my materials or my mind and do not know whether or not I am transitioning from one topic to another. The second area that needs improvement is my tone and speed. When I am in front of any audience I tend to get nervous and speak rather fast and occasionally slur my words. That being said, once I build my confidence and become comfortable speaking in front of the audience all the areas that need improvement will solve themselves.

After listening to the groups ethics I was surprised to hear that many groups had the same ethics. That being said, it’s my belief that there will be no problems when giving speeches. Most comments were common sense but some were much deeper. In conclusion, all groups think alike and therefore everyone will have no problems respecting one another.

Hey everyone the name is Austin Griffith. I’m a junior majoring in sports management with a specialization in enterprise. I’m from Bucyrus, OH and love the college life. Pretty simple guy, keep to myself. That’s pretty much sums me up.