Reflective Journal III

Reflect on the student presentations given so far. What has been the most interesting thing about them?

After a season of interesting presentations, I can be very certain i have gained much. From the long presentations which are draggy to the superb presentations which are clear and sharp, I have benefitted one way or another from the various presentations. It is always better to gain an insight on an issue from a different perspective which will often path way for better understanding of the whole issue at hand. Yet there will always be some that will stand out from the rest in terms of ideas and styles.

Firstly, let's talk about Ming Kit's presentation. He has the posture, his own style and his points were clear and sharp. He never fails to highlight his important points with an emphasized tone and he projects his voice with confidence and certainty. His points were structured carefully in order for us to follow his presentation with better understanding and I can almost visualize the points clearly paragraphed. And he ends off his speech with humour. i think his strength lies in his ability to elaborate on his points with a very original perspective, thus helping us gain more insights into the relevant issue.

However, Gee Yang's presentation paled in comparation to Ming Kit's. Although both presented on the differences between the East and the West, Gee Yang was not able to capture the essence of his strong points and develop upon them which unfortunately, led to much confusion among the audience as we tried hard to consolidate his points in our minds. He cited examples without explaining what significance the examples hold, thus it was much difficulty synthesizing his presentation which explains the great contrast between his presentation and Ming kit's.

On the other hand, Alvin's presentation was clear too. His unwavering confidence won my admiration as he went on to state his stance clearly and explain his points with precision. It was amazing how much he can emphasize on a point or even a single word which he thinks, is important to his topic he's presenting on. However, i would say it's a bit of a waste that he rattled off like a machine gun with abrupt pauses at times. Although I believed he adopts this style to project himself as a confident speaker, but I think it would be the best if he can present at a speed where we can absorb what he's trying to say. Great speakers like Prime Ministor Lee Hsien Long or Ministor Mentor Lee Kuan Yew do not need to speak fast to let us even know that they are confident in their speech. Listeners often need to digest a speech fully to be able to appreciate the presentation or speech. Perhaps if Alvin could achieve this, he would be a great speaker as he already has the attributes of a good speaker.

Overall, the content of the speakers have not been disappointing as all should have done adequate amount of research at home to put on a good front but the most important point is how to convey the essence of the speech to the audience and how to 'sell' your points/insights to the audience. This is no doubt the reason to why presentation skills hold such a high percentage of marks. I guess it takes much practice to develop a style one can call his own and I believe it's never too late to start now. Thank you.