Thinking Through Production

The situation I wish that had turned out differently would definitely have to be my presentation that went with my research paper about the landings at Normandy in my AP US History class. The presentation can be described as a complete disaster. I thought, like other students, I'd be able to go up there and give a nice presentation without any note cards or anything. Once up there, all my knowledge seemed to leave my head and I basically got stage fright and couldn't get a complete sentence out.

This may seem like it's just an issue with public speaking, but if I followed the steps shown in the textbook, I might have had more confidence since I'd be more prepared.

1) Why am I doing this presentation?
Well, this one was easy and obvious. I was giving a presentation to the class to explain the landings at Normandy with all the detail and possibly unknown facts that I uncovered with my research. I had already done this since it's so simple.

2)What will the audience expect based on who they are?
The audience would be my class and my teacher. Obviously they won't expect me to be a scholar on the topic, but a still a good amount of knowledge. I had this knowledge (just check my paper!), I just lacked the skill to communicate it very well. Perhaps if I dealt with a smaller group, I may have been able to meet the expectations, but that's just a matter of being nervous.

3)How will time and place affect the outcome of the presentation?
This is one where I had no say in it; I gave my speech during class. Moving on to the next step.

4)What are the strategies that will be used to get what I want out of this presentation?
The most obvious one is the ability to speak in front of a large group. Other than that, I had to impress the teacher to get what I want; a good grade. In order to do that, I had not only display that I had done research and know what I'm talking about, but also have good presentation skills, such as not starring at the wall, my paper, or the teacher. Even though my presentation went horrible, I did at least (sort of) address it to the audience, not my paper or teacher. Though not perfect, I did what I could given my current state of freaking out and trying to remain calm at the same time. Another strategy, which I now regret, it not having a visual presentation or perhaps note cards to assist me to keep me on track and divert a few of the eyes off me so I would stop panicking.

5)What does the audience expect about the medium being used for the presentation and is it the best choice?
I had an oral presentation, and that was what we were all expected to give, but it was not the best choice. I should've backed it up with visual as well. I had realized this part way through my presentation when I was explaining the planning involved with the Normandy invasion. Luckily for me, it was a history class with plenty of maps. But still, I should've come in with a powerpoint instead of grabbing at things in the classroom at the last second.

6)What order of information will produce the best outcome?
I don't recall my order, especially since I jumped around a lot since I was nervous. My intended order was that of my research paper. I learned that if I'm not 100% confident giving a presentation, I should use note cards to make sure I stay on track with how I want to present my information.

7)Practice presenting it with people from (or similar to) your target audience.
In this case, I could've practiced with friends, since I had some in my class. Even if it was as simple as talking about it at lunch, that would've made a big difference. Now of course, being high school students who disliked school (even though we were good at it), we would've shown no interest in gathering together and practicing our presentations and giving each other feedback. Now that we're in college, and we're PAYING to go, we'll be much more willing to spend a little extra time if it'll help improve our grades.

When will this end?

I thought I was done with blogging last semester! Looks like we'll have to go another round... And since Aaron isn't in this class, these blogs will be boring. I'll try to add some fun stuff myself in hopes of making it feel like last semester.