Blog #2

We both looked comfortable and did a good job at body language and eye contact.  I have tried to work on ‘scanning’ the room in the past and can tell the difference in my application depending on how nervous I am.  The transition from Carla to me was good, but my transition back to her could have been more logical.  I also think some media (a 30 second clip of some kind) would have been a nice addition to the presentation.  This might have drawn in listeners and possibly added a little humor with the right clip.

It’s nice to have so few people in our class to get more ‘air time’ presenting and more time to focus on our own presentation vices.  For example, I have trouble with pause, which is apparent in the speed at which I present and the amount of fillers I use.  I need to work on using pause to engage listeners.  It will allow the audience to digest what I’m saying and allow me to collect my thoughts and ensure I’m on the right track.  I am working on speaking slower, which is apparent in this video.  However, when I speak slower, I also have a tendency to lose my emotion or energy for the particular topic.

There were also a few items that I had intended to speak about in the presentation but I forgot and never looked at my note cards to trigger the thoughts.  I believe Carla mentioned this as something she needs to work on as well.  My hand gestures are also a nuisance.  I use them too often and for no reason; they are a distraction.  Lastly, we both could have moved around a little more to engage the audience but we both recognized the constraint of the camera for this strategy.

Overall, I think that Carla and I gave a solid presentation.  The structure of the presentation flowed nicely; we had a clear introduction, section breakdown and conclusion/wrap up.  This made it easy to follow by repeating the main points multiple times in different ways.  It is advantageous that both of us have had experience with meaning maker leaders.  We were able to draw from our own experiences and relate them to the book’s definitions and anecdotes.  I believe the examples we used and the questions we asked to the audience were relevant and thought provoking.