Group Presentation Blog

   Summary on Group Presentations

by Elizabeth Bracho

      Our class was divided into groups to discuss and create presentations on chapters of the 2013 edition of iSpeak. In this blog I will be doing an overview and summarizing the contents of each groups presentation. 😸

Group 1 Presentation: The Basics of Presentations How to Properly Give a Presentation

             Group 1 covered chapters 1-4 of the textbook. Their presentation discussed many important topics such as how to prepare for your presentation, how to select your topic, and how to analyze your audience. These factors are crucial to create a structured and well-thought-out speech. Alexandra was the first presenter. She explained that there were nine parts in chapter 1 but she decided to discuss the first three. The first part (Speaking excites) talked about how there are two types of people when it comes to public speaking. Those who love it and those who hate it. I would consider myself the type she mentioned dying of fright, that is why I was excited to listen to all the tips in this presentation. I liked that she put reasons why learning about public speaking is important. It's not just necessary to pass a class, but an important life skill. Public speaking allows us to solve problems and aid us in decision making. The second presenter was Alejandro Perez who discussed the 7 components of the communication process. The components included source, receiver, message, channel, feedback, situation, and noise. He also explained why public speaking was a unique form of communication. Public speaking is a brief and concise way to get a message out to an audience. Another important message given on this part of the presentation was what a presenter should talk about. Vital topics, current events, and messages that could improve the audience were all good choices. Amalimar Ferreria added another important point which was what we should avoid in our presentations. This included exhausting topics and topics that risk insulting your audience. It's important to connect with your audience while giving a speech, so keeping them interested and avoiding problematic topics is crucial. Amanda Morales gave us tips on how we should plan our presentations. I found this information useful because my presentation had a lot to do with organization and planning. Her slides were very organized and she explained tips 1-10 confidently and clearly. The next presenter was Andres Mercado. He discussed the common types of presentations. He talked about how to present a classmate as well as demonstration speeches. My favorite point he made was to go over other people's speeches to perfect your own. Ashley Montero was very informed of her chapter. I appreciated hearing about 5 methods to search topics. One of the main steps in creating your presentation is searching topics, so I will be using these tips in the future. The first thing I noticed about Bruno Villacrez's slides was how organized they were. I liked how he arranged his topics, it made it easy for me to follow along with his presentation. Speech appropriateness is crucial in delivering a speech. Next was Camille Chatellenez who presented on the purposes of speech. She explained how there are two purposes of a speech, informative or persuasive. A speaker needs to decide which road they want to take with their speech to connect with their audience. Daimary Selles taught us about audience analysis. Which is when you gather and analyze information about the audience. She explained the different methods used to analyze the audience. It's important to take steps to connect with your audience so I appreciated learning about this topic. Daniel Zayas shared the key factors to analyze a situation. He elaborated on each point for his audience to clearly understand his topic. The point I found most interesting was how the environment you are in while presenting plays its role in how you connect with your audience. The last presenter was Daniel Cruz who talked about the final sections of chapter 4. He did a good job discussing all the important topics in this chapter. My favorite point was how audiences expect different levels of truthfulness in different situations. This group did an amazing job. Everyone sounded well informed and confident, and I learned a lot from listening.

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Group 2 Selecting and Arranging Content:

                  Group 2 was the presentation I collaborated in. Firstly I would like to thank and acknowledge my group for the amazing job we did. Doing a group project completely online was challenging but in the end, we all came together and created a great presentation. Our first presenter was Jennie Rodriguez. I liked Jennie's slide layout as well as the photos she selected. She gave a thorough explanation of the benefits of research and finding sources of information. Research plays a vital role in any speech so hearing her points were very helpful. She also shared reliable and unreliable sources of information that could help us all in future presentations. Following were Jonathan Acosta's slides. He discussed conducting interviews. Jonathan explained the important factors of conducting an interview. His second slide was organized and pleasing to the eye. Evaluating sources is vital when creating a presentation, the questions he provided to ask yourself when gathering information are very useful. What I found most interesting in his presentation was the importance of word choice. Word choice is crucial to create good speech, as words can be interpreted in different ways. I was the next presenter, I appreciate being able to look back at the recordings and hear myself. I can differentiate what I did well and what I can improve on. I think I did a good job gathering my material and explaining my points. Next time I will try to not rush through my presentation and take my time presenting. Enrique followed discussing what holds your presentation together. He has important topics to discuss because being able to transition from point to point in your speech, creates the flow that makes your speech easy to understand. He did a great job explaining how to conclude your speech through changes in your tone, summarizing what you said, and ending your speech on a transition. Idilia Serrano presented on delivering speeches. She explained that a great speech delivery does not just rely on vocal delivery, but things such as gestures and facial expressions play a vital role in a great speech. My favorite point she made was that your speech should come across as a conversation with your audience. This is a great tip because that way spoken to instead of lectured. Emmanuel taught us how to use our voice effectively. He organized all his topics into organized bullet points that made it easy to follow along with. A point I will use in my future presentations and speeches is is to change my pitch for expression. I believe changing your pitch is a great way to keep your audience interested. Jeffrey Ramos followed, I was most intrigued by the importance of what you wear. How you look can boost your credibility and confidence while presenting. I liked his tip about wearing something that matches your presentation, it's a good way to captivate your audience. Imayaray Pino talked about the importance of choosing your words. Everyone uses words to express themselves, so it's important to choose them wisely especially in their speech. Imayaray elaborated well on how language is powerful and used good examples. Next was Grace Rocafort who taught us how to avoid exaggeration and oversimplification. She explained that it is fine to use vivid and concrete language, but it's not okay to over exaggerate. It's important to find the right balance. Gavin Garcia spoke on the importance of sensory aids. Bullet points, charts, and pictures all help in making a great presentation. He had good pictures and explained everything clearly. Lastly, Ivan Ramirez presented how we can use Visual and sensory aids. Visual aids should be easy to understand without being overly simplified, and you should think about your audience before picking your visual aids. His presentation was easy to follow and he had organized bullet points. Overall, I believe our group did great.          

      

Group 3 Types of Presentations:

                  Lisa Caballero was the first to present. She discussed what principles should guide informative presentations. I could easily tell that Lisa was well informed and prepared for her presentation. She guided the listeners from topic to topic seamlessly. I especially liked her using her maid of honor speech as an example in her presentation. It was a great example for relating the presenter to the topic. She had great visual aids and explained everything perfectly. Next was Joshua, who presented the five learning principles that relate to informative presentations. Joshua's slides were laid out well, and he spoke confidently and clearly. I especially liked how he provided good and bad examples. Lucas Bottero shared important skills for informative speaking. He provided good examples for each of his points. If you share a piece of information you feel your audience might not be informed on, it's important to take time to define what you're speaking on. He also emphasized the importance to be sure of the quality of your sources. Next was Liza Alonso. She discussed what makes persuasive presentations unique. She explained that persuasive presentations are designed to influence others. Due to this fact, they require more effort. Following was Karen Valdez, who spoke on how critical thinking and reasoning can improve your message. She was nervous in the beginning, but quickly got over it and presented a great message. I thought adding pictures that explained inductive and deductive reasoning was a great way to get her point across. Tommy Bernado spoke on the unique characteristics of special occasion presentations. This part of the presentation showed how important speeches can be. Speeches aren't just for award winners. Speeches can be given at weddings, funerals, and other ceremonial rituals. Next was Michael Caballero who shared how you should prepare for special occasion speeches. He discussed how to captivate the audience as well as the importance of a thesis statement. This group as a whole did a great job. Everyone had organized slides and chose pictures that helped me understand all their points.