Jorge Guerra Blog #2: Reflection on the A.I. Presentations

Feedback Group 1,2 and 3 Junhao, Li

 

                Hello, my name is Junhao Li. I am here to talk about a presentation my fellow classmates and I gave last week. Last week my classmates and I discussed what was in our textbook from chapters 4 through 6 and were split up into three groups while each group being assigned a different chapter. From there we all divided the work we’d put in and later put together what would result into a great presentation together. We were tasked with finding visual for our slides, this helped us not over rely on what we wrote but also give examples and be more neutral with our audience. Watching everyone give their speech was also inspiring to view as we saw how everyone put their research together and demonstrated their work through what they spoke. I want to first state I feel we all did amazing as a class, and ahead I will be talking about what I learned or observed from each group presentation.

                Group number 1 had chapters 1 to 4. I can see that by exploring the intricacies of creating a presentation, through this speech, we can divide people into two categories: people who do not mind public speaking and people who do. I totally understand the fear people have of public speaking, and frankly, I have the same problem, and it’s something I’m trying to overcome. In group number 1, it also shows us a few ways to reduce our fear of presenting. I think the two most important points are: Speakers who act confidently can influence their audience and take more practice; as mentioned in the speech, "the more you practice, the higher the chance you have of succeeding at it." Regarding the topic of the speech, we should focus on choosing important issues to focus on. The inspiration obtained from the speech is that we can focus on currently hot topics, such as the current impact of Japan's sewage discharge into the sea on the ocean. These topics should be events that can bring life changes to the audience. Only by focusing on details, following the guidelines, and providing valuable information to the audience can we be called effective speakers. There are three things we need to avoid in our presentation: first, we are not supposed to choose the topic unless we have some new information; second, we need to respect our audience and avoid mentioning topics that should not be mentioned; and the last one is plagiarism, which is a serious legal issue.

                Next, I will be going on to group number 2, which happens to be my group as well. Group number 2 covers chapters 5–9, in my group presentation, the focus was on the selection and arrangement of content. Regarding the source of content, it is diverse; sometimes, a speaker can draw on personal experience to explain the argument or perspective more briefly. However, as speakers, we need to look for different evidence to support the arguments we make. Or the library resources are a good choice; the speaker needs to use the library holding database to index the books, journals, periodicals, and resources from another website. Basically, the databases are a great way for speakers to find and organize all the material they need to reference in their speeches. In the speech, the supporting material is what we use to back up the claims we make. We make this material in many ways, such as examples, narratives, surveys, testimony, and numbers and statistics. Whenever the speakers explain or argue something, supportive material is used for the most part to exhibit proof and qualifications. Language is a beautiful art; it helps humans communicate and spread information in speech. Language is a tool to help speakers organize ideas; however, it is worth noting that I do not think listeners are rational most of the time; therefore, the speakers should take care to use language correctly because the audiences are more likely to remember insulting words than congratulatory words. In short, by attending the presentation of Group 2, I understood that preparing a presentation is not easy; the speaker needs to find the sources, put the different sources together, and organize them to make sense of them. I also learned that selecting and arranging is not only an important skill in a presentation but also in our lives.

                In group number 3, it’s from chapters 10 to 13, the presentation was focused on tips to present information, to show us how to optimize audience understanding, better persuade the audience, speaker skills, and how to present in a group. According to the presentation, there are five principles of learning. The first is building on the known; the speaker can add to what the audience already knows and ask yourself, "What might my audience already know about this topic?" The second one is using humor and wit; this is the way to help the audience remember the important information from the speech. The third one is using sensory aids to present information in diverse ways, such as charts and graphs, to make complex topics clearer. The fourth is organized to optimize learning; it helps the audience remember information placed first and last. The last one is rewarding our listeners. Because audiences are more likely to respond enthusiastically to information that benefits them, I think the five ethical principles of informative speaking are also important to the speakers, because as a speaker, we need to ensure the quality of the information, the rigor of the quality, and ensure that the wrong information is not conveyed to the audience, and the information that we provide must be in the interests of the audience. The group presentation is also one of the important parts of speech. There are three types of group presentations: symposia, panels, and debates. In my opinion, symposia is the most important one. Symposia is a type of group presentation. The advantage is that all members of the group subdivide a large topic, and each group member is responsible for a different subdivided topic. To some extent, it improves the specificity and authenticity of the information; therefore, the individual presentations can be better coordinated. In short, I learned about the different learning principles, ethics, and how to present in different kinds of situations.