Presentations Day 1

Today, five people presented their book reviews so I was able to learn from their mistakes and their good points. First off, a new design issue I heard for the first time ever was the placement of the photos. Mr.Paterson mentioned that there should be the same amount of space in between where the slide ends and the photo’s vertical line, and between where the slide ends and the photo’s horizontal line. Did that make sense? Although this is a small detail, I felt that it was something I should get used to because in the real world, this can affect your presentation badly. Secondly, I noticed that most people were not moving around on the stage much. For example, Mr.Paterson pointed out that some people were sticking to the laptop / the desk with the laptop on it, which made them look not so confident in their presentations. I will try to keep in mind to use the stage space effectively and move around in a smooth, natural manner. Another mistake that was mentioned, was the sleeves. Unless you roll them up, it can look like you are closing off the audience, so I really felt that these details can make a big difference. Lastly, I saw some great examples of a unified slideshow, like Marino’s because it maintained the same theme throughout the entire presentation. Some others, were not so it made me think back to my slideshow and think about what I could do to make it less scattered. Now that I have seen presenters from an outsider’s point of view, I hope to take what I learned to good use and improve my performance.
Also, I wanted to mention that during class today, I wasn’t the best listener as an audience. In real life, you are supposed to / expected to have questions after presentations, but I didn’t raise my hands after them all. It’s important that as the audience, you listen in to what they’re saying and make sure to prepare comments for them.