After going through the video of my group’s presentation, I could not help but to compare it to my previous week’s oral presentation for a module called JS2230: Itadakimasu – Food in Japan. Despite how often we are reminded that practice makes perfect, I realised that internalisation is equally, if not more important, as well.
In the JS2230 module, I was in-charge of translating food-related segments of a Japanese housewife magazine called Suteki na Okusan into English.
I unconsciously internalised the content of the magazine very well not only through translation, but also through clarification and explanation during face-to-face liaison with other groupmates. During the presentation, not only did I not fumble at all when presenting within the confines of the 15-member tutorial, but more importantly, my ideas flowed nicely and fluently as I proceed from slides to slides. In the end, our presentation was very well received by the tutor and classmates alike on top of the A-grade that we have achieved for our 3000-word research paper.
To be honest, not only were my 12 slides full of magazine scans only up two days before the presentation, I also did not rehearse nor prepared any script at all save for memorising keywords for the Food Presentation part I was in-charge of.
For our ES2007S presentation, despite having rehearsals in the classroom next door with a structured preparation in speaking as well a paying attention to pitching and emphasis, I was still a little shaky and fumbled quite a bit. The rehearsals and slide-by-slide preparation certainly did improve our presentation significantly. However, have I internalised the content better, I could have delivered a smoother presentation.
Although I am a strong believer in genchi genbutsu indoctrinated in the Toyota Production System, this exciting learning experience in my last semester in NUS redefined my understanding in internalisation and persuasive speaking in the genba. I have finally realised a hidden take-away point between these two presentations: flexibility in the face of adversity. I really appreciate this revelation that will be very useful in tackling future challenges, and hope that you will also benefit from it.
This is a really excellent reflection on your OP, Wellens. I like the way you compare the presentation in our course to the one in your other class. Informative and interesting! I only wish you had broader readership. I suppose that has something to do with when you posted it.
ReplyDeleteI have read but will comment on your course reflection later, after others have comments.