Post 5: Reflections on OP2

If I were to compare the 2 presentations, I would say that I have improved quite by quite a bit. First off, I'll list the points that I felt I had to improve on in the last OP.

• Referring less to the screen

• Coordinating hand movements

• Eye-contact with the audience

After these 2 presentations, I believe referring to the screen is unavoidable. I personally think it helps to show the audience where to focus and helps emphasize the points I was making.


I also reduced my unnecessary hand movements. During this presentation, I made lesser large movements and instead used smaller movements to help emphasize points that I made. This made it less distracting for the audience and they can focus on the information I was telling instead.


I felt that I was able to talk in a confident manner for most of the presentation. However, there was one major point where I had lost track of what I was saying and fell silent for a moment. This gave off an unprofessional image, since it portrays that I was unsure about the topic being presented. While I did create notes to help, I could have referred to my notes more often to prevent this situation from occurring again.

I also noticed that while I was presenting, several members of the audience seemed uninterested. After reviewing the slides, it was most likely due to the multiple slides filled with text. In the future, it would be better if pictures were inserted between slides to help break up the monotony and attract people's attention. Of course, the pictures would have to be relevant to the topic that is being presented.


Keeping these points in mind, I'll have to strive to make sure my future presentations are better. =)

Post 4.1: CG1102 Meeting Video - All about me!

Note: In the x.1 posts, I'll be reviewing the previous post and comments while also touching on points I might have missed.

As mention in the original post, I have pointed out several points regarding my body language. This time I will touch on my role in the team.

Looking at the video, I seem to be playing the role of supporter. Most of the time, I came up with the methods to implement the functions instead of coming up with the actual idea for the functions themselves. I would have to be more active in providing ideas in future meetings.

I also realised that I ask questions quite often to help clarify my doubts or to bring up points that I felt were missed. While this is a good habit, since I make sure that I do understand what direction we are going with in the project, some people might be irritated by this since they would have to keep repeating or explaining themselves.

A simple checklist for my personal actions during meetings:

• Keep watch of my facial expressions
• Control how I place my hands
• Be more active in providing solutions, not steps for the solutions
• Keep asking questions - Try to act as the "what-if" guy in the team

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'll try and put into practice the suggestions made.

While I did read through the lab, I could actually wrote out a pseudo-code/actual code before the lab so I had something to refer to and suggest for future meetings. Also, we would have to adjust our sitting plans in the future. As Ganesh suggested, allowing everyone to view the screen would allow greater participation for all members.