Oral:
In Assignment 4, my presentation came with a different flavor. Being from another country with English as a second language, I always wanted to prove to myself that my English is as good as a native speaker by getting their approval as an English speaker. Having to work my way through three assignments for a chance was a bit of a pain, but it was a bittersweet end to my in-class assignments. I thought my presentation was hindered mostly by my miniscule artistic talent. My presenting techniques vary since I got most of them from my brother (whom I always seek to outdo) and the rest was from practice and simply watching people present. Another instance of my presentation I tried to work on was my humor. I tried to make my presentation funny to prolong and refresh the attention span of classmates who probably felt slightly punished by having to stay in class to watch other people present in subjects that have little to no appeal.
Oral presentation is very restrictive if interpreted literally, so I like to think of it as all the actions you do during the presentation. This includes hand movements, gestures, general body language and choice of styles from casual to formal. I like to say I think I did a good job on most of these, and blame myself for not trying to be funnier. It comes naturally to me to be funny, but it feels forced during formal circumstances. I try to separate this presentation from my usual communication because it is a premeditated effort towards a specific goal, whereas casual conversation with a friends might lead towards anything from where to go for lunch to why religion is an integral part of us as a species. To try and determine if I am more casual than formal or vice versa would be difficult since there is a right time and place to be either of these, so it depends on the situations I am in.
Visual:
The presentation in Assignment 4 was about the choices we would make about a graphic for whichever organization we chose to represent in the class. Being the unskilled artist that I am, my approach was as calculated as possible. Centralize attention, keep information simple, make it symmetrical, etc. This is artistically boring, but the math behind it is impeccable, which is why I like it. Simple white over black background, objects of interest stand out at the center of the poster. I am proud of this poster not because it is good or that it will (hopefully) bring people to the intended organization if actually put into good use, but because it reflects my approach to these things. I am proud of it!
Another factor that made me make these choices was to appeal to the few serious people and turn away the many that are not interested. This approach goes against all marketing and advertisement knowledge, and that makes me like it even more. Stepping out of the norm to filter out the unwilling and find only those who really hope to help the organization. Going against text books could also turn a few heads, and the goal is not to plant an idea, but to inspire action.
The poster I made could have been better. Not having the foresight to make it more presentation friendly was a mistake. It is also very bleak now that I look back at it. I think making a video would’ve been more helpful in achieving the goals I set out to accomplish. I am still very happy I made this poster because it was a trip outside my comfort zone and into an area I never thought I’d do well in.
Electronic:
I never liked using email. Not because it was too impersonal or because I am against technology. It was because I had to log in to access it only to find tens of automated emails from website automations and the like. After coming to Iowa State and getting my own email address from this glorious institute, I like it! Now, emails have names behind them. It doesn’t feel like the 1990s when someone asks for my email anymore, and I am not stuck with an email address that I made when I was twelve.
Aside from using my Iowa State ID to contact people and be contacted by people who are academically relevant, I also use it to access things like moodle for my English classes and labarchives for my lab classes. Seeing my lab partners emailing me about their sets of data is a defining part of being a student with a science major. It is also reassuring to see when they made the same mistakes.
When it comes to emails in general, I only send them out of necessity. This is typically bad in a college setting since I sometimes need more explanation on how things work since this is only my first semester.