Eye Got This

Eye contact, yeah it can be pretty awkward. Most occasions staring at people is not only uncomfortable for them, it just makes things weird for you. There are so many scenarios when eye contact is just not okay. Looking at someone in the bathroom in the next urinal over, keeping your eyes open while kissing someone, or perhaps just having a conversation with someone who doesn’t seem to remember how to blink! However, the one time where eye contact is absolutely necessary, is the time most of us (myself in particular) don’t do it! During my presentation I undoubtedly improved on making eye contact, but there were still inconsistencies. At one point I peered backand forth from my audience to my slide show about six times back to back, giving off the impression of nervousness. I had absolutely no words on my slide show that I could possibly be looking at, so constantly glancing at it just gave off the idea that I was uncomfortable with the eye contact. However, I’m still happy that I improved and didn’t need any notes to get me through the presentation.

I think “How to Give a Killer Presentation” had the most profound effect on my preparation for my presentation. I had never given a presentation, speech, or even a talk for that matter without notes, and the idea of doing that was very scary to me at first. Then I calmed down and tried to remember all the tips that I’d been learning in class for months. The thing that stood out to me the most and what I felt I could excel at was telling a story with my presentation. I like stories, everyone likes stories. Telling them can be so easy especially when I’m personally connected to or involved in them. This tip not only led me to be able to talk through my presentation as a journey without any notes, it also allowed for a much more engaging presentation overall. I found this tip extremely helpful, because it made me so much more comfortable and confident with the material, which then affected all of my presentation skills in a positive way. I was able to utilize a conversational tone and talk through the important content I wanted to address.

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