I misread this week’s blogging assignment, so you get two Emile blogs this week! Lucky you!
Okay, so my experiences with formal presentations are fairly minimal. I talk, nay, pontificate in front of large groups nearly every day, but those talks are extremely informal and are thus filled with all manner of profanity and colloquialisms. I’m surprisingly eloquent on these occasions, and I usually only stutter or falter when I’ve forgotten a word.
My issues come up when I start making mistakes. I can move on past a few little errors, but larger errors seem to snowball until my presentation risks derailment.
Now, I have discovered that I am actually a fairly talented actor; more specifically, I find dropping into and out of roles and personas incredibly easy, even though I find memorizing scripts and lines very challenging. I have found that I become less nervous if I adopt a more confident ‘persona’ before appearing before an audience. The challenge, therefore, lies in crafting a ‘role’ that is both confident and professional.
I’m also unaccustomed to using visual aids in a presentation. Because I would like to avoid reading points off of a screen, I’m building a PowerPoint with minimal text to go alongside my presentation. I hope that it isn’t too flashy or distracting.
I’m going to be practicing this sucker as much as I can until Wednesday’s presentation. I hope that I do well, and I hope that you all do well also.
