Presentation Reflection

Presenting has always been a difficult undertaking for me because I consider myself an articulate person when I am talking to a colleague one on one but when all eyes are on me I seem to freeze up. I noticed one of my main issues in presenting is completely owning my design and feeling confident in my ability to articulate my thoughts. I have trouble owning my design partly because I am a very self-conscious person and naturally criticize my design from every angle in order to best compete with fellow colleagues. I feel the only way to improve is to practice a script repetitively until all other negative thoughts about my process are shut out and I can prioritize on the design elements that are strong. On the other hand, I feel my board layout and perspectives were on point and visually communicated the space even though I lacked in verbal communication. If there is anything I learned about this presentation it is that I should always critique myself up until the final product is due and then disengage myself from any more improvements. At this point, I need to trust that I made the right decisions and own every element of my design.

As I watched other students present, I noticed that many of the boards were disorganized and didn’t relate to each other. For example, some people had three boards placed at odd angles, some had the plan and elevations compleletly isolated from their perspectives, and others left too much blanks space. I learned that the only thing worse than lack of verbal communication was lack of board organization. However, I also learned who the best verbal communicators are and who to practice with next time a presentation is due. I think Anna deserves to be commended on her ability to present her client, design, and then reiterate the major principles of her design while also maintaining eye contact with her audience, and I will defiantly look to her as a role model. In the end, I realize I have confidence in my design but I need to maintain that confidence when all eyes are on me.