My Thoughts on Group Presentations on Chapters 3, 9, and 10.

Justin Rocha                      

SPC 1017                             

Professor Sherii Sinkoff     

✦ My Thoughts on Each Group Presentation ✦

            As a group leader, I had the opportunity to see how each group organized themselves and their presentations. Although some groups appeared to be well-organized from the beginning, others faced a few challenges along the way. Yet, all groups worked hard and produced some fantastic presentations on chapters three, nine, and ten. I do have some ideas for improvements on the presentations that could allow these presentations to deliver their message more effectively. Thanks to these presentations, I learned about the significance of intercultural and group communication in my daily life.

While the presentations I saw did a great job of explaining their chapter, there are some improvements that can be made. Specifically, most slides were too full of text. Some slides from the presentations of each group had excessively lengthy paragraphs that the speakers would read from. This problem makes the presentation less engaging and monotonous. This also does not clearly state the main ideas of the slide. One way this problem could be solved is by listing bullet points and shortening these paragraphs into one to two sentences. If necessary, they could elaborate on these statements to ensure the concept is thoroughly explained. By simplifying these paragraphs, it allows the audience to remember the main idea of the slide more easily. For example, take a look at this slide.

Group 2's slide

            The graphic is a great idea. It is eye-catching and helps me understand the different types of virtual communication. However, there needs to be much less text. Having an essay on the presentation immediately turns me off because I do not want to read an essay. The point of a presentation is to convey information to an audience from the speaker. If you typed all this text into the presentation, you might as well have given everyone a report instead of a presentation. The speaker should have condensed these bullets into shorter statements and then elaborated on those statements. Here is how the speaker could have done that:

            Above, I redid the slide and simplified it into shorter statements. With each bullet point, I can elaborate on them by providing examples and explanations. This newer slide is easier to understand than the previous slide. For my conclusion slides, that is exactly what I did. I made the bullet points and had my notes on the side, which had longer sentences that elaborated on those bullet points.

Another area that needs improvement is the tone. I noticed several speakers, including myself, had very monotonous and boring voices. Whenever I hear my own voice, I can see I sound somewhat repetitive, which is not suitable for public speaking because it bores the audience. I would have liked to sound more enthusiastic for my part of the presentation. Next time I could implement a more enthusiastic voice to make sure the presentation stays friendly.

One presentation I enjoyed the most was Group 2’s presentation. In my opinion, their presentation looked the best, with valuable graphics and pretty colors. The topic Group 2 had was chapter 9, which was interesting to me. Personally, I find it fascinating that there are seven types of groups that we all form in our lives. These groups form at work, in neighborhoods, with friends, and with families. It is fascinating how each group can differentiate from one another for the sole reason of completing its purpose. Each group has a purpose. Family groups are meant to generate a sense of home, group identity, history, and future. In other words, to build each other up for the future. On the other hand, a work group does not focus on each other but instead on completing an objective in return for compensation. However, support groups can be formed from work groups, where members genuinely care about each other for an unselfish reason. Not only did I enjoy Group 2’s presentation topic, but I believe they organized themselves the best. Unlike Groups 1 and 3, Group 2 took time out of class to set up a meeting to discuss their presentation. They met to ensure everyone understood what needed to be done and that the presentation was ready. Group 2 was the most orderly out of the three groups.

In conclusion, the presentations have to improve in two areas: Conciseness and Tone. Many presentations were filled with too much text, which can hamper the ability to effectively present their information to their audience. Many speakers, including myself, had an unenthusiastic voice, which can bore and turn off the audience. My favorite presentation was Group 2’s, as I enjoyed their topic and appreciated how they organized themselves effectively to make an effective presentation.

I am very excited to see the following presentations and how everyone has reflected upon and improved their presentation skills.

- Justin Rocha