Vickiana Nazario Reflection #1

                                1st Group Project of Summer Reflection

My initial sentiment towards this project was definitely nervous. Of course, to contribute to the nerves, our first few slides of the presentation were not in order, and we were also having difficulty uploading the presentation. After we got it all smoothed over on the technical side, Zainab kindly volunteered to share her screen, and also change the slides during the presentation, according to whoever needed to speak, or what topic needed to be shared. Her immediate volunteering, and willingness to help showcases one of the factors that I believe made our group successful in the end, the extensive support and communication that we gave to and received from each other. This temporary relief however, was then somewhat removed when I found out that we would be the first group presenting. I was admittedly less prepared to go at that time, as I typically prepare the morning of and assumed since we were in group 3, we would be the last group to present. However, this was easily overcome by relaxing, and just jotting down the key points and supporting details of those points that I wanted to bring up while speaking and giving the presentation. 

Since I had obviously been part of the cultivation and creation of this presentation, and therefore the topics and ideas, I realized that preparation was not all that hard, and my nerves were just making me anxious. My group is extremely supportive, and before and during the presentation we all had a chat that we were encouraging and supporting each other on. Also, watching the other members of my group present first, eased my nervousness, and gave me an expectation for my own presentation. All oworf the other members of my group were phenomenal presenters, and definitely set a high standard for the following presentations, providing amazing insight, and elaboration on their ideas. By the time it was my turn, I felt more relaxed and ready to contribute. Also, Tailynn, our group leader, provided excellent advice and helped us navigate the issues we ran into. By the time it was my turn, I felt a whole lot better about presenting, and felt very confident about how the group and I would perform.

In the end, I was glad that my group presented first, and that we had taken the initiative to be the first group to present in the class. By the end, I had learned how to let go, and realized that we were all equally as nervous and anxious about presenting, and so was everyone else that was watching our group. Also, another important note that helped us out a lot, and that I believe helped make our presentation so impactful, and the delivery so smooth and succinct, was the level of communication amongst our group members before the presentation. We all asked questions, and asked each other for advice on our slides and topics, to make sure we were all on the same page and understood each other and every individual point of view perfectly. In the end, the class seemed to enjoy the presentation, and responded very well. Confidence is simply your brain's assessment of the likelihood of you completing a certain task successfully. Confidence is therefore built by giving your brain evidence that you can succeed and excel in a particular endeavor. For this reason, I believe I made major strides in confidence by successfully completing, and presenting this project, and I therefore express gratitude for this opportunity to push myself, and grow my confidence, and for the blessing in disguise of presenting first, which definitely majorly improved my confidence and lowered my anxiety in presenting as well.

While I learned a lot from my own experience as a presenter, I also learned a lot from as an audience member, watching the other groups, and seeing how they applied communications principles from a different perspective, with no emotional involvement to my own work or my own grade, just merely observation. This perspective is entirely different than the way one would conduct analysis on their own work while coming up with or creating it, and also when viewing it or reviewing it after it happened.

 Group 2, to begin, used extremely interesting examples, as well as very visually and aesthetically appealing slides in their presentation. While this could just be anecdotal, I was extremely engaged and my attention was well retained by their presentation, and I’m sure others in the class may have shared that experience as well. They had a unique presentation style, where they would alternate between speakers, which definitely helped and facilitated audience engagement, and opened my eyes to new possibilities I could potentially deploy in the act of group presentation in the future. I also happened to find Group 2's topic particularly engaging as it related to concepts I had learned in my sociology class, such as group dynamics and interactions. Their presentation reinforced my understanding and made the content more relatable to me personally.

Group 1, much like our group before the presentation, faced their own set of challenges. Some members were absent, leading to a bit of disorganization. However, they showed redundancy amongst the members of the group under pressure, and I admire how they were able to adapt on the spot and continue the presentation. Regina, in particular, stood out for her hard work, and she handled both the introduction and conclusion for the group. Their topic on how anxiety affects behavior was extremely fascinating, as I felt I may have been under the influence of such circumstances earlier that same day, and I found the information in the presentation to be insightful and well applicable to giving presentations, or just any form of communication.

This was my first experience working in a group setting this semester, and I must say with delight that all of the results from this experience are positive. I believe personally I developed positive reinforcement from this experience that will assist me in the future not only in this class, but in my career and the rest of my life when I am needed to give presentations and ideate them within the context of a group or partnership. This experience has sharpened my presentation skills, my teamwork skills, and dampened my nervousness surrounding presentations. All in all, an amazing academic experience, that I am incredibly grateful for.