Presentation reflection

16 November 2015, the day our group had to give an oral presentation to the rest of the class. Even though we had the longest time to prepare and were presenting to a group of familiar faces, it was still terrifying as I was never very comfortable being the centre of everyone’s attention. On top of that, the videos of professional presenters shown in class we very intimidating and knowing that we were expected to perform at a similar level was terrifying.

Despite the repeated self-practice sessions I had in my room with me talking to myself in the mirror, I still had stage freight on the day of the presentation. I did manage to calm myself down a little by reminding myself that I was presenting to people that had been in the same situation I was in. During the presentation, I did notice that whenever I felt really nervous and forgot my lines, I would stare at the ceiling and lose eye contact with the audience. Something we have been constantly reminded not to do. I also forgot to use one of the slides which left me a little confused when I turned around to check which part of the presentation I was at. I felt so much relief when I saw the chart on the final slide. Because that meant that the end of the presentation was near. I felt my voice was loud enough to reach the audience at the back but I was not aware of where I was standing during the presentation as well as what kind of gestures I used during the presentation.

I was looking forward to constructive criticism during the feedback session as it would give me an idea on how to improve for my next presentation. But the class seemed really hesitant to give criticism that day.

Overall I felt that we managed to sell our idea fairly well and there will always be room for improvement. I believe presentations will be an inevitable and important part of our lives in the future, be it informal or formal. I will put in more effort to maintain eye contact and engage the audience in my next presentation as well as changing my mind set to calm myself down and be more confident.

The source of my inspiration

To the man that I have always looked up to, portrayed as the strong, cheerful and wise, the man that could fix almost anything and solve any of my primary school math problems. My hero, my father.

He is the most selfless man I know. Always putting our needs before his. When I was young, I often see Dad arriving home from work after 9pm. I foolishly thought that was the normal working hours of an adult, working from 8am till 8pm every day. However, the fact was that he was constantly taking part time courses to improve himself to get a promotion to better support the family. Despite his busy schedule, he would always find time to spend with the family on weekends. He was never fond of visiting restaurants because of how taxing it would be on his wallet, but would still make an effort to expose us to such luxury once in a while. Till today, he would still order the cheapest item on the menu while letting us order whatever we craved.

When I was young, I would have fevers that would last several days fairly often. During those times, he would sacrifice sleep just to take care of me even after an exhausting day at work and knowing he had to wake up early for work again the next day. He would even take leave just to stay home to nurse me back to health.

He was also the one to instil discipline, teach respect as well as how to have fun. He would bring us on camping trips at East Coast Park during the weekends where he would teach us how to build a tent, ride a bike, as well as starting a fire for the barbeque. Being an engineer, mathematics was one of his stronger subjects and he was always eager to share his mathematical knowledge. However, I was always hesitant to ask for his help as he would spend a lot of time making sure I really understood the topic, when what I really wanted was to finish up my homework and play.

Growing up, I have always thought of nagging as one of my father’s hobbies. He could nag non-stop and leave me wondering how he never runs out of things to say. I do know he means well and that he only nags at me because he cares and genuinely wants me to change for the better. Which leaves me feeling guilty after throwing my temper at him. Through his countless nagging session, I have grown and learnt so much.

Being the troublesome boy in my primary school, I patronised the discipline master’s office fairly often. My father would receive frequent calls from the discipline master, which he would respond on the phone, “Oh, it’s you again, what did he do this time?” Despite constantly disappointing him, he would always stand by my side and supported my interests. Making him proud would mean the world to me.

To my father, the one always wanting the best for us and never expecting anything in return. I will never be able to repay the amount of time he has sacrificed for us. The love and effort he put in. I am truly blessed to be able to call him my father.