我的心情很漂亮

Yesterday i had the last presentation in my academic life. wow, it was a very great experience.

The first presentation (my second last in my academic life) was the one on Monday. That was an International Business and Law presentation. it's the project that prof gave very last minute instructions. you know, I never felt confident about my presentations because i had experienced times when i was so nervous that i couldn't answer questions coherently. but that day i was very steady and was able to fend my team off all the questions. however, that presentation wasn't perfect because i didn't have the energy to tighten up the materials prepared by my team mates and prof thought that we didn't answer one of the questions at all. actually after that presentation i was quite pissed off with the two year three girls but then again, I'm the only year four, and i should have done a better job guiding them through the presentation instead of trusting them to do their work.

the second presentation (and the LAST in my academic life) was yesterday, on IT and Law. the team really put in a lot of effort to perfect our report, our slides and our speech. i feel that our presentation was very well organised such that it was not difficult for our classmates to understand. by right, we were allocated 1.5 hour to present but the class got delayed and we were left with about an hour to present 1.5 hour worth of material. Our team managed to shorten our speech at the very last minute, and made time for one another to present our parts. it was just perfect teamwork. and when it was time for QnA, we were able to cover one anothers back very well and there was tacit understanding among us which brought us through.

I must boast a bit here lah. Prof posed a question which my entire team did not consider at all while doing the project. All of us sort of panic a little when he asked that question. Prof went on to propose his idea and said that we could have gone on to discuss that point. then, just before he ended the discussion, i refuted his proposal totally, attacked his points and counter propose him.

After the presentation ended, prof was impressed with the team. he commended us verbally and again in his email.

Maybe to some people, being able to counter argue with prof is no big deal. but to someone like me who used to freak out during presentations especially QnA, that was a big feat. I was even surprised with myself.

When i look back at my presentations in the past three and a half years, i don't think my presentation skills or my ability to think on my feet has improved. even though i always project a confident image or an image of someone who knows her work well, or at least that's what people tell me, i am not as great as they think. however since last term and especially this term, i think i begin to see the light. in the past, i was always scared that i would be embarrassed if i fail to answer questions, so i was always very tensed and unable to think straight. then, when i become year four, i just feel that I'm leaving the school anyway, so i don't care if i embarrass myself anymore. when i relax, i perform better. =p

even now, i don't know what listeners to presentations are looking for and i can't anticipate their questions very well, but i think if i am sincere in my reply, nobody can fault me on that. if i don't know, I'll say i don't know. if i think of something, I'll propose. everybody learns this way. sincerity and honesty is the best policy.

I'm not sure if this theory works in the corporate world. i have the impression that out there, all presenters must be Almighty beings and all participants in meetings must speak intelligently or there'll be terrible repercussions. basically, i think the art of wayang rulez out there.

Maybe that's why i like to watch Ugly Betty. She always wins in adversity because she remains true.

....

I've been writing so much nonsense these days. hope i'm not boring anybody.