What I've learned in ES2007S (Blogpost#6)

This module is probably the best and the most useful we chose for this exchange program. For this semester, I aimed to enhance my English communication skills. We all know that nowadays English has an increasing importance in the professional relationships and partnerships. And I didn't only improve my English skills, but my communication skills as well.

The benefits of oral presentations and speaking, in general

By doing several oral presentations I enhanced my abilities to speak fluently and clearly in English. Few months ago, I was not able to be that confident. Oral presentations allowed me to develop my PowerPoint skills as well. From now on, I would rather prefer the Steve Jobs style - elegant, sober and refined - to a more academic way to present. I learned that the less you look at your slides, the more convincing you are. And to achieve this goal, the slides need to be purified to their utmost. Also, oral presentations allowed me to remain comfortable face to an audience, without reading any notes.

Besides oral presentations, I admit that speaking twice a week face to an "audience" is really helpful. If you want to make the most of this course, you have to be hyperactive and to practice. Now I am perfectly able to talk with professionals who call me for an internship, what I couldn't have done several months ago. Last time, I have been called by L'Oréal and the HR did notice that I was taking Professional Communication courses. He told me that it was vital for the mission they propose because I would be charged to train people for them to change they usual practices. Now, I federate both the skills on an engineer and those of a kind of "commercial". This module can bring more value to your resume.

What I would have liked to do

I think that negotiation is a big part of Professional Communication. Unfortunately, I feel that we didn't really emphasize on this aspect. That is the only thing I have missed. I would have liked to deal with a special topic on which each team would have discussed, trying to convince another, and finally reach an agreement. I guess that the proposal presentation was sort of negotiation but it was rather unilateral.

Objective outlook

Overall, I especially developed my oral skills during this module, although the blogposts were very helpful for the writing skills. I think that we are all generally better at writing than speaking (I mean, for a foreign language). When you write, you can take your time to think about the impact of your words. When you speak, you need to be trained and to practice to make it natural and effective.

Finally I would like to thank all of you folks. The experience was amazing. Also, thanks to you, Brad, because you are a fantastic teacher and overall, a very cheerful person.

All the best for the final exams.

Cheers
Guillaume

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Related to the presentation we led this Thursday, I thought each of the team members was very well prepared. We did rehearse for this final presentation. Now, I'm gonna write a bit more on my own part of the presentation, by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses it could have had :

My strengths

I think I was quite well prepared. I knew my material very good, and that allowed me to clearly point out the solutions and go straight to the main goals.

About the design of the slides, I think it was really clear and concise. The less you write, the better  it is. And as I knew the content perfectly, I didn't really spend time looking at the "screen" to see if I was on the right slide. I think this is a strength.

I wasn't disturbed by the remote, and never pointed it towards the screen, which is a natural reflex I know. The remote is very useful because it allows you not to take care of the keyboard for switching the slides.

The last strength I will enlighten is the clarity of my English. I think everyone understood what I meant. And it is partly caused by the fact that I definitely wanted to slow down the flow, and to make some pauses sometimes. I think it is effective for people to analyze and get what you say.

My weaknesses

The fact that I walked a bit, going back and forth, during the presentation was deliberate. Apparently some people thought it was disturbing (maybe for the person who was filming the presentation). Indeed I think it depends on the space you dispose. On a huge and long stage, it is appropriate. But in small areas such as the classroom, maybe it is not. So I will adapt it according to the space I have.

I thought our presentation was missing a touch of humor. Usually, I love making fun and doing some jokes during a presentation. But this time, I deliberately tried to be serious as it was a particular issue which you could not really make fun of. However, you should have smiled a bit more. It is the essence of a good presentation to make the audience feel comfortable.

Always I was trying to make it look like a Steve Jobs Keynote : pure, simple, clear and sober. He was definitely amazing at presenting.

That's all for my personal analysis of the performance. Should you guys have any comments or suggestions on it, please feel free to comment.

All the best for your coming examinations or projects, and see you on Monday.

Cheers