Oral Presentations (II)

As I said in my last post, preparation and practice are essential when doing an oral presentation. So in our last class (on Thursday) we did an oral presentation, which actually is some kind of preparation for the "important" presentation we will have to do on Monday (which is tomorrow).

Tomorrow, we will have to present what ideas we are thinking of for our project about the aircraft for the year 2040. So the "pre-presentation" we had on Thursday was really valuable, because it was a good moment to practice and realize what things we are doing wrong in order to improve our presentation skills and do a great presentation tomorrow.

Not much more too say for today actually. Thanks for reading my blog!

An image is worth 1000 words

Well, in this post I’d like to talk about what our image says about us, because, like it or not, the first impression is what counts and there is only one opportunity to make a good impression on somebody.

At first I’d like to clarify that with “our image” I mean EVERYTHING: A simple and small movement such as touching your hair, or even the way in which you look to what is around you, says a lot more than what you think about how you are. But sometimes it’s true that first impressions don’t quite show how we really are. So, what can we do if this happens?

As I already said, we only have one opportunity to make a good impression, and if this doesn’t go well and you make a wrong impression of yourself, it might hugely influence in how people think about how you are. And it doesn’t matter if you make a great effort in order to change that impression because that first one really stays there, and you can’t go back and undo it.

So, the first thing we must do is think if we actually know how we are. This might sound a bit strange and obvious, but it isn’t always that easy. Sometimes we are influenced by friends or family and we end up being who they want you to be and not who you really are (or who you want to be). So this is an important point to take into account.

Then, we must think about what we believe that we show to the rest with our image: what our clothes say about us, our hairstyle, our way of walking, how we sit down, our voluntary and involuntary movements, our gestures, etc… And we must analyze if this corresponds to what we want to show. If something doesn’t, know you are able to change it before it’s too late.

After doing this, it’s always helpful to ask your friends or your family to tell you what they think about your image. Every opinion counts.

Another point to consider is the situation, because you don’t have the same risks, for example, when you meet a new friend than when you apply for a job. But this point is a bit difficult to manage because, in my opinion, you should try to be the same person in any situation.

Of course, if you are going to a meeting, NEVER BE LATE. 

Well, once you’re conscious about what you show with your image, you will have all the tools to be able to change whatever you think wouldn’t end up making the impression you want to make.

Another important (and really, really, really important) point related to this is your profile picture. Remember, because we usually forget this and we see the Internet as a game, that when you select a photo and you upload it into your profile (never mind if it’s in facebook, linkedin, youtube or whatever other site you think of), anybody in the whole world can see it; so this is quite relevant, above all, when you are applying for a job, because be sure that your (hopefully) future boss will enter in these sites to investigate about the candidates, and your profile picture is the first thing he/she will see about you; not your curriculum, not your cover letter, but your internet profiles. So be careful with what you choose to upload to the World Wide Web.

Well, I guess this post might be a bit long but I realize that this is an important topic that we should all consider and that (if you are able to make a really good impression, without making a fake one) it can lead to many doors being opened.   

Welcome!

Hi everyone! This is my first post and as so, I’d like to talk about presentations, especially informal ones. Two days ago I had my first “Communication Skills” class and of course we had to introduce ourselves. But what do you say when you first meet someone?

For some people this is quite easy, they start talking and talking and talking and they won’t stop unless you do something to make it so, but unfortunately, that’s not my case… Usually the conversation is about who we are, what we like, interesting things we’ve done or we’d like to do, etc… But every time I have to talk to someone new, there’s something inside me which makes my mind go completely blank and forget even what my age is (luckily I usually don’t forget my name). 

And it always happens to me (and I guess I’m not the only one) that once the conversation has finished and I’m somewhere else far away from who I’ve just met, thousands or even millions of ideas start bumping into my head about what I hadn’t said and I would have liked to say, or about a better way to say what I actually said. Well, if this also happens to you, I’d say you can write down those late-bumping-into-your-head ideas because, although it wouldn’t make sense to repeat that previous presentation, it won’t be the last one, and if you don’t do so, the same thing will happen again and again, when a similar situation comes to you. I’ve never actually done this, but I guess I’ll start doing it from now on.

I think it’s always useful to carry a pen or a pencil and something to write on in order to capture every good idea that comes to your mind. If not, you will surely forget about it.