Blog Post #1- Zebadiah Mckenzie

 Zebadiah Mckenzie- Chapters 3,9, &10 Presentations Reflection

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“Basically everyone before class presentations”

    Last week in my Intro to Communication class, our class did group presentations based on three different chapters from our textbook. Even though all of the presentations came from the same textbook, each group focussed on different communication concepts and explained the material in their own way. Because of that, every presentation had a different style, structure, and energy.

Watching the presentations made me realize how much communication affects the way information is delivered. Things like organization, confidence, transitions between speakers, leadership and even slide design can change how engaged the audience is. Being part of one of the presenting groups also gave me a different perspective because I experienced both listening to presentations and presenting in front of the class myself. Overall, I thought the presentations were a good way to connect the textbook concepts to actual real life communication and teamwork. 

Group 1 Reflection

Group 1 started off the presentations in a very organized and cohesive way, which immediately made it easy to follow their ideas. One thing I noticed right away was that instead of each person introducing themselves before speaking, they just smoothly transitioned from one speaker to another. I actually liked that because it made the presentation feel more connected and less awkward.

Their group talked about traditional masculine versus feminine expectations along with topics like sexual orientation, religion, race, stereotypes and individualism. Even though those are serious topics, I think they explained everything clearly and kept the presentation structured the whole time. I also liked how each topic connected to the next instead of feeling random or out of order. 

Another thing I noticed about group ! was how confident they sounded while presenting. Confidence honestly changes how an audience reacts because when speakers sound prepared, people naturally pay more attention. Nobody in the group seemed confused about their role, and the transitions between speakers were smooth without long pauses or interruptions.

Additionally, throughout the presentations Tyler consistently gave very strong conclusions. He did a good job wrapping up the presentations in a way that connected all the main ideas together and made everything feel complete instead of rushed at the end. His conclusion for Group 1 was my favorite. But overall, I think Group 1 set a strong tone for the rest of the presentations because they seemed prepared, organized, and confident the entire time.

Group 2 Reflection

Group 2 focussed on families and different types of social groups, which connected really well to what we’ve been learning in class. They talked about support groups, interest groups, and group conflicts. I liked that their topic felt very relatable because everyone is part of some kind of social group in everyday life, whether it’s family, friends, school groups, sports, or even online communities.

Compared to Group 1, I do think Group 2 was a little less organized with the flow of the presentation, but I still think they did a great job overall. Even if the transitions were not as smooth, I could still understand the information they were explaining and the main ideas were clear.

The part about group conflict stood out to me the most because conflict happens in almost every group at some point. It was interesting hearing about how communication can either help solve problems or make situations worse depending on how people handled disagreements. That topic honestly felt realistic because everyone has probably experienced some type of conflict in a group before.

I also appreciated that the group stayed focused on their topic and explained the textbook concepts in a way that was easier to understand. They also added great examples. Even though the presentation style was different from Group 1, I still thought they communicated their points effectively and kept the audience paying attention. 

Group 3 Reflection (My Group) 

Before it was my turn to present, I honestly felt really nervous and queasy.

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Public speaking has never been something I naturally enjoy, so waiting for my turn definitely made me anxious. I kept overthinking what I was going to say and hoping I wouldn’t mess up in front of the class. But once the presentation actually started, I got through it better than I expected.

My group talked about healthy groups and different types of leadership. Overall, I think our group was very cohesive and stayed on time during the presentation. Everyone knew their role and seemed prepared, which helped everything run more smoothly.

José did a really good job presenting and was also really good with the technical side of things. Maria also did amazing presenting her section and explained her points very clearly which when we practiced the day before she wasn’t as confident so it was really nice to see the improvement. Michael was helpful and reliable at sharing his screen. He was also amazing at helping coordinate the slides during the presentation.

One thing I think helped our group a lot was our communication with each other while presenting. We used the thumbs up signal to let each other know when to change slides, which honestly made transitions smoother and less awkward. Small things like that made the presentation feel more organized overall. Additionally, even setting a specific time to meet up in the meeting room to practice was well organized and well communicated.

Working in my group also made me realize how much communication happens behind the scenes before presentations even start. Things like deciding who speaks when, coordinating slides, timing each section and, making sure everyone understood the material all required teamwork and communication. Even though presentations only last a short amount of time, there’s a lot of preparation involved beforehand.

One Critique I would give our presentation is that some of our PowerPoint slides probably had too many words on them, especially mine. I think simplifying some slides would have helped the audience focus more on what we were saying instead of reading the screen the entire time. Still I think our group worked well together and supported each other throughout the presentation.

Presenting also pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Even though I was nervous before speaking, I realized that once I actually started talking, the anxiety became easier to manage. I think experiences like this are important because the communication skills improve through practice, and presentations help people become more confident overtime. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought these presentations were good learning experiences for the class instead of only reading the textbook chapters. We got to actually see communication concepts happening in real time through each groups presentation style, teamwork and organization. Each group had different strengths, whether it was confidence, preparation, teamwork, or delivery style. 

This assignment also made me think of more about my own communication skills. I realize that presentations involve a lot more than just speaking in front of people. Things like preparation, timing, listening, leadership, and teamwork all play an important role in whether a presentation feels successful. 

Even though I was nervous presenting in front of the class, I’m still glad I did it because it helped my build my confidence. I think assignments like this are stressful in the moment, but they’re also helpful because communication and public speaking are skills people will probably use for the rest of their lives in school work and everyday situations. Funnily enough, I actually had  a group interview this week too, so this assignment weirdly ended up feeling relevant outside of class.