Emmanuel Fernandez Reflection

 I had an amazing opportunity to participate in this assignment with five other members from my speech class, where we all collaborated as a team to put on a group presentation showcasing our abilities as public speakers. My team worked together to give a presentation on different types of speech, but my main job was to discuss persuasive speeches such as positive, divided, and negative. For my part of the presentation, I created three slides and spoke for approximately five minutes, primarily improvising my content based on the lesson material. Not only did this assignment give me the opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge of persuasive communication, but it also pushed me to be an effective team player.

The best part of this presentation was my level of confidence I exhibited when I delivered my speech. I felt very comfortable in front of my classmates and did not think twice about providing an effective delivery of the presentation without using a script too often. I was able to enjoy the benefits of being an improvisational speaker, which allowed me to communicate more smoothly with the audience and modify my explanation based on what was working well in the presentation. Instead of trying to remember specific lines of a script or reading from notes, I engaged with the topic authentically and created a connection with the audience through a more conversational style. I believe my use of improvisation helped maintain the audience's attention throughout my segment of the presentation.

I feel comfortable to speak naturally which gives me more comfort to make connections with the audience through eye contact and to respond to them in real time. This has allowed me to make my speech more alive and to be a better presenter than if I had a written speech and felt restricted to using it. I didn't use a manuscript for my presentation, just an understanding of the topic, so when I spoke I was able to speak from my heart about what I was conveying. For my part of the preparation, I created three slides that I would use as visual aids to assist in conveying my points about persuasive presentations. My emphasis was the same -  make each slide easy to read with the intent of providing relevant information that would lead the audience through a journey of comprehension. The slides were designed to align with my verbal presentation as opposed to taking the place of my presentation. The generic nature of the slides made them easy for me to see as reference points when explaining the subject but provide enough flexibility that allowed me to create my own meaning in explaining the subject. I found this balance between structure and flexibility was an effective format for me to deliver my message to the audience. 

To demonstrate an example of persuasive speaking, I used a video portion from the motion picture, Wall Street, featuring the “Greed is Good” speech by Gordon Gekko. This was a successful choice as it allowed for a visual and easily identifiable example of persuasive rhetoric to show how rhetorical theory works in practice. The video clip also gave my audience a tangible point of reference for their understanding of how persuasive speaking works in the real world and thus where persuasive speaking can be observed or experienced in the real world, while simultaneously anchoring their understanding of the cognitive theory I had previously discussed. The Wall Street scene specifically was an effective demonstration due to its inclusion of a number of persuasive techniques including appeals to emotion, appeals to logic, and the strategic use of language to persuade the identified audience. By looking at this very well-known example, I demonstrated how persuasive speaking takes place outside of the academic realm and within popular culture as well as the professional aspect of society. This addition to my presentation created another avenue of interest and differed from a purely lecture-type segment and also appeared to create a more engaged audience when the video was being played, serving as an appropriate transition for me to move forward with delving into the techniques being used for the purpose of persuasive communication. The dynamics of working with a team of 6 people are unique; however, we had excellent team coordination. Although there were hurdles that happen when several individuals share the duties of creating a single presentation, we worked successfully as a team. A clear division of labor provided all members with an understanding of their individual responsibilities. Excellent team coordination allowed for a more productive work process and helped our presentation feel cohesive rather than disconnected. Transitions from speaker to speaker felt seamless, and all members of the team provided encouragement to each other through the entire process. During the preparation process, we regularly collaborated as a team member to ensure each of our individual sections paralleled each other logically and did not duplicate materials or omit coverage of the subject. In an effort to do this, we needed a high volume of collaboration; however, the outcome was that we produced a high-quality product. Another benefit of working with a group was witnessing the variety of presentation styles. Each of my teammates offered a unique talent on how to create their section of the presentation, whether through slide design, content organization, or delivery. Watching how others created their sections has provided me with numerous ideas for creating my sections and has opened my eyes to different types of effective communications. The collaboration of team members can develop a sense of shared responsibility and increased respect between team members, resulting in a higher level quality of finished work product.

The primary lesson learned from this experience was how to effectively work with a team. Group presentations require a different set of skills than those needed for individual presentations, including coordination, communication, and adapting to others' work styles. I learned how to divide responsibilities in a fair way, maintain consistency in presentations among different presenters, and support teammates during the presentation.

These collaborative skills will be useful beyond the classroom in jobs where teamwork and communication between coworkers are important. In almost every position, being able to collaborate on a presentation, as well as communicate complex messages to an audience, can be just as important as having the ability to present independently.

This experience helped me gain hands-on experience in dealing with group dynamics and managing my time while working toward a common goal. Additionally, this experience affirmed my belief in the balance of preparation and spontaneity. While I had to improvise much of my spoken material, I had researched this topic thoroughly, had grasped all of the critical concepts, and therefore was able to speak comfortably without relying on a written script. The key takeaway is that successful spontaneity depends on preparation, and once you are very familiar with your subject matter, you can present the material fluidly and adjust to circumstances as they arise. I was pleased with my part in the presentation. I utilized clear visual aids, an appropriate example of video media, and I felt confident in my presentation technique. All of these factors contributed to my ability to clearly communicate the concepts in my presentation. In the future, I will probably follow the same overall approach because of the improvisational style, teamwork, and use of engaging examples; there was much that I will remember positively about the experience. This opportunity helped enhance my public speaking skills and reemphasized the importance of collaboration and teamwork when developing communication skills. Going forward I feel more confident in my ability to prepare for and execute both individual and team presentations and have a better understanding of my strengths as a communicator and collaborator.