The best part about this day was easily the fact that we could sleep in. After waking up no later than 6am for the last 3 days, catching up on sleep was a relief to say the least. I met up with my group, we found a room and then wrapped up our presentation on what we would say and started to rehearse. Unfortunately there was not enough time for me to rehearse my part so I would be somewhat winging it for the presentation. I was confident and well prepared so I really was not worrying too much. That being said, I did not want to just be reading off of some bullet points or reading a script word for word, I wanted it to actually sound like I knew what I was talking about. To do this was simple, have minimal words on the actual slide show and have the focus on me as a presenter and just have points that I would go over.
As we were waiting for others to finish their presentations before us I took note of what it should look like, we needed an intro of all of us by name, to transition smoothly, and to talk at a steady but not too fast pace to keep time for questions afterwards.
The closer and closer it got to our presentation the more and more nervous I became. I would have loved to have some more time to rehearse my parts specifically and make sure I was actually going to say what I wanted.
We got up and some of the nerves were still there, just standing there was causing the nerves to build up more and more which was not helpful at all. I got up to the stand and gave what I thought was the most mediocre presentation I had ever given but everyone else told me I did well and some even complimented me on how good of a public speaker I was.
Later that day at the dinner I was complimented by Dr Feik, Phil, and Elizabeth on how good I did for my presentation. This was surprising to me because with my lack of rehearsing and my fumbling through words when I was presenting made me think I had done mediocre at best.
Looking back on it, this experience taught me that I am often much more critical of myself than other people are. While I was focused on the parts where I stumbled over words or wished I had rehearsed more, the audience was focused on whether I communicated my ideas clearly and confidently. Hearing positive feedback from my classmates, professors, and program leaders made me realize that preparation is important, but confidence and understanding the material are just as valuable.