Day 2 Brian Kim

In day 2, we practiced our presentations and learned about the importance of wording and expression. We learned that the audience can feel certain disinterest or the lack of enthusiasm from our presentations. Even though we thought we were doing a great job, we sounded very “robotic” and did not evoke any emotions or excitement. After presenting to a couple of teachers and students and from their constructive criticisms, we started to discuss what can we change and what was the problem with our presentations. Mr. Anderson told us a story about how a fellow teacher in a math conference convinced the audience about the cars that students should be driving. Most of the audience believed that the students should be driving old, unsafe cars because they are more likely to get into accidents. However, the teacher was able to turn the results around with different wording and telling a story of how a neighbor’s child could’ve survived if he had an airbag in his car. With that anecdote, I felt the importance of how we deliver our message and the certain words and structure we use.

I realized the importance of our attitude and speech accentuation in our presentations. I should fully know the subject I am presenting and rely on notes in a very minimal basis. I plan to understand my part of the presentation inside out and not rely on notes at all. This pertains to everything else I do, not just this project. I should approach everything I do with a sense of enthusiasm and interest with a mix of professionalism. Despite my nervousness, I should learn how to clearly get my message through along with my genuine passion for the subject I am presenting. This service learning day taught me many applicable life lessons and will help me on my future endeavors beyond school and academic life.