Thomas Bixby Dr.

E Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric 30 April 2014 TED talk reflection The TED talk presented me with my greatest challenge this year. I am terrified of speaking in front of people and I am rather poor at memorizing presentations. Because of this I found myself confounded in my effort to construct a script. I knew I would not be able to memorize a seven minute presentation, but the prospect of relying on knowledge of key points to guide an un-memorized presentation was daunting. I decided to create an outline of the direction in which I wanted the talk to go with my key points functioning as the focus of the slides. I wanted a good way to ensure that I would reach the minimum time requirement for the talk, and I decided on seven slides; each of which I made an effort to focus on for one minute. I was unhappy with the way my research paper turned out because the topic I had chosen did not highlight anything that was not already in the public eye. Because of this I tweaked the topic a little and chose to attempt to turn the conventional ideas of media impact upside down. I practiced my speech to my PowerPoint to my family over easter break and decided my key points were not in a logical order. I altered my powerpoint and had to alter my verbal presentation. After that, however, I was very happy with the information I was presenting and the order in which it was ordered.

I was not entirely satisfied with my performance in class. I feel as though my familiarity with the material was not fully conveyed. After watching the talk I noticed that I became more relaxed the more I talked about the material. I dont think that public speaking will ever be a career I pursue but this project has helped me realize that I do not lack the means to design a proper presentation.