Daniel Kim

Professor Dietel-McLaughlin
WR13300
12 December 2014
Ted Talk Reflection
The ted talk was one of the harder assignments given in this course. While
the preparation was simple and straightforward, the presentation would prove to be
the more challenging side. In order to prepare my slides, I simply had to review
what I had written in my research essay and eliminate the most specific of details. I
constructed the argument that soccer has impacted the lives of Brazilians by
offering historical evidence in which soccer shaped the blue-collar working force
and how it brought fame and reverence towards the Afro-Brazilian side of the
population. In addition I used the two world cups that were hosted in Brazil as a
means of showing that this sport was a means for the Brazilians to prove to the rest
of the world that they were a super power.
Although all of this was prepared and I had repeated my lines over and over,
the presentation did not go so smoothly. First a video I had embedded into my
power point failed to work and thus I did not know what to do. After a long pause I
carried on what I was about to say, however the words were not as meaningful
without the accompaniment of a visual aid. My next trouble was when I completely
forgot my lines and had to take another moment to pause in order to regain my
thoughts. This was quite awkward, yet I was able to move past this and continue my
presentation. Other than those two errors I believe the presentation was mediocre. I

faltered in my speech and did not speak fluently enough. However I think that this
project was a good experience and helped me develop my public speaking skills a
little more. Next time when something goes wrong I can attempt to improvise and
continue my argument instead of stopping.