To: Mr.

Jose Gomez
From: Max De La Torre, Jorge Sanchez, Jacob Coleman
Subject: Usability Test
Date: January 29, 2015
Purpose: The following Usability test will analyze and critic the Prezi presentation
on Understanding the Role of Oral Presentations created by Jose Luis Gomez.
Summary:

Overall the presentation was short and sweet; most of the time students enjoy that however if it
had been a more professional occasion then it would have been not as satisfactory. Some
guidelines on what I saw were that on the presentation itself (the prezi) the slides were very
concise. What I mean by that was there were only words and a somewhat vivid background, but
it was not eye grabbing enough. Now with that said do not make a presentation where all the
colors are too distracting. Perhaps putting up some pictures to support you, and what you are
trying to say or the point trying to get across. This is because most students in this day and age
are visual learners, with that said I enjoyed the videos posted on the presentation. It showed how
public speaking is supposed to be done from influential speakers like Steve Jobs and Barack
Obama.
Discussion:
We will review Understanding the Role of Oral Presentations and its key
elements. According to the key element, preparing and rehearsing speech, Steve
Jobs and Barack Obama due seem well prepared. Both of the speakers understand
their audience, therefore the language which they convey is comprehendible by the
audience. The element, purposes for speech, both speakers do approach the
audience with a mindset to persuade. One thing I noticed and not mentioned in the
key elements but we discussed in class was confidence. With confidence, the
speech will seem more credible in my opinion. The article, The Only Way to Prepare
to Give A Presentation, by Bill Rosenthal, the chief executive of Communispond, a
provider of communications training, [1] Bill says your speech wont be as
effective, if you rely too much on notes, or use your slides as cue cards. This I
believe is true but it relates directly with what Mr. Gomez says when he mentions be
well rehearsed. If you are well rehearsed you wont need to constantly be looking
down at your cue cards. Bill again mentions how you need to be standing, aloud,
and with the passion, pacing, and movement youll actually use, [1] when your
presenting. This element I believe relates with what Mr. Gomez says when he
explains knowing who your audience is. For example, if the audience is in a small
room, you do not need to be yelling, or if the audience is in a big auditorium, you
need to practice speaking loud so that when the day comes, people of the audience
in the back can receive the message clearly. As we discussed how confidence will

impact the speech, Bill agrees and says a confident presenter feels comfortable
and comes across as natural. An audience picks up on these signals quickly.[1]
Stage performance would have been something that could help in the oral speech:
body language

This would include how the presenter has to

o Walk
o Move his hands
o When to talk louder
o When to walk faster
o How to keep the audience awake
o The elevation of voice
o Tools to attract people on the audience something that you will be
handling
o Ask for a volunteer to perform an action
o Some sense of humor maybe depending on the presentation
o Involve them- like maybe you asking them questions about the
presentations and then reward them.

Recommendation:
Now with the presentation viewed, here are some things I caught on the speaking skills:
1. Voice could sometimes use more volume, I could hear you however I am not sure about
the people in the back
2. Sometimes it seemed you were uninterested in talking about public speaking, I know you
are very knowledgeable in this field but if you seem uninterested then your audience will
not be either.
3. Staying in one spot when speaking in a classroom environment is not the thing to do
because if you were to walk around the room you could make sure the class is the
engaged in the topic. Also you could make sure nothing disruptive is happening
especially in the back of the class Ex. cell phones, mp3, etc.
4. Just have fun with it, you are the one in charge and take advantage of your time to get
your point across youre not going to remember everything you wrote down but that is
why we practice improvisation.

Bibliography

Markel, M. (2012). Technical Communications (temth ed.). Boston: Bedford/St.

Martins .
[1] Rosenthal, B. (2013, June 09). The Only Way To Prepare To Give A Presentation.
Retrieved January 29, 2015, from Forbes: Forbes.com