Oral Communication

      My artifact is an informative speech from Com 231, Communications, that was completed in the Fall Semester of 2017 and a part of an online 8-week course. This is a video presentation where I am informing the class on the importance of a healthy diet. I created a PowerPoint presentation informing my peers on what a healthy diet is, the benefits of a healthy diet, and how to eat healthy with a busy lifestyle as these were topics that resonated with my audience. I went in-depth about each topic to give multiple examples and statistics to support the information I was providing. I specifically started my introduction with a “did you know” question and statistic to grab the attention of the audience as the answer was quite alarming. I worked on this project over the course of two weeks to make sure I made a strong PowerPoint presentation in addition to making sure the grammar, facts, and information were correct. One of my strengths was that I was very passionate about the subject, as I am a very active person who lives a healthy lifestyle and workouts daily, so the information and research component was very exciting.  My weakness came with being a perfectionist. Not only did I critique the presentation every day I worked on it to make it better, but I also filmed myself multiple times to make sure the end result was perfect, even though I knew the information by heart.  

 

     The outcome of this skill is that “the learner will exchange ideas and information with others using the spoken word in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience”. My two goals were met in this assignment as I believe I effectively communicated with the audience of my peers and professor. I was able to captivate and inform my peers and professor on why it is so crucial for us to live a healthy lifestyle before it leads to other health concerns by providing well-researched information and relating the information to them in a way that made sense. One of my goals was to deliver an uninterrupted presentation and to be confident doing so which I believe I did in this video. In my presentation, I was actively engaged, did not stutter, made eye contact, and focused on my nonverbal cues as well. My second goal was to make sure I created a process with time management to prepare for the presentation. While I may have been a perfectionist, I planned at least one hour a day for two weeks to work on the assignment and to rehearse it. Because I had prepared in this process and broke down each slide day by day, I did not feel overwhelmed and was able to truly feel confident in my speaking and in another language. 

 

     I learned a lot about myself in this project. Not only can I challenge myself, but if I set myself up with attainable goals daily, I will feel more confident and prepared, and not as anxious when presenting. This can be used in my day-to-day life and even in the future. I also learned that it’s ok to not be perfect, because no one is, and to not get frustrated when the first presentation does not go to plan- that is why we practice!