Sample Presentation

Today I went to school again after WISE for Carrie's Sample Presentation. We were told to make notes on what we saw and how it related to our project. We were encouraged to think of the project as separate from the project process. We also made comments on what we liked, and what we didn't like. I've put my notes below:

• Looked at the crowd, didn't read notes too much
• some awkward pauses, but built suspense
• talked about how she got into poetry, and got into the project
• described what exactly spoken word poetry is (pretty much a performance of poetry)
• described what poetry slams were (poetry competitions)
• not used to competition, intimidating
• used lots of emotion- I was worried at one point that you would burst into tears at times
• very few "ums"!!!
• some humor- good, made us laugh, but did not quite understand the relevancy of math games
• eventually connected her friend's love for math games with her love for poetry
• sometimes slightly too personal for comfort when talking about friend and crushes, though that did bring drama and attention

•  Don't lift up your note cards!! ruins the illusion that you know it all- we can see them!
• like the variation in speed! kept us attentive
• drama
• what she took out of competition- became more confident, more daring?
• inspiration, poets she admires, names
• research comes out- cited a lot of YouTube
• but made it interesting by making it weaved in and giving us the interesting facts

• you don't have to tell us you don't have time to show us something- just don't show it
• warn me when you start your angry poems (or don't...)! caught my by surprise (which was probably the point)
• angry poem wasn't angry, but hurt. Perhaps you have more of a variety of emotions being expressed than you think. Try not to think of the whole poem as one emotion!

• learned new emotions over course of project- competition, outgoing, confidence
• ***** Made the audience participate!!!!!
• Unfortunately I did not have the courage to say what I actually wrote, which was actually pretty poetic, and instead just said that I really hated war. I wanted to share what I wrote, so I will share it here:

War
Makes my blood boil, especially stupid war
No offense... wait, yes offense!!
The war in Israel is moronic
The separation of Pakistan was unnecessary
The war against Terror didn't work during Bush
'Cause the dummy FUNDED his enemies! (slightly too harsh? Sorry...)
Iraq got turned upside down
Thanks to inexcusable warfare.
And these are just a few examples...
Don't argue with me. You know I'm right

• fooled around to get attention- eye contact
• pointed out someone texting!
• jaw dropped :)

Things I wish to borrow...
 ******* WARNING:  PRESENTATION SPOILER!!!! *******

• Can share emotions, thoughts, inspiration, insights, which I couldn't/didn't think to share in my journal
• idea: machines! I struggled with machines (and even the computer/blogger) and did not share this in my journal... oops!

The Evaluation

Positives

•  at journal entry 4/14, the tone of the journal changed, and then changed again after the poetry slam. Can hear the difference
• didn't use multimedia, just spoke, and thus enraptured the audience. Also, project vocal- it worked
• reflected on relationship with mentor
• embedded YouTube videos into blog
• contacted many people
• answered lists of questions in blog
• spent more time than needed
• paper journal worked for her
• edits in the journal

Negatives

• narrative lacked emotion in comparison to the rest of the project/presentation. Perhaps intentional? Contrast?
• miss expanding on things left unfinished in the blog
• YouTube used a lot in projects, but used real people as well- perhaps use less YouTube
• balance micro and macro more
• did not express enough goals
• wanted concluding entry ****
• don't get too cocky
• pursue people who ignore you

 Extra Thoughts

• Must practice presentation beforehand! I hate practicing beforehand, since I feel more nervous the more I practice, and like being spontaneous when I talk in front of people. It's more like an adventure that way. However, I'm definitely going to take time to organize my work, and lay out my time to take full advantage of my thirty minutes
• Judy said you can't just paint when you feel like it. You have to force it so that you can do it whenever. Eew... I don't like forcing it :( I'll leave that to other mediums. Some days, you just can't paint, or you can't sew. The machine always gets stuck, or the tension's stuck. Sometimes it just doesn't work!

What a Project Should Be

•  Difficult
• 1/2 hands on, 1/2 research *** NEED to get on that RESEARCH!!!!
• push limits
• expand world
• growth