Representing Research

This past week in ISM was dedicated primarily to addressing my cumulative research. I had to conjure an entire presentation that synthesized essentially all of my research, interviews, etc. One of my strengths for this assignment was that I knew exactly what the expectations were and so it was easy for me to plan for the presentation and complete the presentation efficiently. A large part of creating the presentation for me this year was not trying to memorize a script. I only wanted to "memorize" my introduction and my conclusion because those are the only portions of the presentation that are not completely and directly related to my ISM topic. In terms of presentational ability, I think that I have the confidence in my topic so I do not feel like there should be a problem in my actual presentation but I think the visual aid engagement is what generally poses the biggest challenge. And it did in this case. Generally, because my topic is so technical, I think that it involves a lot of pictures and charts as opposed to actual images of tangible objects. That is one of the great things about product engineering, many people will see a product but that product has an entire history of behind the scenes work that was done that many do not see. It is never easy to make it look easy. Given that, my visual aid is something that I would definitely like to emphasize a lot more in the future just because it can really hinder a presentation in spite of the speaker's confidence and ability. To achieve this, I will devote a little more time in the preparation process to the visual aid because of how much I have underestimated its importance in the past. With that being said, as of right now, my main focus is securing a mentor and making strides to complete my original work by the assigned deadline.