COMM/218 Class: Week 5 Future Tech For Presentations pt.2

This is part two of a two part question asked in a previous post.

So now I'll be speaking about social media in presentations. In a world surrounded by social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, giving the world your feedback at any given time is possible. You could post about how that burger place was down the street from your house or how a business is handling issues you are having with your phone service all in real time. Why not bring this kind of environment into the workplace? Well, I'm not all for it. Although most people think this is an awesome idea, I feel it brings some aspects of personal life and boundaries into focus that some people may not want to share. I'll use myself as an example. Recently, Facebook has forced me to change my name to my actual name. On my Facebook, I have some sensitive material that I do not wish to share with anyone and to some that is my real name. Now anyone can search my name out on Facebook and see what I have posted, what I share, and how I live my life.
I know you may be asking how does this tie into social media becoming so mainstream to where businesses and presentations are adopting it. To be honest, it kind of almost sounds like I'm against it. I believe some aspects need to change so we can harness such a valuable tool like the Internet and social media. LinkedIn does a good job at keeping a professional side of profiles and networking. If we were to limit what accounts are visible and which ones we could keep personal, that would be a step in the right direction. Until then, we have to create multiple accounts across several platforms just to stay current in the times.

This class has been a wonderful experience and has helped me with issues I have had with presenting and how I see myself. Even though I botched up the last couple of weeks of class, I've had my fill of presenting for now.

-JV

COMM/218 Class: Week 5 Future Tech For Presentations pt.1

This is part one of a two part answer for the following question asked by my instructor:

Write at least three entries, of at least 350 words each, in your blog that focus on your ideas for future technologies to be used in presentations and on the use of social media in presentations.

I have chosen to write about future technologies in a two-part series because I feel I can cover much more information about this part of the question versus the uses of social media in presentations. I am not too familiar with social media and cannot speak too much about it. I use Facebook, sometimes Twitter, and YouTube. But of course I'll go into those details later on in another post.

What do I think the future of technology will bring to presentations? There are different ways to answer an open question such as this. Why do I think its open? Well there is a path where virtual reality can kick off and become main stream. Virtual reality is hitting the ground running this year and it hasn't slowed down. Major companies such as Samsung, Facebook, and Sony are investing a lot of resources into this. It is estimated that later this year Sony will be releasing their virtual reality headset for consumer use. Other companies are not too far behind such as Oculus Rift and HTC's device (unsure of what its called at the moment). With virtual reality becoming the next big thing, I can see this being used in a presentation. Here is an elaborate example:

I could work for a construction company that just bought a huge lot near a major city. My superiors want to build a mall there and have asked me to come up with a 3D model to show off what I would create. Instead of bringing them a handcrafted clay model of the entire mall, I could program an environment in Unreal Engine 4 and let them experience the mall up close and personal. Not only could I fill the environment with actual detailed architectures, but I could fit in a character that can show them around. An avatar could possibly show my board members or investors what my ideas for a mall space could be.

-JV

COMM/218 Class: Week 4 Blog Update

So today we were asked a question in class and it required us to make a blog post about it. So, below is the question and to follow will be my answer:

Post a blog entry regarding forms of media used to support a presentation. Are there new forms of media? What have you seen at presentations in the past? What is used in the job you currently have or one you would like to have?

So there are different kinds of mediums that support a presentation. One form is PowerPoint presentations. This provides slides from a computer that you can attached other kinds of visual aids whether it be pictures, animations, sounds, charts etc. Another support medium for presentations are flip charts. While these are best suited for smaller audiences, they provide a way to draw out what the presenter is trying to convey to their audience.
Something that I remember from the past when I attended presentations were the projectors. Technology now is so much more advance then it was before and projectors are totally different than what they were before. You would have to write on blank transparencies or get some printed out and place them on the projector and by using mirrors and lighting, they would be brought up on a white board. It would surprise me if there were schools that still use this tech. 
In my place of work, the main headquarters is located in Tennesse. So with such a distance between San Antonio and there, we sometimes have to attend a company wide meeting. What my company does is they use the Ustream service and have their own secured channel so we can attend wherever. This kind of technology did not exist back then and is now a way for companies and individuals to connect.

-JV

COMM/218 Class: Week 3 Overview

Week 3 Overview 2/6/2016

So this week has been a little short on new materials. What I have been doing is more on the lines of backtracking on some information I couldn't grasp the first go around. I find myself to be a better learner when I go over the material multiple times. Visual aids help me greatly and hands-on training does as well. So what I did differently is I had a discussion with my wife about what I have been learning. I was able to keep eye contact with her and get my points across. Not only was I able to do this but I kept her interest in my topic. Some things I did to keep her interested was ask her questions during my speech. I also showed control in the audience by telling her to stand up and sit back down. This was a clear indication that I was in complete control of my audience. Even though it was only one person, I imagined in my head that there were people all around her. I can hopefully apply these same traits and confidence in my upcoming presentation. We shall see! Wish me luck y'all! By the way, I was only .05 points shy of full credit from my previous presentation! How exciting right?!

-JV

COMM/218 Class: Week 2 Overview

Week 2 Overview 2/1/2016

Now that I have had a full week in for participation, I was able to focus even more on the material rather than cramming in three days. So a lot of information was absorbed this week. One thing that stood out to me was the article we read from Bonnie Ellis, PhD. She wrote, "Are You Scared Speechless?" In this entry, she explained what The Awareness and Control Method was and how to use it for presentations. This was a really good read and found it very useful when it came to present my introduction and conclusion for this week's YouSeeU assignment. One quote and method that still rings in my head is, "...so long as the audience does not know you are nervous, you are ok!" By not showing any signs of nervousness, it gives confidence in your speech and credibility.

Another good piece of information that was shared this week was the video on involving the audience. By involving the audience, you can reduce nervousness and bring awareness to your audience. If you ask the audience questions, it hands the responsibility to the crowd which can determine whether your message is being heard or not. This is vital also because if you need a break from the spotlight, this will provide it for you if used effectively.

Next week is looking a little tougher with the participation and with what is required in general. Hopefully I will be able to deliver to my full potential as I have been these past two weeks.

-JV

COMM/218 Class: Week 1 Overview

Week 1 Overview 1/25/2016

These next five weeks will prove to be quite a challenge. I'm not too familiar with professionally speaking to an audience. I don't even know where to start when it comes to speaking public speaking as an IT professional. Well for starters I started late into the class. I wasn't aware I was even in class so it made it a little more difficult to try and learn everything so quickly. Luckily, I had started the class previously and was able to start somewhere. Some new things I learned were about speaker credibility. Not only is this very important to a speaker, but it is vital to any good presentation. If you cannot get an audience to trust you and believe in what you are speaking about, it is going to be very difficult convincing them of your main ideas. Another important point I learned in week 1 was how technology was playing such a major role in presentations. Not only do you have to be tech savvy to present visual aids, but you also need to know how to use technology to your advantage. One advantageous way of using technology is using tools like WebEx to create webinars and connect with your audience from vast distances. I hope to learn more in the coming weeks!