Nicole silva

       

Nicole silva

Blog post

Not long ago my peers and I had the opportunity to participate in well-done presentations that allowed us to showcase our creativity and freely explain the chapter in our own words. The idea of having us present chapters rather than just reading them was fun and surely not boring or usual. It was interesting to see how everyone presented their slides differently and what was on their topic. Although every group’s information was great and educational I think particularly I enjoyed the one from my group the most as it focused on leadership. Although you may not be a leader right now doesn't mean you won't be in the future even if you're filling in for the leader you want to make sure you know how to handle a group and how to successfully lead. When I think about it, all the presentations taught me life skills for the future outside of this class and now I will make sure to apply and use the tips which were listed from all group presentations. The first presentation which was by group 1 taught me about chapter 3 which is Intercultural communication but also set the bar high for other groups as they presented in a detailed manner. Group 1’s presentation showed me topics revolving around culture such as what it means, how they differ, and what they are. I really liked how the presentation involved a lot of images/animation as well as the videos. Another thing I enjoyed is how they made sure to include definitions on almost every slide. I liked how Anabella’s slide not only made sure to show information clearly but also had visuals that were related and contributed to the information. Her slide showed the difference between sex gender and sexual orientation which are usually confused by a lot of people nowadays. Apart from giving definitions she also put it into clear words that sex was characteristics  and how on the other hand gender was how you label and present yourself to others. Another slide I enjoyed was Angelick’s as it told how cultures differ in clear terms and gave examples.Overall, the group made sure to capture people’s attention as they presented a lot of important information and managed to have a presentation that was colorful and hard to take your eyes off. I learned a lot of new things about cultures and their differences. It showed me that just because one thing means something in our culture doesn’t mean it will be the same for others as each is unique.Group 2  presented chapter 9 which is about communication in groups. I think it was very different than before starting the PowerPoint they included a slide that had all the sections and topics that were about to be presented. Like group 1 they made sure to not only include definitions but also visuals. It showed the many groups that exist out there such as; families, social groups, support groups, interest groups, and service groups. Group 2 showed me the different stages of group development which was new to me. They also showed that although a healthy conflict will appear it is inevitable but what is important is how the group handles it and the different types of conflicts that may appear. It showed me that when there's a conflict or a problem it may seem like it's you vs the person but in reality, it is you versus the problem/conflict. Whether the conflict is directed at a person or an idea it is good to know how to handle it and how to fix it.Group 3 which was the group that I was a part of was assigned chapter 10 which was group leadership and problem-solving. I learned that our chapter taught me what successful and good leadership looks like and how a good leader may handle preparation and meetings. I liked how Justin showed 5 key points which are the responsibilities of a leader such as; being committed to the group, keeping the discussions on track, completing individual assignments, encouraging all members in the group to participate, and managing conflict among members. Throughout all the things that are being talked about in the presentation, it all ties back to leadership, without good leadership everything sort of falls apart which is why my group and I were assigned a chapter in order to show and give out tips on how to ensure the leader is successful in maintaining the group together. In conclusion, I enjoyed all the group’s presentations and learned a lot from each of them. As a speech class, the idea of us presenting the chapters seems like a very fun but also a great idea as it pushed me to put myself out there even if it is an online class. Although the presentations were good, the topics were not always my favorite or the most interesting. It was a little difficult to work with such a small part of the book as it was sort of hard to split the pages between group members. I am excited to see what topics we are going to present in the future and hope they give us more freedom to input information that's not just in the book. Still, I like the idea of presenting in front of the whole class and being in groups as you learn to get out of your comfort zone and be comfortable around others but also learn how to plan and work with your peers. After listening and learning from all presentations I now realize how they all tie together. Chapter 3 taught me about cultures' values and how they differ which showed me that in all cultures and different meanings one thing won't mean the same to all of us. Then in Chapter 9, we learned about conflicts and how to handle them, conflicts always happen. There is no way to prevent them; instead, we can learn how to fix and handle them. In order to do that you want to know where the other person is coming from, there are a lot of other factors in the picture. A type of conflict is culture and conflict, going back to the first presentation and remembering that all cultures differ, you want to keep in mind not with the person but with the problem is how you deal with it that matters. Just because your idea sounds good to you doesn’t mean it will to others so you have to keep an open mind. But the last presentation by group 3 tied it all together as it tells you how effective good leadership is because you want a leader to be prepared to not only be prepared before but also during and after a situation or at least know how to handle conflict and maintain a group together.