Reflections
When prompted to present on myself — more specifically, how I communicate, my first thought was obvious. I often communicate visually, though my art, through design, and through dream-like writing that honestly, I’ve never shared with anyone. To actually present like this, however, is tougher. How do you demonstrate this? I wrestled with doing the normal thing, writing up a presentation, some slides, and maybe showing some photos of my art. This would have been easier in a lot of ways: it’s always easier to not really put yourself “out there” for people you’ve just met or don’t know at all. Authenticity has served me well, though, this past year, and I’m constantly pushing myself to express myself authentically — regardless of the fear of “judgement” (as cliche as that sounds — and with some really positive and surprising results).
So, rather than put together slides and pictures and bullet points, I decided to make this presentation more performative than that. In retrospect, I could have done better to say more and fill the silence, although I preferred to not explicitly go through the “this is who I am, this is how I communicate, these are the things I like to do…” response. Demonstrating a painting in progress, actively painting in front of the class, and reading a piece of writing was extremely honest and open, and it seems as though the response to that kind of vulnerability and openness was well-received.
Reflecting on my classmates’ approach to this prompt, I have to say I really appreciated Alberto Dominguez’s story. While he did have illustrative slides to accompany his presentation, he didn’t just go through the motions of answering the prompts, either. Instead, he went through a story from his life using the literary “Hero’s Story” as a guide. As discussed in Nancy Duarte’s Ted Talk about successful presentations, humans respond to stories much more than typical “presentations”. In using this literary outline, Alberto shared his communication style vividly, implicitly, and in an entertaining fashion. His speech was animated, and his presentation was very exciting and entertaining to listen to as a result. If I had to criticize one aspect of his presentation, I would just have to say that I wished either he had more time to present or had planned for less time, because there was content on his slides I wished he could have discussed in more length or portrayed more concisely so that the audience got a clearer picture of his tale.
Lastly, I really appreciated Jeremiah Leary’s presentation as well. Jeremiah put together a video that was extremely humorous, animated, personable, and fun to listen to. While he did go through answering the prompt questions, he did so in such an engaging and creative way that it felt like having a direct conversation with him. Allowing his positive and energetic personality to shine through was a great move, and it definitely demonstrated his communication style and helped us learn more about him.
I want to mention that while it’s tough putting yourself “out there” and doing the less “average” thing to new classmates, many of whom we only know as a Zoom background or profile image, the results tend to be largely positive. I would encourage anyone to give a more authentic approach a try, even if it feels strange (or terrifying). While presenting is always nerve racking, especially for those of us who are more introverted or who have experienced being the “odd one out”, in this stage of life we will always gain more from speaking up than flying under the radar in an attempt to avoid criticism. Live your truth — you’ll likely be surprised by the positive impact it can have.
