This abstract will denote the 14th AHRA Conference Presentation on City Festivals in History, taken place in Birmingham City University.
I will evaluate the ways in which the information had been articulated during the presentation, as well as the dialogues established between the lecturers to create a flowing and stimulating presentation; commenting on what worked and what didn't in regards to presenting techniques.
Due to having a formal and appropriate attire, my first impressions, visually, were that these were educated, important and confident speakers which projected the tone set for the presentation. This had a domino effect on the audiences initial attitude towards the presentation; students were respectful and willing to listen.
The lecturers had hardly any personal items on them, which re-established the importance of what they had to say. They were smiley, friendly and natural, coming across passioanate and excited about the topic, a reaction which instantly passed onto the audience.
Having a good projecting voice, whilst expressing clear points with the use of humour and emotion, kept listeners involved and encouraged live interaction. However, as the presentation continued, projected slides became full with text. Instead of trying to voice a simplified or condensed version, speaker was fixed on reading straight from the board. This therefore turned the audience to be uninterested and bored. Having little eye contact and minimal hand gestures, made it hard as a spectator to engage into the discussed topic.
The slides had an amateur design of visuals, setting a monotone and mono-pacing atmosphere and pace. This lack of design had a huge impact on the presentation. The audience were left with nothing to grasp onto or analyse to further their understanding and deepen their curiosity.
Continual use of impressive yet confusing jargon, made viewers feel disconnected from the information being expressed.
On the other hand, the speaker began to go into the detailing behind the topic, explaining the statistics and key facts in context, which felt informative and useful. Putting it into context, aswell as explaining why and not just what, gave the lecturer an authentic feeling, which made the presentation rememberable. This also made me feel comfortable and enthusiastic to ask further questions and engage more into the material.
The presentation had original content and therefore contained new and rare information; it felt personal to the speaker. Due to this, it allowed the students to have an individual take on the matter and provided a deeper understanding on the topic in discussion.
It was designed accordingly to give a user journey from start to finish, with a clear introduction and conclusion, making listeners feel like they have had a true and full insight into the topic. This format is key in highlighting what has been learnt along the way, so the audience can leave feeling accomplished and clear on the new information that has been passed onto them.
In conclusion, the presentation included certain stimulating and informative information, which encouraged audiences to want to gain a deeper understanding on the topic.
However, the slide designs, with minimal visuals and extensive text paragraphs made it hard to keep a continaul connection with the speaker.
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