Self-Reflection on Outlines Project
The objective of the Leadership Project was to give a bit sized lesson on the topic given to us. The topic that was selected for me was Outlines, essentially preparation for any big paper or essay. I used to use outlines a majority through high school but hadn’t known where to start or even teach to my classmates. Going into this project, I knew I couldn’t assume that everyone knew what an outline was. That was the main task, to teach the class something.
Outlines are extremely helpful when writing a paper or essay, it helps visualize how the reader will receive the information given. Professor Rodwell had mentioned a key component to creating an outline, “It organizes information the way that you intend your reader to receive it in.” This was powerful because I hadn’t quite realized that you are organizing your essay for another person’s comprehension, you oversee how the reader interprets the information that is being given to them. The objective or main task of the essay is the overarching boss, and you are simply organizing and formatting your essay through outlining. It not only helps the reader understand what you’re writing but it helps you understand where you are within your essay. It, again, is great at helping visualize how your essay is going.
I think that the theme I chose for my presentation helped convey the bite sized lesson aspect, it helped keep my presentation a bit more interesting than just hearing my voice. Themes for presentations are very important, in my opinion. Adding images to my presentation was also important because people retain information differently, I wanted to make sure that I had my audience engaged as well as giving them the same information I was verbally communicating. I wanted to make sure that my presentation was impactful, creating outlines is a very important skill to have.
The five-minute limit per presentation kept looming through my head, I had to make sure that my presentation fit underneath that limit as well as leaving another five-minute portion for any questions or comments. After I had completed my slides, I practiced them at least 5 times before the presentation. Remembering what was on my slides was easy, I didn’t have to make talking points because my bullet points were very easy to build off in conversation. That is also a skill that I’ve picked up after years of presenting and doing projects. Overall, my presentation delivered the leadership aspect as well as teaching the class something that they may not have understood before.
