Week three already! I had my technical demonstration presentation where I showcased my skill of fibre analysis, and how to identify different compositions mostly based off of touch and the different physical properties between wool, cotton, and polyester. Overall, I think the presentation went really well, and I was able to teach my peers a practical skill they could apply straight away if they were interested in working with yarn or fabric. There were still some things that didn't go so well. I was so anxious the night before that I only got two hours of sleep which was not ideal to say the least. It meant that I had a lot of caffiene the next morning and was quite jittery. I had given myself enough time to get to the studio early to try and calm myself down, however that didn't quite go to plan, and I rushed through the presentation to try blurt out all the information I could. I also knew that I was pressed for time, as I hadn't been able to cut down my slides as much as I'd hoped. I also had an interactive activty which involved trying to guess different fibres while blindfolded which was really fun. You can check out my presentation below.
feelings
I was feeling extremely anxious leading up to the presentation, and during it I felt more at ease although I still rushed through it. I felt many things after I finished. Dissapointment because I knew I could've done better, relief that it was over, and frustration that I built it up to be a big scary thing in my head which caused me to freak out in the week leading up to it when it wasn't neccessary. Based off my peer reviews and talking to the three people I presented to, they all felt that I did really well and was both knowledgable about passionate about fibre arts. They especially liked the blindfold activity and felt that enhanced the learning. Looking back, I'm proud of myself that I got through the presentation and got to teach something.
evaluation
The things that were good and worked well was my interactive activity, and my knowledge about the different fibres meant I could answer the questions thoroughly and without hesitation. Clearly, my lack of sleep wasn't ideal and the length of my presentation and anxiousness lead to me rushing through the demo. This meant that there was a lot of information being passed on very quickly, so it wasn't always clear or easy to understand the concepts. Everyone from my group contributed positive feedback, making me feel better and also some constructive tips for next time. Particularly, having less text on my slides and slowing down my speaking.
analysis
I think the interactive activity went well because I was prepared for it. I created multiple crochet swatches to give out to people and kept it simple by only having 4 different fibres (wool, cotton, polyester, & a polyester wool blend). I also gave guiding questions and hints which summarised the physical properties I explained throughout the presentation. My knowledge about the fibres was so thorough because I was really curious about the chemistry behind the physical properties, meaning that it was easy for me to deep dive into the research. I have also studied some of the ethical issue with these fibres before in a green chemistry course so I knew what to look for when researching.
I think the reason I was so anxious was because I had built this presentation up to be a massive deal in my head, making it harder for me be calm about it. This is something I experience a lot before assignments are due and haven't quite figured out how to get over it. Although I am comfortable with public speaking and presentations, it is more the anticpiation of it approaching that scares me.
From this situation I have realised that my ideas are good and that people enjoy listening to things you are passionate about. I also have realised how important sleep is, and the negative effects of caffiene!
I did some research into anticpatory anxiety and found some interesting insights from a paper called Uncertainity and anticipation in anxiety (Grupe & Nitschke, 2014). They suggest that anxiety comes from feeling uncertainess or a potential threat about the future causing you to be unable to mitigate the impact no matter whether the future event passes. One of the treatment paths is to transition from spending so much time worrying about the future and to be more in the present moment using tools like mindfulness. I think I definitely spend a lot of time worrying about the future and could engage with some of these mindfulness tools to come back to the present.
conclusion
I learnt that when I have an assignment due, no matter what percent grade it is, I am going to be tense about it. I think I should develop some mindfulness skills such as journalling and deep breathing to bring me back to the present. I think it was a positive experience overall for everyone, and all my nerves were mostly in my head.
action plan
When I'm working on a presentation again, I will break down the slides first into simple steps that match the assignment brief. This will give me guidance from the beginning and break it down into manageable steps. I am also going to try to do some daily journalling and see if this helps with anxious feelings. I think keeping it simple and just working on one habit I can implement is the best approach for me and most realistic.
references
Grupe, D. W., & Nitschke, J. B. (2013). Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: an integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 14(7), 488–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3524
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