Faith Qiao Blog 13- Memorize
Faith Qiao
Ms. Benedetti
English 11AP
6 April 2022
Memorize
POAS is over, it ended yesterday. Three months of anticipation and tribulation culminated in a 5 to 7 minute speech on someone I spent hours reading and researching about. The nights before that speech were dreadful to say the least. My actual research paper was a failure in terms of content, I basically had to redo my entire critique section to draft the script and create the presentation. And of course, I spent my time memorizing it.
Sure enough, every time that script came out of my mouth it began with the phrase "My fellow American citizens" but every time the lines that followed would change. It changed so much that a seven minute speech I scripted turned into a barely six-minute speech that I improvised. And honestly, I feel like I did terribly. Everything that I wanted to say couldn't be said; I had either forgotten too or overlooked its significance in its position on the presentation. However, this isn't what I am frustrated about. It is the amount of time I spent doing this project that keeps me up at night—literally. And it's not just the presentation. My entire critique section could have been saved if I just did a few extra google searches.
If I were to take anything away from this experience it would be "have faith." Believe in what you already know and the time that has been spent on building up that knowledge. Believe in it so much that when you're made to share that knowledge, you know that what needs to be said is said. Take this with a grain of salt because it doesn't mean you should not prepare but just that there is a point called enough and past that point is regret.
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteYou did fine. To be honest, my first impression of your presentation was that you were very nervous. Once a few minutes passed, that anxiety seemed to fade away, replaced by a fervent passion. It almost seemed to me that you confidently believed in the actions that Reagan advanced; I would have never guessed that you considered yourself terrible. Your point on having faith is more than true; I decided to go first because I knew that I had nothing to lose. The way I see it, going first meant that there would be no one to compare my presentation with. I would have definitely regretted going later, seeing as my presentation lacked the costumes and content of the presentations that came after. That being said, I tried to forget the preconceived notions about presenting and put my all into my speaking; I think that made all the difference. You did good, Faith.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteTaking in what you said at the end of this blog post, I had initially decided to prepare for the practice APENG mock exam we have tomorrow in class, and instead trust my knowledge. Thanks for saving me all that time, Faith. I agree with Sean's comment, and thought you had nothing to worry about. The entire class could see the effort and analysis you put into your POAS, and I'm sure it reflected in your presentation score!
Hey Faith, your presentation was incredible; it was so powerful, and you did an amazing job posing as Ronald Reagan. I also had quite a bit of trouble coming up with what I should say for my presentation as well, so you're not alone in that; I found the time limit too constricting and there was so much valuable information that will never have the pleasure of being shared. I do think it is very important to "have faith," and I did believe that at the end of the day my presentation would go well, but I also believed that I would not go over 7 minutes, and yet my grade was reduced my 10% (*crying*). You did amazing and I hope your grade reflects that. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Faith,
ReplyDeleteI also forgot a lot of the stuff I was going to present when it came time for me to actually present. I was much more focused on everything other than my script. Even though I did not spend hours memorizing my script. I did spend the night before my presentation, my math class, and FLEX in order to make sure I knew the points I was going to talk about and bring up. I practiced presenting to many different people and timed myself each time. Then came the presentation in class. My 6 minute and 54 second presentation turned into a 5 minute 30 second one. I was a bit sad when I saw the timer when I got back to my seat. I had forgotten many of the points that thought would be interesting to add onto my presentation. Even though that happened, I do believe I did a good job.
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your presentation! Though your content may have been cut short due to you forgetting some components of your speech, your passion came through, and unless I knew otherwise, I would've totally thought that you're a huge fan of Reagan and his work. I also really enjoyed your ending. Have more confidence in your work. You deserve it!
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteYour presentation was great! While I could barely tell (sitting in the seat closest to you while you were presenting) that you were experiencing some anxiety by hearing how fast you were breathing, Ms. Benedetti definitely couldn't from the distance that she was sitting at. Oftentimes, for speeches with looser guidelines like this one, I find that it is easier just to have a list of points that you want to cover and a broad understanding of what you want to say. Then, with a little practice, you should be able to improvise out explanations for everything you want to say. This approach really helps me a lot, since I have a notoriously bad memory for memorization.
Sincerely,
Raymond Yu
Hello Faith,
ReplyDeleteHonestly, compared to me, you did incredibly well. You maintained very formal professionalism throughout the entirety of your presentation and it genuinely felt like you knew super well what you were talking about. My presentation on the other hand was a complete mess. Except for the introduction, I totally forgot my entire script as soon as I stepped on that stage, so I ended up winging nearly every line. This is all to say your presentation was by no means as bad as you made it out to be, and your score will most definitely show that.
Yi-Kuan C.
Hi Faith,
ReplyDeleteI actually used a different strategy for my POAS presentation: I wrote down things I wanted to say but I did not really have a script (maybe thats why as a comment I got "try to rehearse a bit more" lol). In fact, doing this actually did not make me as nervous as I usually am for a presentation like this. You might want to try this next time (even though it isn't a good strategy lol).
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hey Faith!
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you mean. Personally I really enjoyed the entire process of POAS but I have definitely had similar experiences to yours where I felt so consumed and intimidated by that one assignment or test. I'm sorry you had such a hard time with POAS but I do want to say that it so paid off. Your presentation stood out to me so much and was easily one of the most passionate ones I have seen. I loved how well versed you were and it was super clear that you had put a lot of time and effort into it. Huge kudos to you Faith you should be proud of yourself.