Bonjour!
A few days ago, our team gave a presentation to our class, with the topic being the implementation of an improved water storage and supply system that solves water disruptions in HDB flats. Despite being a technical proposal, our presentation was described by a few of our classmates as being simple to understand, and its concepts easy to grasp. Our reviewing lecturer also stated that we seemed quite laid-back and natural when speaking. Of course, our public speaking skills have yet to be on par with that of toastmasters, but I was nonetheless very pleased when our presentation was voted as the best in the class.
In retrospect, our success in conveying our idea to the audience was the culmination of the tremendous amount of effort spent on preparation. From the initial brainstorming stage to the discussion of technical aspects, and even the selection of visual aids for use in our slides and speech rehearsal, many long nights were spent exploring every idea as well as working out every detail of the technical proposal in the weeks leading up to our presentation. On a side note, good time management was also practiced, which ensured that we did not spend too much time on this proposal and end up neglecting our studies for other subjects.
In cooking, a lot of time is spent on preparing the ingredients used to make a dish. This includes marinating meats, whisking eggs and making sure that there are no missing ingredients before beginning to cook. That being said, as an aspiring engineer, I believe in being well-prepared, as companies will appreciate an employee who shows judiciousness and diligence in his work more than one who has a lackadaisical attitude. Therefore, in all that I do, I must put in my best effort and prepare myself to handle the assigned task well in advance, instead of waiting until the eleventh hour to rush through the task and submit last-minute mediocre work just to meet the minimum requirements.
- Ike
"There is no excellence without labor. One cannot dream oneself into either usefulness or happiness." - Liberty Hyde Bailey
Commented on parallel posts in the following blogs:
- Abiali's Journey to Fluent English
- Frankie's Collector's Item
- Jerry's Beyond the Unseen
- Ming Kang
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Who's Writing All This Stuff?
A recovering ramen addict, Ike Domenden currently holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and has two years of working experience in the built environment sector. He likes videogames, music and attending events that provide free food. When he's not being productive, you can find him watching corgi videos on Facebook.
Thanks, Ike, for this entertaining and detailed post. I appreciate the analogy to cooking.
ReplyDeleteYour preparation certainly paid off in a fine presentation!
Thanks Brad for the encouraging comments. Your advice really played a major role in our success!
DeleteHey Ike! Similar to Brad, i really like your analogy to cooking. As much as i want to agree with you that preparation can improve the quality of work. But in other context ( let's bring schoolwork out of the picture), impromptu decisions or choices will contribute or expose you to a whole new experience to yourself!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ming Kang for your views regarding preparation! I agree with you, having a spontaneous approach towards many things in life can lead to pleasant surprises. However, it is my belief that the ability to go freestyle on some things stems from having a strong foundation in the basic techniques. In fact, our answers to all of the questions asked during our presentation were unrehearsed, but we were only able to answer them confidently because we understood the topic well enough to come up with answers on the spot.
DeleteSimilarly, no artist paints on a canvas without first learning the various techniques to express themselves. Therefore I believe that in every situation, preparation and practice does not stifle creativity but instead enhances it. Cheers!