Although I have never had a fear of speaking in front of people, in fact I always thought it was one of my strong points, I was nervous about the in class presentation. It wasn’t the speaking part that got to me, I realized. It was the physical act of putting all of my research together and trying to come up with a few patterns to present to the class. I had to sound smart, like I knew what I was doing.
The task was to give a ten minute presentation to the class, describing the background of your topic, your sources, your findings, and then analyze a document for the class.
The first two parts were a piece of cake. I was able to whip up two slides for that in no time. The following two parts of the assignment however were a little more challenging. I was forced to sit down with my documents for an hour or so and really think about a few key aspects they had in common and ones that they didn’t. I looked for patterns, trends. I found that the actual image of the Panthers, in their leather jacket and black berets, appeared often in white newspapers. I also saw how both types of newspapers showed strong distaste for the actions of the off duty police officers. The two types of papers only seemed to vary in their approach towards the Panthers.
I chose four different documents in order to illustrate the patterns I was noticing. The four consisted of two from each type of document, one dealing primarily with the police and the other with the Panthers.
I was nervous when I walked into class on the day of my presentation. I didn’t want to sound like an idiot; I wanted confirmation not only from my teacher but from my peers that I was headed in the right direction with my paper. I wanted to know that all my hard work was paying off.
I was nervous waiting for my turn as my peers presented. Finally though I was called up to the front of the class, my PowerPoint was set up, and I was given the signal to begin my presentation. As soon as I began my presentation, I realized that I had no need to be nervous. I knew exactly what I was talking about. I had spent the past few months knee deep in papers, slaving over analyzing each one and making sure I understood everything.
I returned to my desk after my presentation with not only a confidence boost, but a reassurance that my project was going to turn out alright.