Goal 3
Goal 3: Demonstrate excellence in verbal and written communication.
Some of the most daunting tasks that discouraged me in university was writing and public speaking. Written communication feels too formal at times and easy to critique. The same goes for public speaking, but that is even worse to me because all eyes are on me. I have found three artifacts that I believe demonstrate what the Honors Program has taught me in relation to communication.
Outcome 1: Present ideas logically and effectively – verbally.
For this outcome, I was able to find two artifacts that demonstrate my growth throughout my Honors Program studies. The first artifact is my presentation from my teacher for half a day from HON 264H, Thinking Outside the Box. I took this class freshman year of college and was still getting used to higher expectations that came with university. My goal with any verbal presentation with a visual is to make the presentation interesting, but to not have eyes on me at all times. I want to engage the audience, but also show them interesting anecdotes. I believe I accomplished this with my presentation by including pictures, short lists, and models. Each slide has a personal touch along with screenshots of my mobile phone and laptop. I was able to demonstrate a subject many people may not be experts on by sharing my own experiences.
The second artifact is my leaders in film presentation from HON 250H, Foundations of Leadership. I created this in the fall of my senior year of college and I think it fits this goal and outcome perfectly. At first glance, a viewer can see that I had to rely less on the slides and was able to put more fun items on the presentation itself. I learned that, even if I was required to verbally demonstrate something, I could make the presentation slightly more fun. Another thing I learned was to use my resources. My first artifact I created from scratch, and it was less eye catching. With my second artifact though, I was able to find a good template on the internet that fit my vision. This gave me more time to focus on my topic and speaking skills, rather than my supporting presentation.
HON 264H_Teacher for half day.pdfHON 250H_Leadership in Barbie.pdfOutcome 2: Present ideas logically and effectively – written.
My last artifact is my final written essay from HON 264H. For this assignment, we were assigned a random word and given approximately two hours to craft an essay. This tested my knowledge as well as my ability to find connections between subject matters. The word I was assigned was “adversity.” Given the context of the assignment, it pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I like to brainstorm, research, and plan prior to writing a final essay. Therefore, it was nerve-wracking to only have two hours to do all of this. This did allow me to realize that trying is the most important thing. It would be okay if I did not craft a perfect essay, as long as I can get my point across. Reading through my essay three years later, there are many changes I would make, but that’s because I have gained so much more experience and knowledge. My favorite lesson the Honors Program has taught me is that most things are frozen in the time of creation. Therefore, it does not do well to criticize it in the light of today’s knowledge, only to the extent that we can learn and grow from it.
HON 264H_Final Essay.pdfConclusion
In conclusion, I was able to gain confidence in both written and verbal communication. These artifacts may not be my best work, but it displays an attempt. I never gave up despite probably wanting to do so. I found that despite some daunting assignments, I was still able to find new skills, such as public speaking and relying on models, I never knew I needed.