Trying again. Staying upright while learning to present.
“Get back on!” I encouraged my daughter after yet another crash. She had rushed off, upset, around the corner of the house to be out of sight. After a few minutes she came back, feeling frustrated and yet determined. She got back on her bike as I held it up. We went forward again. She pedaled somewhat consistently and steered down the driveway in a wobbly line. She got up to speed and I let go of the seat. She continued in her zig zag line and stayed up. The rest of the family cheered her on. She had learned to ride.
In the Workshop
At Center Centre, each course starts with a two-day workshop taught by an industry expert. For Presenting, one of our soft skill courses, we had the pleasure of learning from Mike Monteiro. On the first day, we learned what to do (and what not to do) when presenting. On day two we got the opportunity to put our new knowledge into practice by giving presentations.
Each of my teammates and I put together a five minute presentation. I took what I had learned the previous day and tried to put it into practice as I prepared for my presentation.
Once we were prepared, we came back together and delivered our presentations. I watched a few of my peers go up and present. After each presentation the presenter received feedback from the group. Then they presented again.
I had a lot going through my mind when it was my turn to stand and deliver. I was trying to remember everything I had learned the day before as well as what I had learned in the past hour from the good feedback my peers received.
I stood before my team, introduced myself, and presented my design idea to them. As I spoke, I was thinking about what I was saying, my body language, my stage presence, whether I was using crutch words, how much time had passed and how much time was left, and when to advance my slide deck.
My presentation was shaky. Like my daughter learning to ride her bike, I was focused on so many things that it was hard to pick up momentum. As I concluded, I had thoughts of rushing off around the corner and out of sight. But I didn’t. I stayed and received feedback. I listened to Mike and each of my teammates as they told me what had worked and what could be improved. It was like I had crashed and the team was encouraging me to get back up and try again. Then, like my daughter, I did it again.
It felt strange to give the same presentation, albeit with changes, back to back. As odd as it felt that first time, the immediacy of it worked for me. My daughter got back on her bike time and time again until she mastered it. I was doing the same. Like my teammates, my second version was an improvement. I wouldn’t have won the tour de France, but I had the momentum to stay upright and even enjoy it a little. It was exciting to see my progress from a few minutes before.
In the workforce
Center Centre’s many soft skills courses have helped me improve in presenting, sketching, critiquing and more. These are skills that I know will benefit me and my team in the workplace. I know this because I’ve already benefited from honing these skills and using them on the real world projects we do at Center Centre.
Like my daughter riding a bike, presenting is not a one time thing at Center Centre. Since the presenting course I’ve given a few more presentations, including to real world clients. I’ve prepared for each presentation by presenting to my team and getting their feedback. Every time their feedback has helped me give a better presentation.
With solid UX knowledge and practical soft skills like presenting, Center Centre is preparing my teammates and me to be industry-ready UX designers.
