Writing With Power

I am continuously striving to develop my ability to write effectively. There are always new tricks and skills that can be implemented into your writing to make it more effective. If you are trying to be as effective as possible in whatever document you are creating, you are going to want to make sure that you are writing with power. How do we write with power? There are a couple of different aspects that we can focus on in our writing that will creating a powerful message.

Simplicity within your document is one of the most effective ways to create a powerful message. We want the reader, whoever it may be, to completely understand the topic that we are writing about. We want the most important information within the document to be at the beginning. Readers remember the beginning more than they remember the end. The beginning of the document is key to drawing the reader in as well. We should be using wording and information that touches the heart of the reader. We want to connect to the readers emotions by using emotional language. One last aspect we can implement is to use language that creates imagery. We want to create a mental picture in the readers mind that they can associate with the topic that we are discussing.

If we want to be as effective as possible in our writing we are going to want to use these tools for writing with power. The more powerfully we write, the more effect our document is going to have on the readers.

Group Presentation

We had our group presentation last week that turned out really well. They say practice makes perfect and in our case, our time spent practicing definitely paid off. I personally was able to keep a smile on my face and keep my focus on the audience throughout the entire presentation. I was confident and I knew the material that I was presenting and it made the entire thing easier. I felt that I was successful at grabbing the audiences attention as I spoke. One thing  I do feel that I could have improved on was my eye contact. I felt as though I was simply staring at the audience as a whole instead of attempting to visually connect with people. Our group did well with our flow and with our delivery. We were very connected and absolutely unified. One thing we could have done better on was our speed. We rushed through the information and the slides because we were worried about our time crunch. It is important to remain within your time frame allotted but it is also important to slow down and allow the information to sink in. This is something we can definitely improve on as a group. All in all though, we definitely did a great job on our presentation.

It Is All About Presentation

So many times we listen to people speak and think to ourselves, what is this person even talking about? I know that I am not the only one who has these experiences whether it be in church, at work, or in school. Presentation skills make or break the entire experience for an audience. Regardless of the topic you are presenting, how it is presented makes or breaks the experience. One thing that I have caught on to in my own presentations is my use of crutch words. I have noticed I am a more effective presenter when I am able to watch those words such as um, like, you know, etc. If you are able to perfect your presentations to avoid these words, it makes you sound more credible and confident and helps to hold peoples attention.

I am excited to work on presenting confidently. I have a problem with fidgeting. I am constantly doing something with my hands especially in large groups. My ultimate goal is to focus specifically on being confident in what I am presenting and conveying this confidence through the strength of my voice and by my body language. Many opportunities will open up in life as I learn to become a more effective presenter.

Stepping Stones

Curve balls are so unpredictable. They come at us fast and change direction at the last second. On occasion it can go completely wrong and cause injury. Life is full of curve balls and I have discovered that this last week. We set goals and make plans but life leads us in a completely different direction. Our entire life plan can change in the blink of an eye. I feel as if we are never quite prepared for these events to occur and after they occur, we never quite know how to best react to them. I have had to eventually take a step back and just take everything one step at a time.

I am the kind of person that has always had a plan for my life. I have always known what I wanted to do and if things changed, I already had a new plan in place. I am currently at a point in my life that I don't have a plan. I don't know what they next steps are or where I want to be. This is okay. The conclusion has been reached that it is time to just take a step back and take it one step at a time. Life is full of stepping stones. Sometimes we can't see the stones far ahead, but if we take it one at a time, eventually the end goal comes into sight.