My Malabo Adventure: Day Four

Today’s topic was “Presentation Skills.”

We began the day with a relay race to recap Day Three’s content. The two teams competed to add Day Three words or phrases that began with each of the letters in: “NON-DEFENSIVE AND ASSERTIVE" and they had a ball.

The morning’s focus was on assessing the needs of your audience, planning what needed to be covered, deciding if the topic was controversial or not, and scripting out the presentation.

As much as they kid around, these participants are a serious bunch. I asked for a topic to work through and they chose feminism. After I provided an example and then modeled the different steps with the group, one table group chose nonsmoking and the other chose to add a spiritual aspect to life as their topic.

They did a beautiful job of creating the presentations and having one of each group make the presentation.

After lunch, we left all the analysis and writing of the morning to focus on posture, presence, and projection. I videotaped them (after I remembered to take the cover off the camera lens) as they each introduced themselves. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the women I’ve had the most trouble hearing can project their voices.

The fun part of the day was having them reach into my bag of tricks, pull out an item, and then create and deliver a two-minute presentation about the item.

Our first presenter showed a miniature wizard, called it lucky, and proceeded to tell us it was made from material on the moon- before he tried to sell it to us.

Other topics included the value of lizards around the house, the importance of safe driving, why policies and procedures are necessary, the value of a cork to stopper wine and other beverage bottles, etc.

Most of the participants engaged our group with questions at the beginning of their presentations and provided data to support their ideas before closing with a call to action.

The presenters on apples and on carrots fared poorly and I blame the internet. They had so many facts that they just read them off without engaging the audience. I was pleased that the group gave loving nonjudgmental feedback and recommendations to improve their presentations.

On a personal note, I received my return tickets after I sent yesterday’s email. I had been looking forward to flying Lufthansa because they frequently offer water during the flight, and I wasn’t enamored of the food offered by Ethiopian Airlines. Unfortunately, I’m returning on Ethiopian and have a layover in Chicago from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm (which is ridiculous). I’ve asked my client to have the travel agent change it.

Conducting the training and writing these emails leave me tired and I have to put my feet up. So, I haven’t explored the grounds or used the outdoor pool. I understand the town of Malabo is about 10 minutes away. I’ll be here all Saturday and part of Sunday, so I plan to get out and see the sights, whatever they may be. I’ll take lots of photos.

Have a great day!