Thursday, January 22, 2015

Writing and Design

Design has a very big impact on writing, especially when presenting the work or piece in front of an audience.  The layout of a power point presentation for example can have the ability to interest the audience or bore the audience.  Design of that presentation could include the way text and any pictures/figures/graphs are placed on the slide, the colors chosen for the slide, as well as fonts for texts.  It is important to take the time to think about the topic and decide who the audience will be.  For an informal audience such as a classroom presentation, the project should be geared more towards a younger audience.  This can be achieved by using various colors, emphasizing pictures and figures more than text, and using creative fonts.  The ability to be creative when designing a piece of work is very important and necessary for success.  Design also comes in to play when writing a paper.  It does not have to be all about visual presentation, it can be about how the text is organized as well.  If a paper, report, article, or review of some type is displayed in a general layout that everyone has seen before, it will not engage the audience.  More so for a less formal project, the writer should have the ability to be creative and express their ideas in an interesting way.  For example, the layout can include various font sizes and styles or the writer can emphasize any quotations used by separating them from the main text.  Design can take many forms in writing, and being creative with design will be very beneficial when presenting a piece of writing.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

My Abilities as a Communicator

Some of my strengths as a communicator include giving advice and listening to friends, family, classmates, etc. when they have an issue they may need to resolve.  I like to be able to help people I care about with problems they may have, and knowing I can aid in their problem solving makes me feel accomplished as a person.  In my group of close friends as well as my family, I am known as the listener.  For example, I am very close with my younger sister.  Everyday when she gets home from school she will tell me about her day or any problems she has, and I will always be there to give any advice I have.  The same is true with my group of friends.  I also enjoy talking about current issues, in a variety of topics.  I am a biology major so naturally I enjoy discussing biology related news or issues, but I like listening to hear what anyone has to say about any current events that are happening.

I am not very comfortable speaking in front of a large audience, so I strongly believe that is something I can improve on.  Yes, my speaking abilities have improved over the past few years due to practice, but now that I am in college there is a different level expected that I need to achieve.  Although I am not always comfortable with public speaking, I will be able to accomplish it if necessary, or if it is required for a class.  The same goes for one on one conversations with someone I may not be familiar with, such as a new professor or a boss when going to a job interview.  I do not think I have enough self confidence to be able to comfortably talk in front of someone I am not familiar with, and going to a job interview for example is not something I necessarily look forward to.

As we move through the semester I would like to focus on being able to appropriately express my thoughts in a logical way whether that be through an essay or paper, or a presentation.  When writing essays I believe I know the appropriate steps needed and what makes a good paper, but when it comes to organizing my thoughts and presenting the material, that is where it becomes difficult for me.  As far as presentations, I would also like to improve organization and relating for example, a power point to writing.  Lastly, I would like to improve the way I go about presenting.  Because I am not comfortable speaking in front of a large audience, I would like to be able to practice presenting projects or essays that I have completed.