el fin

So this week I was able to go to the Young the Giant concert. It was absolutely terrific. Like, I feel bad talking about it after the fact because I am guessing most of you missed it it was that terrific. But, I am going to share a video from the concert anyways. And it has a purpose, I promise:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0PbYYMp4-Q0clpic0hzS2h4THYyeGh0OGZlTUp5RXRJLUhR/edit

The crowd (I was a lone reed of professional serenity, take my word) goes nuts as soon as he comes on to stage. As I reflected on my presentations throughout the semester, I may not have had all of you on the edges of your seats, clamoring to get close enough to touch my mere, talent full hand (wait, did I  get to do that perhaps??), but I certainly found that I learned invaluable skills that make the audience more interested and engaged.

Maybe I wanted to brag a little about going to an amazing show, but hey I definitely feel that I see MCOM everywhere. Keeping this blog certainly helps me to do that. I look for ways to better my presenting skills from others' examples, I notice (now) obvious grammar and punctuation errors (look out for the further/farther fairy Halloween 2014), and am much more conscientious of the design of my documents and the effect it has on the viewer. Off we go to better the world with our snobbery and exactitude! Fare well, my friends!!

General Conference

Well, my first conference after being exposed to all things MCOM. Valene, you've cursed me. I now focus far too much on body language in delivering speeches, presentations, lessons, etc. It certainly makes Fast and Testimony meeting more interesting, though. Luckily, our Brethren are phenomenal speakers. I was wowed.

Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk from this afternoon was especially helpful to me. He talked about how truth is truth and how we do not have to separate secular from religious. It is a great comfort that as I gain more truth in school and in the gospel that I am able to work them together. They build off of each other and help each other.

Stay classy, my fellow MCOM-ers! Two more weeks! How is that possible!

Is this real life?

Putting so many hours in such a short amount of time felt ridiculous at times this week. I literally spent more time in study rooms and in the library than I did at home with friends or flatmates this week. Priorities stink sometimes! I didn't just have the Case Analysis, either. I, as I am sure you all did, had several other huge assignments for my other classes... all of which suffered! But what I realized was that this was not a cruel experiment or a power-trip moment from Professor Midd--this is real life! This is the business world; this is the academic world; this is the designer world. There will be weeks or months where our families or friends are unfortunately ignored because we choosing to put all our efforts into our projects.

My mother did free-lance design projects from time-to-time throughout my life. She would choose times when we had less going on and my father was less busy at work because she knew that designing for companies was something she had to give her all to and that when there was a deadline fast approaching, there were measures to be made to meet them.

As difficult as it was, this week was a great preparation and similitude how the real world is and what it expects of us.

Remote Meeting

We were able to communicate effectively and plan out who had to accomplish which tasks our group still had to accomplish. We found being able to hear each other the hardest part but we had great communication. I know that we were all able to complete each task and our previous meeting we had great communication and had a clear image of where we wanted our project to head so meeting just over the phone, all of us were able to visualize and understand what the others were intending because of our communication previous times. Having the same group this entire semester, we have had great understanding of each other's ideas and trends in desires so over the phone those trends continued. All in all, a bit more complicated, would have been easier in person, but not as difficult or as frustrating as I had previously imagined.

TEDxBYU

I had the amazing opportunity of going to the TEDxBYU program last night. Elegant. Inspiring. Uplifting. What more can one want from a Friday night? It was a strange feeling being on campus till 10 on a Friday night, but well worth it. 

The theme was "At the Intersection". Each had their own interpretation of the theme based on their own field of expertise and idea of what it meant. I believe we are all at a major intersection in our lives. We are all planning and preparing for what we aspire to do for a career, hoping to be successful at it but also enjoy it and maintain or attain a balanced personal life. At least I am. We are at a major intersection of preparation and actual experience which will set the course for the rest our careers and have major impact. A bit daunting but extremely exciting if we take control and utilize every opportunity available to us at this fine establishment. 

Of course this course has brainwashed me and I can't just sit back and listen to amazing people impart their words of wisdom upon me anymore... I focus and nitpick the nonverbal aspects of the presentation. 

Positives: 

• Beginning and ending a speech with a similar quote or line. Gives it a great sense of closure and credibility. Helps to remember the beginning more and maybe go over other key points.
• Great slides that truly enhance the presentation. Funny pictures, running theme, description explaining what they are talking about. 
• Great eye contact. Making sure not to look at one place the whole time, or jumping around too much, or the ground. 

Negatives:

• Wearing a whole in the ground. Make movement deliberate. If not, it becomes distracting.
• Not knowing audience. Simple and effective. 
• Technology failing. Not up to the presenter, but totally distracts.

Some inspiring words that were said last night are as follow. 

"Making money is fantastic, but of far greater importance is being a principled contributarian in the social sphere."
"Stop associating creativity just with the arts. Start seeing everyone as creative; it empowers them." -Kelli Loosli
"One of the most powerful intersections in life is when we come face to face with the questions we don't know we don't know"
"The more you know, the more you owe."

I learn so much from SNL

Sometimes I think we can be cursed with being too nice. Whether it be because I am a woman, the youngest/baby of my family, a Mormon, it can be very hard for me to think of criticism when I have to. When I don't have to or shouldn't be thinking of criticism, it seems to come much more naturally. 

I know I personally learn so much from others when they point out my mistakes. For years, I would say "nip in the butt". Not so endearing when you are entering your teenage years. 

I think so many of our mistakes seem so obvious to others that they think it unnecessary to point it out sometimes. We mention it in every presentation, but our hands guys! You'd think we were Kristen Wiig as Dooneese sometimes. The reiteration of these mistakes is extremely helpful to me since I may not instantly notice it every time. I know next time I give a presentation in class (which apparently is coming up!), I will be keenly paying attention to my hands in the hopes that no one else will. It does seem a bit strange, to think about it. 

I know that I am grateful for the constructive criticism (apparently that is a bad word in our class) I receive and that others receive so I can learn about it so I need to be more aware and pay more attention. I need to say not only Keeps, but also the Stops and the Starts as to help my presentation skills and my classmates. 

LDS anti-bullying video

LDS anti-bullying video

VoNique's MCOM 320 Insights: Separate People From the Problem

VoNique's MCOM 320 Insights: Separate People From the Problem Such great points! Check it out!

This week's lecture was amazing. Our professor is... well you all know. In high school, I used to try and get my teachers to get off on tangents to avoid talking about what we were supposed to be learning. We were good at it. But now, I think we might just try and get off on tangents to hear more hilarious and inspiring (let's be honest) stories about confessions of love and fake engagements. That was, I'll say it again, amazing. 

This week I had a eureka moment when I realized that all the things we were learning did in fact connect. That situation in which Prof. Middleton brought home a fake fiance is a connecting moment for her and her relationship history. Learning about CLOUD was a connecting moment for my MCOM history (mildly less epic). As we learn different tools to help our writing, tying them together is the best way to help our writing and our success in this class. Connecting HATS to OABC and understanding their importance individually as well as how they work together is going to help us to remember them, remember to employ them, and help to write better and more effectively. She also mentioned the final examination recently and I realized just how quickly that is going to come up. Further need to remember all these acronyms and guidelines. As we do our readings and listen to the presentations, we ought to make as many connections as possible of the material. By doing so, we will be better prepared as we continue with this class for real world situations, class assignments, and the final examination.  

PAR

Problems, actions, results. I know I have the "Problems" section all sorts of covered. But, as I reflected this week on my "actions" and "results" in response to these "problems" I have had in my life, I have come to realize just how much I have gained from the problems that have come in my life. Am I thankful for my trials and tribulations? I suppose I am. Look at them; they make me a kinder, more charitable person, give me more ammo on interviews, get me good grades in MCOM. Blessed indeed, I'd say. 

As I go back and analyze the problems in my life and try and pinpoint ones that have the most clear actions and results, I was amazed to see that I had so many great examples in my life. I know that methodical preparation with the minutiae of the business world and the interview, the more calm we are going to be going into it and the better we are going to perform while there. 

Peculiar People

Quick shout-out to the LDS faith. It's awesome. I'm not even talking about the gospel aspects, but the culture that makes for these little drones who will spend entire Saturdays cleaning beaches or mowing widow's lawns. Who at the ripe, ol' age of (awkward) 12 have the guts to stand in front of 200 some odd people and give a 10-minute, self-prepared speech. Who somehow (Utah and Idaho excluded, you pansies) raises teenagers who will attend early-morning, scripture-study class before school every day.

This faith teaches its youth the etiquette that is appropriate in business society. That etiquette and being a good citizen goes hand-in-hand with the gospel and that is why it is taught. Thankfully, little ol’ me, BIC (born in the covenant…), gets to reap the benefits of having had some of those primary and Young Women’s lessons rub off on me. Thank you letters? I’m on it. Interviews? I had one every time I went to the temple. Business cards? OK, you got me on that one, Kathleen Fueston … But point being, we all have a great foundation from the church that will aid us in our future business endeavors. 

Ex. 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.

Oh, A Baby Cheetah?

Group Presentation #2--Check! 
Wow, I think our group's preparation payed off! It was by no means perfect, but it went well. We had good response from our teacher and Mikey as well as from you, our fellow classmates. (As I write this, I am thinking that Mikey and Prof. Middleton probably view our blogs as well... shout out to you two!) 
I am becoming more and more conscientious of my body movements and the response they will evoke out of the viewer where before I used to think so much more about myself during the presentation (conceited much?) and how my movements affected me during my presentation. When giving a presentation, it truly is all  about the person/people you are presenting to and that should be the focus, not just with your words but also with your movements.
Why such an emphasis on kinetics?, you may ask. Well, the sound on our recording didn't work so that is what I have to focus on and review. But also it is a very important part of presenting and an area that I can have great improvement in.

• At the beginning of the presentation, each team member was folding their arms... so unnecessary! Just because the focus was on the video and none of us were talking, it doesn't mean we can forget how we ought to be holding ourselves! Oi...
• Because my group wanted to keep good flow and dynamism, we decided to trade off between presenters often as opposed to just given each of us a section and calling it good. A great idea and the transitions were smooth and we all knew the material well. The only problem was I kept looking back at the screen to see when it would be changed. I realize now I had no reason for me to keep looking back at the slides especially when all the information I had was in my head and not even on the slides but I unfortunately used it as my crutch several times in the presentation, detracting from it. Practice makes perfect!
• One last note from the video was a compliment to the others that I did not get: I was NOT dressed professionally. I was clad in my usual jeans and I wore a regular shirt. I may have lost credibility, perhaps for my whole team, because I did no decide to upscale my apparel choices. Of course in the real world this is more important but it is good to start paying attention to these things as I practice today.

Well, very embarrassing to watch oneself recorded giving the presentation. I know all the mistakes I made and I so wish I could go back in time, press pause on that moment and unfold my arms or unpop my hip. But, all things done, I am happy with the way things went and I am so grateful to be in a class where we are able to give each other such honest and useful feedback so we can all learn right away from our own successes and...less-than successes as well as each others. 

Playin' Cupid

Today, 9:32 a.m., a complete stranger knocked on my door and asked me if I would deliver flowers to his fiancée at noon for him. Never has a more exhilarating request been made of me. Promptly, 4 minutes past the hour, cupid flew over to the address which he left with me and helped to keep a relationship alive. 
Why was I, a single gal, not knowing either party, willing to change my plans for the afternoon to make sure I was around at 12 to make the delivery? (A) I love a sappy, cheesy, romantic gesture. Especially on February 14th. (B) He made a compelling argument and had good presentation skills. MCOM 320 graduate? Most likely. 
Now, before I continue, and you readers are thinking I am the lamest, most cliché ever and you can't even read the rest of the post because you are rolling your eyes too much, just know that I know that St. Valentine is also the patron saint of plague. 
Now I can finish.
Learning convincing presentation skills, whether it be physical/verbal or in creating a document or PowerPoint, can truly change how we interact with the world. We want what we say to match what people look at on a slide to also match how we are dressed. When all of these are at the highest quality, we will be treated in response at an equal level and if we are eliciting a response from people, such as "hire me" or "give me a good grade in this class, Prof. Middleton", then we can expect results, often times, on the same level of our effort and input. 
So, go have a wonderful V-day celebrating with the one you love. Or in my case, have a wonderful late Galentine's Day. No, it is NOT Single Awareness Day. 
You can all work on you presentation skills starting bright and early tomorrow. 

So that's what I've been doing wrong...

I don't know about any of you, but starting February 4, 2014, I don't think I will ever be able to only listen to anybodies talk ever again. I will constantly be checking to see are their arms folded? Crossed? Heaven forbid, the fig leaf? Are they fiddling with their jewelry (finger rings, earrings, bellybutton rings)? I know that am often guilty of either crossing my arms or spinning the rings on my hands.
The entire presentation of presentations, I was just blown away by our teacher's presentation skills. As she would discuss voice quality, she would perfectly change her pitch, tone, rate, and volume. As she would discuss gestures, she would again perfectly demonstrate that which we were trying to understand or learn.
As I progress in school, give more talks in church, or need to give important interviews or presentations with companies, I know I will remember the lesson we had on Tuesday. I will especially remember it when I see others explicitly doing things she pointed out as wrong. OK, now you all know one of my character flaws. I can now check off "baring my soul" from my blog bucket list.

Here is a really good song by Ra Ra Riot. My excuse for including it is maybe we can learn about group presentations from the music video. Naaaaaaaaah.

Thanks Mikey, But I'm Still Freaking Out

As I study and prepare for the Grammar Basics Exam, I reflect on a few things: (1) I really did learn a lot in elementary and middle school and my teachers weren't lying to me when they told me I would use this later, (2) I have forgotten almost everything I 'learned' in elementary and middle school, and (3) when others use correct grammar, punctuation, etc., it truly is impressive.
Thankfully, some of the grammar rules come back to me like riding a bike and I am able to apply past memorization tools for rules; not too much reinventing of the wheel here in MCOM 320. Of course, many of the concepts I didn't learn/are not coming right back to me but that is where the rest you, my wondrously fabulous classmates(is that an adverb modifying an adjective?? can they do that??), come in handy and teach me wonderful tricks for memorization. I owe the future 150 that I am going to receive on the test all to you 20 fellow classmates. (Speech in process.)
So, if I am endlessly complaining about these rules I get to memorize, why do it? One, I really would enjoy a good grade in MCOM. Really. But two, I notice when others make errors in their speech, their texting, their papers I peer review, etc. I know that in a job or in school, I have more respect for those who employ better grammar and presentation in all aspects of their communication so I absolutely hope to become a person that I would respect. I hope, as I study for this exam and this class, that I retain much of what I memorize and that I don't go and forget everything as is often the trend.
As you read my post to add your obligatory comments, feel free to point our mistakes. There are plenty, I am sure.
Also, I am posting a link to a buzzfeed quiz about grammar. It made me feel better about myself more than anything.
Good luck, all! Show the Testing Center who's boss!







How Well Do You Actually Remember Elementary School Grammar? Quiz

Keep, Stop, Start

I loved doing the presentations this week and immediately getting and giving feedback afterwards. I learned so much from the teams that went before ours (we had the privilege/curse of going last) and tried to apply it to my small contribution to the team but also, with going last, I felt pressure to perform at a higher level because we had heard so many tips.
Discussing what the teams ought to keep, stop, and start after every presentation was a great way to make sure that I was critically analyzing each presentation to the nuts and bolts and not just taking in what they were saying like it can be so easy to do. We are in class to learn and, if we let ourselves, we can learn from others.
I also felt that this exercise was something that I should do more often, not just when we are instructed to do it in class. I should evaluate presentations in other classes that others do as well as the ones that I do. I thought that doing the exercise made our class more open to constructive criticism, as it was 2/3 suggestions for improvement. I know that the exercises we do in class have a distinct purpose and it makes me more willing to fully participate and look forward to attending classes.

Home Grown Professionals

I am taking this class largely to improve my business writing skills and presentation skills. However, in this past week, I have been impressed (and equally horrified) at how much emphasis is on subliminal communication as opposed to intended communication. I know that we all judge each other all the time based on posture, fashion choices, the diction the employ, etc., but this class has such a practical application of the subject that I feel we will truly carry with us into the business world. 
Not only do we judge be by the subtle word, dress, and body language choices, but I was again reminded of the importance of grammar and punctuation (all those years, my teachers weren't lying to me after all) and I am glad that I found it important to take those lessons seriously since elementary school.  We all communicate with people we never come in contact with face-to-face (do I need to hyphenate those three words together? I am severely self-conscious now) especially as students dealing with administration, internships, jobs, a study abroad, etc. and depending on the fields we enter into, we will continue to do this often times even more than we do now. It is important if much of our business contact is through e-mails and letters or over the phone that we are able to conduct ourselves professionally in those manners despite all of our other charms and talents. What we are learning now and building on will matter and help us to be professional and progress in our careers.