Over the span of terms 2 and 3, my English classmates and I collaborated on a presentation regarding the link between artworks done by Indigenous Artist Sandra Hill, and the play ‘No Sugar’.
Since our topic was somewhat broad, I felt overwhelmed with what felt like the sheer amount of work that was ahead of us. I communicated my team about this, and we decided to divvy up the work accordingly to our strengths. I was advised to focus mainly on historical moments, and the specific context of Sandra Hill and the author of No Sugar’s lives. This was an excellent suggestion as HASS and history are my strong points, which then made the experience more enjoyable for me. This communication shared among my group is an important aspect of having collaboration skills, and as such was an educational experience for me. I will continue to use my communication skills in future collaborative work thanks to this.
When it came to the presenting part of it, I was put outside my comfort zone as I had never conducted a presentation that involved audience participation before. However, as my group and I all worked together to implement an activity centered around art, we once again decided we should all have a part to play in the verbal presentation, to ensure we didn’t get too nervous. That way while we were still feeling nerves regarding the activity aspect, we were more comfortable in presenting, as we were aiding each other in minimizing the workload that came with it. I feel that over all our presentation was a success, and I can attribute that mainly to the brilliant teamwork skills and support we offered each other. And while I don’t enjoy presentations, I do feel that I’ve grown from this experience and know-how to communicate effectively now to ensure it is easier in future.