Team:Calgary/19 September 2009

Although the material was presented in a clear and concise manner due to the time constraint a lot of information was placed on the audience in a small amount of time. This was commented on by the Judges. The Judges really liked the Second Life part of our project. They wanted to see more of Second Life . Some Judges recommended making Second Life the main part of our project. The judges unfortunately felt that they had trouble finding links betweent the 4 parts of the project. They also didn't like that in the poster presentation a different speaker was called to present his or her part of the project . They felt that only one speaker should be able to speak about all aspects of the project. The handouts given were praised.

After the Teams presentations were over , a Guest Speaker talked about the Finer Points of Public Speaking . He talked about speaking softly when trying to highlight important points instead of speaking louder . He also recommended speaking slowly through out the presentation so that the audience had time to digest the information begin presented. He emphasized on pausing before speaking about the really important aspects of the presentation so that the audience knows to pay extra attention during that time.The science of memory in not perfect. People can only digest a certain amount of information at a time. At the end of a presentation , he urged , the audience should be able to recall three things about the presentation. It would be really advantageous if these three things were the main points of the presentation. To the get the message across it is important to organize the presentation in a way that it highlights the message's three important points. He recommended engaging the audience a little bit if time permits to create a connection with them . Attention grabbers are also important to keep the audience interested during the presentation. It is also important to know who the audience is so that their concerns can be addressed and also so that the audience can be addressed in their language.

He also gave us information about the Non Verbal Communication that happens during public speaking between the audience and the speaker.
Crossing arms while speaking tended to make the presenter appear hostile and aggressive . Keeping hands behind the back made the speaker seem like he or she had something to hide. Hand in pocket showed disinterest from the speaker about the presentation topic. Best to just leave hands beside body . Moving hands around is good it shows enthusiasm.

Tips about answering questions :
When answering questions it is better to look down when thinking about the answer rather than look up . Looking up meant that the presenter was looking up at the heavens for answer because he or she was unsure of it. When answering questions , take a small pause before answering so that the answer doesn't look too prepared. If the presenter is unsure of the meaning of the question it is a good idea to repeat the question being asked as it gives the presenter some time to think about the answer and also the audience has a chance to understand or hear the question if they had not previously done so. In the end it is up to the presenter to interpret what the question is asking .

In the end it was announced that we won aGEM. We almost forgot to pick up our trophy before leaving for dinner.

After the final presentation, the judges gave us feedback on our presentations, commented on last night's poster and wiki presentation and gave constructive criticisms to all 3 teams. Next, 2 judges sat with each team to talk more about each teams' projects and areas of improvements. After lunch, at the award's ceremony, the University of Calgary won first place for delivering an informative presentation and making an impressive wiki. The tremendous amount of effort that was put into making the handouts, wiki and presentation paid off as the UofC iGEM team brought home the aGEM trophy.

After supper, the teams were free to visit the town and celebrate their hard work.