Our third try at our presentation was at my sponsoring Rotary club of Saltburn by the Sea on Wednesday night (24th Feb).
I'm sure we would all like to thank President Bob Storey for inviting us and providing us with such a beautiful meal. Also District Governor Tony Fairley and his wife Cynthia were there to see us and their presence was much appreciated.
The presentation for myself went surprisingly smoothly, I managed to get all of my words out and the computer actually worked which was a nice surprise. I am gradually becoming more confident with speaking in front of everyone and the helpful hints we are given by Rotarians regarding the best way to put ourselves across are invaluable. Unfortunately mine was the only part of the presentation that I saw as I had to rush away to do a night shift but I have been reliably informed that it went well and will no doubt be even better when Tom manages to dig himself out of the snow in Barnard Castle to give his part again.
It was wonderful for me to see the club members again and I would like to thank them for sponsoring me and providing me with this fabulous opportunity which is coming increasingly near. Also a special thanks to Dave Sadler (the birthday boy) who has taken me under his wing and was the person who introduced me to Rotary and GSE.
This practice of our presentations will help us come across as a professional and efficient team when in the United States and I for one am grateful for the clubs who are willing to see us and give us constructive advice so that we can improve and be the best possible.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Trials and Tribulations
Following our presentation for family & friends on Tuesday, on Thursday night we were hosted by our first Rotary club, Durham Elvet. Durham club also attended, and after a good deal of meeting and greeting, we all ventured upstairs to begin the night's proceedings.
The presentation was our second one ever... and beset with problems. The laptop kept crashing, which meant that both Helen and Tom had to deliver their presentations largely without any slides. (They both coped admirably, particularly Helen who was first up!) By the time it was my turn, I was so nervous about the IT issues I forgot parts of what I wanted to say, and finally, during the first half of James' presentation the food arrived!
It was definitely a learning curve for us but we ploughed on through, and I think we're happy that it first happened now and not, say, at the District Conference! We had already been planning to come up with a slide-less version anyway - we just weren't expecting to have to come up with it quite so spontaneously.
Thankfully, the Durham clubs were super-supportive of us, which was really great, and also offered us some very useful and constructive feedback. We're definitely going to incorporate their advice into our presentation before we leave.
Personally, I'd also like to say thanks to Jim Greensmith for sending me some much better pictures of Durham cathedral, which I'll be adding into my own portion of the presentation.
The presentation was our second one ever... and beset with problems. The laptop kept crashing, which meant that both Helen and Tom had to deliver their presentations largely without any slides. (They both coped admirably, particularly Helen who was first up!) By the time it was my turn, I was so nervous about the IT issues I forgot parts of what I wanted to say, and finally, during the first half of James' presentation the food arrived!
It was definitely a learning curve for us but we ploughed on through, and I think we're happy that it first happened now and not, say, at the District Conference! We had already been planning to come up with a slide-less version anyway - we just weren't expecting to have to come up with it quite so spontaneously.
Thankfully, the Durham clubs were super-supportive of us, which was really great, and also offered us some very useful and constructive feedback. We're definitely going to incorporate their advice into our presentation before we leave.
Personally, I'd also like to say thanks to Jim Greensmith for sending me some much better pictures of Durham cathedral, which I'll be adding into my own portion of the presentation.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Family and friends
This evening was special for two reasons. First, it was the opportunity for us to meet the families of the other team members (and of course for our families to meet the team). Second, it was the first time we did our presentation. I think the presentation went well for a first run, though we each came away with things we'd like to improve on. Not long to make changes though - our next presentation is just two days away on Thursday evening.
As well as our families, there were also several Rotarians present, who gave us some useful feedback after the presentation. Thanks go to all for their suggestions and advice, but especially Past District Governor Syd Howarth who also stayed behind at the end to take photographs of us individually and as a team. He also took a photo of everyone present that evening, which you can see below.
As well as our families, there were also several Rotarians present, who gave us some useful feedback after the presentation. Thanks go to all for their suggestions and advice, but especially Past District Governor Syd Howarth who also stayed behind at the end to take photographs of us individually and as a team. He also took a photo of everyone present that evening, which you can see below.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Preparations
Yesterday we met to fine tune our presentation - getting more urgent since the first trial run is only just over a week away. Although it was the first time we've seen each other's presentations, they all fitted together really well and I think everyone came away feeling pleased and reassured!
The next time we meet will be our first trial run presentation as a team, in front of friends and family. We've then got several other dates scheduled at Rotary Clubs so we can fine tune it before we head out to the States.
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