If you’re interested in developing your presentation skills in class, keep reading below!
This is (sadly) my last semester at BU. Looking back on all of the amazing courses I’ve taken over the years, one stands out as a true favorite: CM211 Professional Presentations with Professor Dodge. The class is designed to help students with presentation skills, preparation, audience analysis, and more. Throughout the semester, we did presentations and public speaking assignments ranging from TED Talks to elevator pitches, interview questions, and podcasts. I enjoyed the range of projects and the work that went into presenting them. Every week we recorded ourselves giving the speech, and every few weeks, a handful of students presented live in class. At first, recording myself was embarrassing and awkward, and analyzing and reflecting on it was unbearable. But each week, I gained confidence and comfort watching myself on camera. My public speaking skills have drastically improved!
Another reason why I enjoyed CM211 so much is because of the awesome professor. Professor Dodge is a very down-to-earth, genuine person who really cares about his students. He always shared life stories as examples for whatever assignment we had coming up next. On top of that, he explained each element of the presentation from delivery tactics to the end goal. Professor Dodge also gave the most in-depth and personal feedback of any professor I’ve ever had. Not only did he take the time to provide feedback about good things I did and the places where I could improve, but he also wrote down the exact times in my video for the feedback so I could go back and watch from his point of view.
In my final semester, I can say that I’m more confident in both my speaking and writing skills. I learned that pauses are normal and necessary, it’s okay to slow down, and I have to be the expert at whatever I’m talking about. It’s especially important to have good speaking skills going into the workforce and I’m glad I learned them before I graduated. I took CM211 as an elective course for major credit and I’m really happy I did. I recommend it to anyone who needs another class for a future semester, and you should definitely take it with Professor Dodge!
