Effective Presentation in a Classroom Setting

Two things that could be useful in presenting to a class are being confident with the material being presented, and practice what is to be said. Both of these tactics are also helpful in calming nerves as presenting in front of others can make some people nervous, myself included.

Being confident in the material not only can build credibility with the audience but it can also keep the presenter calm knowing that what he or she is saying is true to the best of their knowledge. Credibility is important to keep so the audience stays engaged, once credibility is lost no one will listen to what is being presented anymore because it no longer matters.

Practicing the material is also very important. The audience doesn’t want to listen to someone who is constantly stumbling over words or jumping through topics; that would cause confusion. Practicing can tell the presenter where something may not flow as well, if something needs to be reworded for clarity, or if a certain topic is even necessary. A presentation that has not been practiced several times may not go as smoothly as it could have if it had been run through.

Presenting to a small group may not be as scary as presenting to a large group, but simply being confident in the material and practicing it several times may make it even easier.

My Huntsman School of Business Experience

In my three years of school at Utah State University I’ve really only had one experience with The Huntsman School of Business that stands out in my mind. It could be because it was very recent, and is very applicable to this class because it’s the same experience I had trying to get into MIS 2200.

I am currently an Undeclared Business student, but I’m on the verge of finally declaring a major in Business Administration this summer. I was trying to get into two classes that I was waitlisted for, MIS 2200 and MGT 2050, with very limited availability, on my part, due to my job and my other classes that I was already registered for. I had done everything I could think of to make things work. I had emailed the professors for each class, four different advisors, and talked face to face with another professor. The professors directed me to the advisors so I went and talked to my undeclared advisor first, she then directed me to the advisor for my major, who then directed me back to the undeclared advisor because I’m still “Undeclared,” all of them seeming very unwilling to help me for one reason or another. Through all of this I was beginning to question the point of academic advisors, aren’t they there to help you through school and get you registered for the classes that you need? I had all the prerequisite requirements done, and I worked really hard the previous semester to meet the GPA requirement that I didn’t quite have at the time. I know there are policies that need to be followed but I would think they shouldn’t have to be this difficult, especially for a class that every business student needs to take.

After a about a week or two into the current semester, I was finally able to get signed in to MIS 2200; fortunately, for my MGT 2050 class I was able to wait out the waitlist and got in that way. I don’t know what I would have done had I not gotten into MIS 2200, since I have no more classes to take without having to be declared and this is one of the prerequisite classes to apply for the School of Business. Luckily for me though it worked out and a very stressful and frustrating experience ended on a positive note.  

Collaboration Technology and it's Use in Group Work

Collaboration is all about communication and working together. A company can't run with just one person so collaboration is very important. Collaboration technology can be thought of as everything used to communicate in a convenient way such as: email, phone call, text message, instant message, etc. Business Productivity breaks down collaboration into three distinct categories communicate, this includes phone calls and messages, share, multiple people using the same documents for one project like proposals or strategy presentations, and access information, like getting sales data, lab results, or market research.
Collaboration technologies promote working together in numerous ways. It can help a business keep in contact with its customers after hours, especially if that business spans across different time zones; collaboration technologies can also keep information moving and available to everyone at all hours of the day. Both of these are beneficial to clients and employees by providing easy access to information needed to put together projects, proposals, and to answer any questions that need answering.
As we can see collaboration is used all the time whether it is noticed or not. Collaboration is very important to the workplace and any professional environment, as was stated earlier a company can't run with just one person; it takes a whole team of people working together toward one common ultimate goal.

Cites:
 Business Productivity,  <http://www.businessproductivity.com/2012/02/demystifying-collaboration-technologies/>

Touchbase, < http://www.touchbaseglobal.com/technology_collaboration.htm>

What can professional blogs do for businesses and organizations?

Professional blogs can be extremely helpful for businesses and organization in numerous ways. They can help an employer get to know a potential employee before setting up an interview, within a business a blog is a fast and easy way to get important information to employees right away, and it can be easily accessed from home on a day off. 

In this day and age technology is becoming more and more prevalent. How many people can you think of that don't use a cell phone, email, Facebook, or the internet in general? I can't think of any. A professional blog puts a person into that technological network that is so important to have these days. It's also an easy way to show your personality while still maintaining a professional attitude, something that could be helpful for an employer deciding whether an interview is going to be worth his or her time, which could mean the difference between having a job and not having a job.
Inside of a business itself blogs can be helpful in getting information to employees immediately, even if the employees aren't at work that day since blogs can be easily accessed at home. A business blog can even be helpful for customers or clients by posting deals, information about the company, or keeping updated on things that are happening within the company like people that are retiring, changes in a board of some kind, or opening new locations.
Obviously the internet is a very helpful and convenient place, why not make the most of it?