TED plan B makeup speech, 12/1/2010

Last Wednesday, I made up my TED speech on 'Gandhian Engineering.' I have to admit that I was a little anxious going into this speech as I didn't know which scenario I would draw up. I found out later that I drew the 'fire drill' which wasn't that bad. The alarm went off twice during my presentation; the first time the whole class had to 'evacuate' and for the second round everyone remained in the class. I think I handled the situation pretty well; I knew something was going to happen so it didn't catch me by surprise. When the class went outside, I definitely acted a little aggressive trying to get everyone to go back inside. I thought I was going to present out in the hallway so I started passing around handouts but it turned out they weren't necessary. I think making the outlines was a good way to prepare for the Plan B scenario in case I had drawn a different situation. The slide content, I thought, was pretty good. The picture content was greater than the textual content, which helped get the important concepts and messages across to the audience. I think the main message of the presentation of "making more from less" was really sticky. It is easy to remember because it is written in simple English but at the same time it has a powerful meaning. The concept of Gandhian Engineering was a good topic because it reminds us that there are 4 billion people in the world that have an income of $2 a day. Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world it is difficult for Americans what life would be like with the aforementioned income rate. Gandhian Engineering is a concept that the whole world needs to embrace if human beings want to preserve a future for generations to come. By looking at the video footage, it seems like I know the material well and that I'm presenting confidently. At times I am speaking a little too fast and look back at the slides.