Anthony Calvo

December 12, 2013

Dr. Erin Dietel-McLaughlin

Ted Talk Reflective Paper

I was incredibly nervous when the Ted Talk was first assigned, but also mildly excited.

Despite my excitement the thought of standing in front of a crowd of my peers and presenting
made my heart rush. I focused my ted talk on the same theme as my research paper, automated
trading for individuals. The research paper was an assignment that was considerably difficult and
labor some, but quite rewarding. I had always wanted to express these ideas to others. However,
in all honesty most people who are not incredibly interested in the subject already do not want to
spend time reading a college students research paper for fun. The presentation gave me an
alternative way to express my self.

I began by first figuring out what portions of my paper were most significant and

pertinent to individual investors. Even then there were several components of the paper that
would be considerably difficult to present to an audience who is not proficient in programming or
finance. Therefore I cut out portions that would confuse the audience rather then appeal to them.
In class I was forced to give an elevator pitch which helped me focus my presentation while also
getting exposure to presenting in front of an audience. From there I made an outline of my
presentation. After outlining I spent a considerable amount of time scripting and making
powerpoint slides simultaneously. I began memorizing the key concepts of my presentation and
what I would say at each point of the presentation.

I rehearsed the presentation in several steps. First I presented to the wall several times

until the I felt comfortable with the material. Then I moved up to presenting to myself in the

mirror. Next I gathered various groups of people from my dorm to listen to my presentation.
Each time they gave me feed back on how to improve my presenting style and I adjusted
accordingly. The only worry was that each time I presented it lasted between 10 to 12 minutes,
which was incredibly disconcerting. However, if I spoke with out saying ummm the
presentation lasted 9 and a half minutes. After all the practice I had I thought I could reach this
nine minute goal. Finally I presented to the class. To my surprise the presentation only lasted 7
and a half minutes.

Overall I think the presentation came out much better than I expected. I remember during

the presentation my heart was racing and I felt like I was gonna choke between every word.
However, the words seem to flow together clearly and my umms were considerably less than
than they had been while practicing. Unfortunately, I think that my umms could have been
reduced considerably. In addition, I probably could have fit more arguments in for automated
trading, specifically under malfunctions. Initially I had more in the presentation, but in my
practices I needed to cut them out in order to meet the ten minute requirement. However, since I
presented considerably faster there would have been time to include more arguments or spend a
longer time adding credibility to my claim. Overall I am pleased because in the future I think my
presentation will turn out better and not be as stressful.