"Japanese Weddings from Traditional to Modern"

Sorry guys, it's been a long time to see you! On November 27th, I made a one-hour presentation. The title was "Japanese Weddings from Traditional to Modern." Yes, it is my main interest & profession! But, it was not so easy to explain what the Japanese wedding was like to Americans. Therefore, I have buried myself in the research about the Japanese wedding history and the Japanese wedding trends. Eventually, it was...REALLY FUN!! I just forgot the time when I prepared for this presentation!

My audience was the members of the International Friendship Group. It is a part of the Purdue Women's Club. Pudue is the university in our town. There are many ladies who are students, students' wives, professors, professors' wives, in this club. The members of the International Friendship Group have a meeting once a month to learn about many countries' cultures because Purdue has such a diversity of nationalities!
My tutor, Sallly, is a co-chair of this group. She suggested I make a presentation about Japanese weddings there. I was pleased to accept the offer! It was great to have such a wonderful opportunity!

Last month, the meeting place was Mrs. Fran's house which was located beside my hubby's favorite golf course. On Monday morning, we had nice refreshments that some members prepared. The first picture is before the presentation. The ladies were relaxed☆　Even though Americans like to use plastic or papar cups & plates, in this group's meetings, we have never used those. They can provide nice china tea cups & plates for all members!

My audience was almost 60 people. I was afraid of my voice condition. I didn't have a microphone. This was a private house, so, the acoustics were not so good. Also, some members had hearing problems. But I had to convey my message to 60 people for one hour!
However, as a result, my presentation was successful♪　Many people, including ladies who had hearing problems, said my talk was very clear and easy to understand. They also said that my visual aids were great. I prepared handouts, Power Point slides, many photos, and some videos. But, what made me most happy was everybody(maybe) enjoyed my presentation! One lady said, " This is definitely one of my favorite presentations!" Another lady said, "You should do this presentation at other places. I have no idea where...but keep all of your materials!" Another lady said, " Every woman all over the world loves weddings. So, your topic is very suitable for our ladies' club!"

However, of course I know I have some things to improve! After I came back home, I listened to the tape I recorded. My voice was big enough, but it would have been better if I had spoken softer, sometimes. Also, I noticed I had done a weird response. When I asked a question to my audience, one lady said, "Eighty-seven percent?" It was the right answer. But I am not good at numbers, so I responded, "Eighty-seven? Oh, it's close! Actually, the answer is...eighty-seven." I caught what the lady said, but I imagined eighty-three. I don't know why... I didn't notice at the actual presentation, but it was like a short comedy skit! It sounded silly...I am sorry for the lady who gave me the right answer!

My tutor, Sally, said, I spoke fast when I introduced the Japanese trendy wedding items and had a quiz. I know why...because I wanted to present them cheerfully and lively! I didn't provide handouts of these parts because they were an impromptu survey & a quiz. Therefore, if I spoke fast, it was hard for the audience to understand. Especially, I mispronounced some words, like "argue" and "panel," so, people who couldn't read my slides had difficult understanding, as Sally said.

Sally is such a nice lady that she said, "Keiko, don't be discouraged. I tried to offer suggestions, but overall, you did a fantastic job!" Thank you! I wasn't discouraged at all! It is great to have some observations from major presentations! Whenever I make a speech at the Toastmasters' meetings, every member evaluates me. Those also are precious opinions for me!

I will publish my script of this presentation soon. See you soon, I promise!