Week 8. Post 3.

 How often do you ask your supervisors about their feedback towards your work?

Two weeks my mentors mentioned several comments regarding my skills of presenting during the demo presentations. They said that I should talk slower, and explain things on a less high level so it is understandable to our client since he does not have much of technical background. He also gave me feedback that I should give more of a background context and point out things more clearly. Last week I have been trying to work on those skills, and before the demo, I did a practice demo with my mentor trying to get more feedback before the actual presentation. This week I finally did a much more successful demo, where I was talking slow enough, giving good context/background, and pointing out features more clearly. I got positive feedback from my manager saying that my presenting skills improved. I was very happy to see that I am making progress in my presenting skills. 

Before coming to this internship, I always felt like I can progress without having any feedback. I looked at feedback as something not really important as I felt like at the end of the day nobody pays much attention to feedback and they just continue doing whatever they were doing. However, during this internship, I realized how valuable feedback is, especially if it is coming from someone who is much more experienced than you in the field. They give you a whole new perspective on what you are doing - things that you never thought of and the things that you thought are good. Before my mentors' feedback, I would always be thinking my presenting skills are good; however, after their feedback, I was like: "Oh, that is right. I should really work on these aspects of my presentation". 

Next time, whenever I am preparing for a presentation, I will always try to practice in front of someone and won't be afraid to ask for feedback. I will stop underestimating the value of feedback and really listen carefully to what people think about my presentation. I will try to at least practice in front of myself and try to give myself honest feedback about my performance as it can drastically improve the overall presentation.