Reflection on London’s Underground Overcrowding Presentation

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Reflection on London’s Underground Overcrowding Presentation

Introduction

London’s underground overcrowding has been an issue of concern to the United Kingdom authorities and a source of discomfort and inconvenience to the commuters in London. To this effect, the course required the students to do a presentation on the same issue in class. This paper is a reflection of the presentation, which my group members and I did on the topic. Suffice to say, before this lesson; it was unknown to me the intensity of the problem faced by London commuters as they go about their daily activities.

Discussion

The presentation was neat and very colorful, with photographs and diagrams for illustration. This is a great element of the presentation as it attracts the viewers. Studies reveal that making colorful presentations helps in maintaining the concentrations of the viewers and listeners. Additionally, it also helps them remember the points in the topic discussion. This is effective, especially because it also helps them internalize the discussion, since they can remember the points. I think that the general outlook of our presentation was catchy and in line with the modern technology. However, I was also careful not to use too much color, which may sometimes take away the seriousness of the presentation. Additionally, using too many contrasting colors on the work would do a great disservice to the overall outlook, so I minimized on that as well. Using some color on presentations was a learning experience, and I will apply this idea in future works. In addition to using color, the pictures used will be instrumental in helping the viewer understand the situation on the ground. I believe this is a very efficient approach of doing presentations. However, one must be careful to only use relevant pictures and diagrams, and use them only when necessary to avoid overdoing it.

The presentation required us to come up with solutions to the underground crowding in London. From previous studies, one of the ways to create solutions was using the double diamond process, a model, which was designed by Design Council organization in the year 2005. It is a graphic representation of a design process, which aims to develop solutions in various fields such as business, medicine, transport, agriculture, among other sectors. Therefore, I found it fit to use this model in the London underground problem. This model is efficient because it provides a clear structure regarding solving a problem, which is spelled out in four stages. These stages are discovering the problem, defining the problem, develop a solution, and finally delivering the solution. I think that this is the best model to use in such a situation because as mentioned before, it gives a clear systematic procedure for coming up with solutions to a given problem. In addition to its clarity, it is also easy for the listeners and viewers to understand the model.

Despite the double diamond process being the best model for use in this scenario, I think that using other viable models is also acceptable. Another model that I could have alternatively used for the problem would have been Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making model. This model was developed by Dr. Tim Hartnett in 2010. It uses a seven-step procedure to develop solutions, in my presentation; this model would have been useful since it would have involved the seven procedures, framing the problem, conducting open discussions, figuring out any underlying concerns, developing a proposal, and developing a solution. I believe this model is also effective, because, just like the diamond process, it involves developing a solution. Both models are indeed suitable for the London underground overcrowding problem. In the process of doing this presentation, I realized that one should be open to using alternatives. There are no rules, unless specified to using specific approaches in problem solving, as long as it gets the work done.

I used the problem tree to explain the causes of the underground overcrowding in London. Establishing the causes of the problem is part of the double diamond process. PowerPoint presentations require brief and precise points, which the reader or viewer can easily understand. Therefore, I think that using the problem tree was effective since it summarized very many points in one diagram. From previous PowerPoint lessons, the visual appearance of diagrams is also important. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, I used colored for different branches on the problem tree to represent different causes. I believe this gives the viewer a clear outline and is able to understand the short notes easily. I find the problem tree particularly useful in this situation because not only did it make the work easier, but it also gave the overall outlook f the presentation an edge over a plain presentation. However, I also think that the problem tree I illustrated was too spread out, with the branches drawn so close together. This element has the possibility of confusing a reader, which is not the desired effect. Having noticed this, I believe other presentations will have better planned problem trees, with minimized chances of confusion.

Finally, on the content of the paper was very clear on the subject being discussed. I believe the presentation I did will help the viewer understand the topic better. It was also a learning process for me. The bulleted points are clear and self-explanatory, which is essential for PowerPoint presentations. For example, when providing solutions to the overcrowding problem, I asserted that ski lifts are going to decongest the train stations, and then short notes in bullet form as to why this would be the case. I believe this is the right approach to use when making presentations, as it also enhances the brevity necessary for such presentations. However, this does not mean that one should strictly use the method I used. There are other methods to approach this as learnt in class. For example, one can use a radial diagram to illustrate their points. Therefore, one can use their preferred style, as long as it remains clear to the viewer on the points being put across.

Conclusion

After an intense reflection on the presentation I did, there are two main lessons learnt. The first is that there are always other alternatives when dealing with approaches to solving a problem. The second is that when doing presentations, it is important to keep diagrams brie as well, case in point being the problem tree I used. It had too many branches placed very close together, which increased the chances of confusing the viewer or reader. In future presentations, the problem tree will definitely be less congested and easier to follow. Therefore, the reflection was useful. It shall inspire me to improve on my PowerPoint presentation skills.