Why Are Cosmetics So Attractive to Adolescent Girls - Speech or Presentation Example

Evaluation Report on the Presentation and Proposal of My Study Before the Presentation Before I presented to the class, I worked very hard on my powerpoint presentation. Since I believed I had an interesting topic to share and did quite a lot of research on cosmetics, teen-aged girls and societal ideal of beauty, I felt my research deserved an attention-grabbing powerpoint presentation. I carefully selected the pictures for the slides and arranged the order very carefully. I put important information on the notes page to help me in my discussion. Printing the report helped me carry it around to read and rehearse on my own. During the Presentation Although I was very confident the night before, I felt so very nervous. Cold sweat on my forehead does not seem to dry up and I needed to sip water now and then to keep my throat moist so I do not lose my voice. When it was my turn to present, I was anxious, but remembered that I was presenting something that I knew would be enjoyed by my classmates, so that relaxed me a bit. Upon flashing the first slide, I felt relieved because I saw how beautiful the cover picture was. I introduced my topic by saying the title and giving some comments on the picture of a girl applying make-up. I observed my audience and saw that they were looking approvingly at my slide. I went on to tell them the aim of my study which was to investigate adolescent girls’ fascination with cosmetics and its impact on the development of their self-esteem. I went on to the second slide which asked the audience a question to think about and have a chance to participate in the discussion. The question was “Why are cosmetics so attractive to adolescent girls?”. I let my classmates volunteer some answers and took note of them. When no one else gave any other answers, I flashed the next slide which gave some answers. I tried to connect their answers to the pre-written answers on the slide. It was a good thing I remembered who gave the answers and addressed them when their answer came up in the list of answers in the slide. I went on with the whole presentation, explaining the theories in the literature review leading to the problem statement of my study. Then, I discussed the proposed methodology, data analysis, limitations and ethical considerations of the study. Finally, I asked them if they had any questions about my presentation. No one seemed to have questions, and I observed that they were in different states of attention. So to get everyone’s attention back, I was the one who asked some questions. One question I asked was if there was a change of views regarding make-up and the pressures on young girls by society to look good before and after they listened to my presentation. One girl said she always felt that looking good took much effort but only realized from my presentation that it was because society expected that from women. Another girl said she learned much from my presentation especially about the effects of media, that it somehow dictated to women how to keep themselves beautiful at all times. Her comment led me to my second question which was if they agree that women should be beautiful at all times. One boy answered with a resounding “Yes!” which made everyone laugh. That ended my presentation. Personally, my nervousness made me stumble on my words like they did not mean anything to me. However, since I prepared an organized powerpoint presentation, and had no technical glitches, it lessened my anxiety. It also helped that my audience was supportive of me. They were aware that I was nervous but they gave me reassuring smiles and kept saying I was doing fine. Reflections After the Presentation Aims and Objectives of the Research I feel that my aims and objectives were simple but relevant. Young girls’ self-esteem usually plummets as they reach adolescence because it is the time when they are developing their own identities. The research question opens up to a world of possibilities in terms of topics to discuss in the literature. Literature review The literature review provided much information about the topic at hand and more. It is comprehensive enough to cover the history of cosmetics, societal influence on women to look good, the beauty myth propagated by media and other media influences, adolescence and some theories that relate to the building of their self-esteem. All these come together to explain some possible answers to the research question for this study. Viability of research The use of questionnaires and focus group discussion will allow me to delve deeper into the issue with actual adolescent girls aged 13 to 17. I will get the opportunity to hear their insights first-hand as they discuss within a group the following questions: Do you use cosmetics? If yes, which ones? How often do you use cosmetics? Why do you use cosmetics? How do you feel when you use cosmetics? Do you use cosmetics with your friends? How do you think people see you when you use cosmetics? What do you think you can get out of using cosmetics? Right now, it seems so easy because I am only visualizing it, but I am sure that there will be several challenges along the way such as seeking the necessary permissions to conduct the study or dealing with uncooperative participants. Presentations skills In terms of preparation, I guess I failed to anticipate what I would feel in front of an audience. My stage fright was terrible but it was good that I had a small audience of people I knew. It was also great that they were so supportive. I think it is because they can relate to my situation because each of us had our turn presenting. I need to learn to be more confident in speaking. I know being prepared with my talk is a must, but I should learn to loosen up and be more candid, be open to whatever possibilities that may arise during my presentation. I should be ready with the questions I ask them or should know what to do when they suddenly do not participate when I call on their participation. Speaking to an audience with a variety of personalities, I know I should learn different strategies to capture and sustain their interest and attention. Perhaps using my voice in various ways, such as changing my intonation and volume when stressing some points, interspersed with some serious and light talk will keep the audience from becoming bored. Participants’ feedback on both of the above The participants were very supportive of me perhaps because they knew what I was going through. They answered my questions although they did not ask any from me. They gave good feedback in terms of the questions I asked of them. They shared that they learned a lot from my presentation, thanks to my thorough research for this study. I know in my final paper, I would need to spruce up my literature some more to come up with a more complete one. I believe they were also interested in the results of my study. They were nodding at my proposed methodology, agreeing that the best resource persons to answer the research question would be adolescent girls themselves. Relating Reflection to Relevant Theoretical Concepts Knowing theoretical concepts backing up my research ahead of time, I know that I need to be gentle in probing the issues with the adolescent participants of my study. They are in a vulnerable stage in life, bombarded with messages from media and society that they need to measure up to certain standards that change all too often. They may be confused with what values are being imparted to them and may be led astray by some that they misinterpret. I know I need to be a reflective practitioner when I conduct the study so that it contributes to their positive self-esteem. I am confident that my study will be relevant in exploring adolescent growth and development. The review of literature itself, when the theories are stitched together, comes up with a web of reasoning about growth and development and the external factors that greatly influence it. Such web is already valuable information. The primary source of data, the participants of the study, may bring a more insightful contribution to this study. References for the Presentation Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., & Tight, M. (2006). How to research (3rd ed.). Berkshire: Open University Press. Bowen, G.A. (2005). “Preparing a Qualitative Research-Based Dissertation: Lessons Learned”, The Qualitative Report Volume 10 Number 2 June 2005 208-222. Retrieved on April 8, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR10-2/bowen.pdf Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London, England: Routledge Falmer. Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Third Edition. Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). New York: Norton. Frederickson, B.L. & Roberts, T.(1997), Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206 Hesse-Biber, S. (1996) Am I Thin Enough Yet? The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity. Oxford University Press, Inc. Margolin, L. & White, L.(1987). The continuing role of physical attractiveness in marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 21-27. Milena, Z. R., Dainora, G. & Alin, S (2008) Qualitative Research Methods: A Comparison Between Focus-Group And In-Depth Interview. Annals Of The University Of Oradea, Economic Science Series, 2008, Vol. 17 Issue 4, p1279-1283 Ommanney, K.A. (1960) The Stage and the School, 3rd Edition., McGraw-Hill. Patton, M. Q. (1980). Qualitative evaluation methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Robson, C. (2002). Real world research (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Blackwell. Waterman, A. S. (1988). Identity status theory and Erikson’s theory: Commonalities and differences. Developmental Review, 8, 185–208. Wolf, N. (1991) The Beauty Myth: How Images Are Used Against Women, Vintage. Read More