Presentation Critique - Assignment Example

Born in 1943, Richard Wilkinson is a British epidemiologist. Recently, Wilkinson presented a speech en d “How Economic Inequality Harms Society”. Basically, I have gone through his speech that was uploaded on You Tube. The speech of Wilkinson (2011) was about inequality in our society. As such, he argued the fact that poor people in England and Wales have generally lower life expectancy as compared to those rich individuals (Wilkinson, 2011, 1:35). Taking data from the United Nations and the World Bank, he pointed out the fact that there are income gaps between the rich and the poorest country around the world (2:36).

He also pointed out that the relationship between income inequality and the presence of health and social problems. For instance, using a graph in his presentation, Wilkinson (2011: 3:31) argued the fact that the higher the income inequality means the higher the health problems such as lower life expectancy and so forth. In another graph, Wilkinson (2011: 4:10) argued that the index of health and social problems does not necessarily correspond to the gross national income (PPP $) in each country.

Lastly, Wilkinson (2011: 5:01) mentioned that the UNICEF’s index on child’s well-being has no direct relationship with the gross national income (PPP $) in each country. It means that the well-being of our society is not at all dependent on the economic growth nor national income. The presentation of Wilkinson (2011) has been effective in terms of sending out his thoughts and ideas using graphs, figures, and data gathered from highly reliable sources such as the UNICEF, the World Bank, and the United Nations.

In catching the attention of his target audiences, Wilkinson (2011) was purposely using different clear tone of voice combined with facial expressions and body language. Because of the use of graphs, Wilkinson was able to make a strong arguements about the health and social consequences of income inequalities. In the middle of his speech, Wilkinson (2011: 8:53) stated that “if the Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark”. Well, this particular statement was not at all related to his presentation.

In fact, it was meant to distract the audiences from hearing out his arguments about social inequalities. To address such distraction, Wilkinson (2011: 8:53) immediately projected another slide right after the audiences had a good laugh. This strategy made him able to win back the focus and attention of his audiences. In this presentation, I have learned more about the importance of using graphs, tables, and charts when doing a presentation. I have also realised the importance of showing more confidence while talking in front of large number of people.

Basically, self-confidence can be felt in the way the speaker stand in front of the audiences, the tone of his voice, the use of body language, and appropriate facial expressions. In my own presentation, I would like to avoid mentioning statements that are totally out of the topic.Total Number of Words: 491ReferencesWilkinson, R. (2011, October 24). Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7LzE3u7Bw