The FindRecycler (Website)

Speech Title: "The FindRecycler Website"

This Toastmaster is attempting the Competent Communicator project #8: Getting Comfortable With Visual Aids (click here for the objectives).

In this presentation, this Toastmaster shares about the development and promotion of a new web-based service to locate recycling centers, called FindRecycler.

This speaker established a baseline of understanding by asking whether the audience are familiar with a symbol commonly associated with recycling. He goes on to share personal conviction of being an avid believer in recycling - stating personal example such as printing on both sides of a piece of paper and re-using items till they are in disrepair.

He starts of his first point with a personal story of cleaning up his room and in time gather a large pile of papers. After consolidating them, he starts to recall where he could send the recyclables to; the nearest recycling center or drop-off bin? He elaborated his attempt to search for those services on Google but unfortunately did not yield any results.

Seeing a need, he thought about what solutions he can develop leveraging on his skills as a web developer. He starts researching and discover that while there are some information available, the information available is bias towards a certain organizations, or some are incomplete, and lacking publicity.

This leads him to develop a website called FindRecycle (http://findrecycler.com/). The website is a centralized, unbiased, and partially user contributed database of recycling facilities presently all over Malaysia and has the potential to cover rest of the world. He shares an ambition that as the database expands, the services could be expanded as well.

He provides a showed a visual demonstration on how it can be used - the search provides results from various organization providing recycling facilities; at specific centers, churches, schools etc. The site has proven to be useful based on some testimonials that the speaker quoted.

He elaborates the different functions such as ‘Adding a Facility’. He elaborated that he meticulously designed the site to make it user friendly. The website is integrated to Google Maps to assist in pinpointing the location of the recycling facilities.

After sharing how to add a facility, he shows how one could search for a facility.

He concludes to speech by encouraging the audience to make use of the website so that locating recycling facilities will be a breeze, and when we all recycle, it saves the environment for future generations.


OBSERVATIONS:
Strengths of the speaker

• The speaker was prepared with visual samples of this website in case the Internet facilities were not stable or not available.
• The speaker met a requirement of the project #8; to use 2 or more visual aids (i.e. the pile of paper in a paper bag, and using the PowerPoint slides). 
• He is passionate about the topic hence made it easier for him to relate personal experience, and promote the website he developed.

Some suggestion for improvement

• It is suggested for any speaker to prepare, test, and set / place their equipment BEFORE being called to start presenting. This will allow the speaker to launch straight into the topic and not lose the audiences' interest.
• The speaker had a remote control presenter in hand but he limited its use to just using the laser pointed. He could have use it to advance his slides so that he does not need to use the keyboard. This will avoid him having to break eye contact and having too many unnecessary pauses.

Generally the speaker is passionate about the topic and able to turn that passion into an opportunity to extend service to the community. Once the speaker becomes familiar with his tools, he should able to use them as an extension of himself to enhance the delivery and experience further.


How about you? What do you think are the strengths of the speaker,  and suggestions you will give to the speaker? Please feel free to comment below.



Disclaimer: The observations above about the strengths and suggestions are the personal opinion of the writer and does not constitute as to what is the right (or wrong) way of presenting a speech or the project intended. The purpose for these observations are for us to be self-aware of our styles, and how we can bring our presentation skills to the next level.