Although it generally seems sufficient enough to convey my ideas through writing, there are times when that method simply did not show enough expression. This is when I had to stand in front of an audience and perform--even if I wasn't necessarily acting, I still had to have a speaking voice that would grab an audience and get them interested in my message. New Technology High school is highly presentation-based (much more than my previous school), and has enhanced my communication skills to a point where they are almost second nature to me.

A good example of where oral communication was necessary was during my senior project presentations. Because the project weighed in a large percentage of my Political Studies grade, I needed make the panelists believe that I took a journey, and convey the different pitfalls and satisfaction that I got from the project. To make the situation even more difficult, I had a limited amount of time to present. I had to carefully outline and rehearse what I would tell the panelists, and properly prepare my visuals and audio that would accompany my speech.

Evidence:

Here are several projects where I have shown good public speaking:

• Political Studies - 'Food Court' project - In this project we were playing the role of the Student Council of Oak Grove high, and by request of the students we were to create a food court for students to have their lunch at. However, 12 restaurants signed up, and only 5 space were available. We needed to decide which restaurants would be chosen, based on both economical and ethical considerations. Since we were presenting in front of a group of panelists who were listening critically to everything we said, I needed to make sure that I said the right things, and said them in a clear, understandable way.

• Scientific Studies - 'Jackpot' project - Our group needed to describe our lottery game in a clear and understandable way; math concepts such as probability are difficult to convey without getting lost in details, so we needed to be able to speak concisely. I described the game we made in a very clear manner, and was always focused on the big details of the game.