Presentations always seemed like a daunting experience..until it was over. It is easy to overthink these moments, they tend to be a lot more nerve-wracking in our heads than in reality. I’m not going to pretend like I didn’t get nervous before each and every presentation I did, regardless of my prep, stage of my portfolio or what I was even talking about - that is a given. Some individuals would be so overwhelmed that they would completely avoid an audience that is bigger than two people. First impressions matter, I get it but making an impression is better than not making one at all. Even with these emotions, I would pull through and just do it because if you don’t you, you’ll be losing out on more than what you can gain from it. The easy part is completely avoiding it, yes I am sounding a little harsh but hear me out, this is going to help you and besides if you have all these anxiety over this experience, doesn’t it mean you care about it? Exactly.
So even in the bubble outside of architecture, it is an important skill, but why is it crucial in architecture?
Communication skills - these are one of the most important takeaways from any presentation, you are learning over and over again how to clearly communicate with others. But when it comes to things like crits - where you will be provided with (sometimes constructive) criticism that vulnerability is a must, you need to see for yourself that what you are saying is what you are actually showing (remember the old saying show me don’t tell me, well that is applicable here too not just in your creative writing classes). When we communicate as human beings we don’t just take things in through one sense, we take information through touch, smell, hearing and seeing altogether and presenting is the opportunity to provide the bigger picture for the behind the scenes of your work. The process is such an important aspect of design, even outside of architecture school I mean I find the what-I-did-to-get-here far more interesting than I-have-arrived-here without any more information. And the feedback that you get will be a lot more wholesome because they - whoever you are talking to will have an understanding how you got from point A to point Z.
The way I see it is that we are all storytellers - trying to tell a narrative that makes sense, that is what your portfolio should be doing.
The opportunity to tell your story gives you the chance to see a new perspective and new directions that otherwise you would have been blind to. It will also be a great indication to you (and sometimes your tutors) that you have some missing pieces to this story you are trying to tell, or that certain explorations haven’t been fully investigated or shown. This can be soul crushing or confidence building depending on how you choose to take it. During the first three years of architecture, you are learning - learning to learn and to speak in ways that would only be possible in creative environments like architecture school. Might as well show that you are learning as much as possible through your work.
Ideas - they, whether it is your tutors, guest critics or fellow peers are giving you free ideas to use. Now I’m not saying you will have to listen to everyone, you can cherry pick but it is better to pick from a lot than have no option to pick at all. But at some point you are going to get stuck in your own ideas that you need something from outside of your thoughts to trigger a new mode of transport on this journey of yours, sometimes that is what is what someone else’s idea can do if you come to that realisation. Everyone has different skill sets and experiences to share with you, some make your ideas that much clearer to understand in a real life context whilst others lead you into imagining what doesn’t exist. I’ll leave that up to you to figure out but all I can say is that you have your own voice, quite literally but also visually. There are some things that only you can do in a certain way that makes what you are doing believable because it screams your name and you have a great story to tell.
In some instances you won’t be able to present your work in person (I can already here those who get nervous over presentations sigh with relief). I know for third year, we didn’t present our work as part of the assessment of our design modules. This is an indication that you will have to have such a great narrative to tell on paper that you won’t even need to be in person to tell it. When you get to that stage where you can do that, you know that you have done well as a designer. And a good grade to go with it.
One way to look at it is that presentations are part of the thought process too - especially in moments where you won’t be able to present your work in person. I know during the first two years, our tutor would have to defend your grade based of what they understood of your project but also of the work that you do have. The more chances you give your tutor to understand your project as whole - gives you the opportunity to make your portfolio the best it could be. And isn’t that what you want at the end of the day?
In this article, I’m hoping that I have somewhat given you something to think about before you decide that you don’t want to present your work whether it is design related or otherwise. You are learning so much by putting yourself forward for the chance of feedback, the opportunity for growth is worth it when you become fluent in the art of explaining yourself in a number of ways. You will become a better designer when you learn to dialogue with others about your ideas - to see whether it makes sense - to others but also for yourself. Presentations are for you - for your growth and for your understanding of the design process. You will become a lot more confident to showcase what you can do - and what you need to work on. And you will be respected for that, because part of what makes a designer so great is being able to find a balance between the two and being open to endlessly learning.
Let me know what you guys think about this, anything you think I’ve missed out? Or any moments that you remember from architecture school that taught you about presentations? Share in the comments below, I’d love to hear some of the stories or pointers that you have to share.