Discussion this week is held via Zoom at https://uwmadison.zoom.us/my/gdowney at 5:40pm on Thursday, March 25, 2021.

Tips for good discussions:

Turn your video on so that everyone can see you.
Mute your microphone at the start, and only unmute it when you want to talk.
You can use the "Raise Hand" icon at the bottom of the screen to indicate to your TA that you want to speak.
You can leave text comments for everyone by using the text chat panel.

Perform your personal brand

This week for one of your assignments you drafted a "personal brand" statement and recorded it as a 90-second video as practice. In your Zoom synchronous online discussion this week, you'll perform that personal brand speech "live," and then reflect with your TA and fellow students about this experience.

Your TA will call on each student in turn to perform their personal brand. Remember to mute your microphone when you are not talking so everyone else can clearly hear the speaker without feedback or the rustling of keyboards and the mewling of cats in the background.

Your TA will leave some time for you to reflect with your fellow classmates about things that students did in their speeches that were compelling and effective (so please take notes as you listen to your classmates speak).

Here are some other questions your TA might have you discuss:

Is your initial personal brand more about who you are right now, or who you want to become as your career progresses?
Now that you've written it out, how do you think you'd like to see your personal brand statement change over the course of the semester?
Are there any downsides or risks to thinking about yourself as a "brand" in the same way that commercial products and services are marketed and branded?
Does UW-Madison have a "brand"? What is it? What does being part of UW-Madison say about you?
How difficult do you find it to speak in front of an audience -- especially about yourself? Do you think others share these challenges?
What kinds of experiences can you explore to improve your public speaking skill?