Saturday, October 3, 2009
Informative Speech - " Did You Ever Notice"
Well done! The first round of speeches went exceptionally well! The topic selections were illustrated with both creativity and audience adaptation. Many of you illustrated a lot of time and application to our class discussions. Thanks for making my job to listen to your speech so pleasant! Please post your self critique here. The self critique should contain a thoughtful self examination of your strengths and needed improvements for the next speech. Please make sure that you highlight in detail at least three strengths and three improvements. I want to read in your critique your planned course of action to work on the improvements that you identify.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Before the speech I did research about my topic which was steroids in baseball and the new policy which has being enforced by MLB to reduce the use of steroids in baseball. I was able to find useful resource since steroids is a major problem in sports. Our professor made it easier by given us blank speech outline to help guide you in outline your own speech. Some strength about my speech was been able to do research about my topic and finding resourceful information to help me with my presentation. After the speech I realized I could improve on certain part of my presentation with the help of the class comments and professor. I could use my transition words better during my presentation and give credit to my resource during the presentation because it’s plagiarism if I don’t. Also citing my picture on the PowerPoint and preparing myself by practice my speech would definitely make my presentation much better.
ReplyDeleteFor my informative speech, I thought I was well prepared because I knew all my information very well. I knew when I had to say everything. The things I thought I did well were inform everyone what I was trying to get across. I did not have to look down at my key words until I had to read my quotes because I had everything else memorized. I also thought I explained the pictures on the slides very well. I was very passionate about my topic, which showed through in my speech. The last thing I thought I did well was not show my nerves too much.
ReplyDeleteThere are some things I have to work on for the next speech. One thing is to keep my eyes on someone a little longer instead of moving my eye contact from person to person too quickly. I also need to watch the tone and volume of my voice to make sure I don’t speak too loud. The biggest thing I will work on before the next speech is if I have a quote to read not to say the date at the end of it. I have to work on making my citing more conversational in my speeches. The last thing I will work on is not to shake because I don’t know if anyone picked up on it, but at the end of my speech while I was reading my last quote, my left hand shook a little. For my next speech I will try not to shake at all. Overall I hope everyone enjoyed my speech on Michael Vick.
When preparing for this speech, I attempted to do many of the things Professor McManimon recommended. Like everyone else, I think I had a strong start, but there are definitely some things I can work on.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my positives go, I think my most important one was my eye contact. I had eye contact throughout most, if not all, of my presentation. I think that helped me have a good connection with the audience. My next strength was my strong opening. Through the use of a interesting picture, I was able to capture the audience quickly. Finally, I think my final strength was my knowledge of the material. I did a lot of research for the speech, and I think it showed through my information and my citations.
However, there were definitely some things I can work on for my next speech. The most important is citations. Going into the speech, I was about confused about how we were supposed to cite everything, and I believe it showed during my speech. In the future, I know to cite both on my slides and how to cite verbally. Another weakness, I believe, was my topic for the speech. In an attempt to make sure I did not sound persuasive, I picked a topic that was very hard to get passionate about: the flu. However, I think that hurt my speech compared to others. Through watching other people’s speeches, I realized you can give information without sounding persuasive. That is one thing I am going to keep in mind on future speeches. My final weakness was my slight stumbling over my words. In an attempt to keep as much eye contact as possible, I tried to memorize most of my speech. However, by doing so, I stumbled over my words a little whenever I had a brief memory lapse. In the future, I am going to practice my speech a little bit more before and make sure I have good note cards.
By working to keep up my strengths and improve my weaknesses, I believe I will be able to greatly improve on my speech skills for the next presentations.
I believe that this first speech was a good foundation for me to begin with in this class, but I am fully aware that there is always room for improvement. As far as strengths go, I think I had a couple of positive ones. I tried to make sure that I could capture the audience right from the beginning. I wanted to make sure my attention getter was on that reeled the audience in and kept them intrigued. I used a powerful photo of a man and discussed his background story that led right into my topic. Another strength I think I had was my eye contact. I made an effort to look at every person in the classroom at least once to make my presentation more easy going for my classmates. My final strength was conversational tone of voice. I am very adamant about the topic of smokeless tobacco, therefore I know a lot of information. I believe my knowledge in the topic made it easier for me to discuss the harmful consequences.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there were some positive points of my speech, I know I can work on certain aspects. For one, I know that I speak too quickly when I am up in front of the class. I need to work on taking a deep breath and slowing my pace down. This, I am sure, comes with more practice standing in front of a large group. Another aspect of my speech giving I can work on is my positioning in front of the classroom. I need to make sure I do not use the podium or desk as crutch. It is imperative to have a strong stance in the front of the class and that is something I will consider more before I go again. A final flaw in my presentation was the use of citations. I did not think to incorporate key points on the slide so my audience has text to refer due during my speech. If I continue to work on my flaws and build on my strengths, I believe I can be a better presenter by the end of the semester.
Overall, I was very happy with the way that my speech about the Surfrider Foundation went. I am very enthusiastic about the foundation and I think that I probably could have delivered some more of that enthusiasm through my kinesics if I smiled a little more as the professor pointed out. I think my main weakness was that I did not correctly cite my sources in my PowerPoint. In doing that I feel that I lost some of my credibility as a speaker. My last weak point was that I let my nerves get to me and started to rush through my speech a little. I had to stop at one point because I simply got ahead of myself without even realizing it.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of my main strong points during the speech was my knowledge of my topic. It definitely made me more credible, which also helped my confidence, and it also allowed me to speak more comfortably since I knew my topic well. I also think that my use of graphs and visuals helped improve my credibility and hopefully kept the audience interested in what I had to say. Finally, I think I connected to the audience really well and did a good job of catering my speech and my topic specifically to my audience. In doing that I think I really managed to show the audience why I topic was relevant to them specifically.
As far as improving upon my weaknesses I want to enter my next speech feeling more confident by being more prepared. If I feel more confident I think smiling and acting more open and friendly will come naturally, and I also think that I will not feel the need to rush or get flustered. Finally I definitely plan to double-check my citations in order to preserve my credibility by citing correctly both verbally and visually.
My speech on the Kindle went better than I thought it was going to, considering I did not get to practice in front of an audience like I had planned to. I always get nervous when I start talking in front of groups, and I still felt those nerves, but I think I handled them better than usual. A few good things included the fact that I didn't shift back and forth from foot to foot like I usually did (at least no one told me I did and I didn't notice it). I also knew the material pretty well so I only had to glance down at my cards a few times to ensure I was at the right point and didn't miss anything, and to read quotes of course. I also made decent eye contact with people in the whole room and not just a few people. For my next speech I would like to get rid of the jumpy voice I always get when I am talking. Although no one pointed out hearing it, I could feel myself almost feeling like I was running out of breath because I was nervous. I also know that I need to slow down. I have the worst tendency to talk fast when I am nervous. Finally, I need to fix my powerpoint for next time. I know my works cited was in the wrong place, and I did my in-text citations wrong. Also I need to work on writing thesis statements. Overall I was pretty pleased with my first go around!
ReplyDeletePrior to presenting my informative speech last Friday, I began to experience many feelings of anxiety just as we discussed in our last blog. My heart began beating fast and my mind was racing with thoughts regarding the outcome of my speech. I attempted to utilize the tips to reduce anxiety but was not as successful as I had hoped. Although I may have let my nerves hinder the effectiveness of my message, I do believe I was successful in my creation of a powerful message.
ReplyDeleteBeginning with the topic, Breast Cancer is a challenging issue in regards to the amount of information available. Because the topic is so large, I managed to successfully fit the most important elements within a time frame of six minutes. Also, my strengths could be seen in my ability to translate medical jargon into terms that a general population would be able to comprehend. This could be seen in my use of descriptive diagrams, photos, and a breast self-exam handout. These elements represented another strength, my knowledge of the material. Moreover, my speech benefited from my ability to capture the audience’s attention through a story that I tailored to fit their lives. I concluded my speech by utilizing a similar tactic that represented the results of being educated about Breast Cancer.
Although there were positive elements to my presentation, I feel there is always room for improvement. As previously mentioned, I must learn to manage my nerves so my presentation sounds more credible and professional. I tended to sway during my speech as well as use the word “um” to fill gaps. Utilizing my nervousness to my benefit is something that I must practice over the course of this semester. Additionally, my lack of eye contact limited my ability to connect with individual audience members. I came across as uncomfortable since I was not able to look someone in the eye. Furthermore, I was not able to receive the feedback necessary to calm my nerves with limited eye contact. As I become more comfortable being in front of an audience, the more comfortable I will become with maintaining eye contact. Lastly, I feel I could have been more animated throughout my presentation. When emotion is conveyed through a speaker’s voice and/or facial expressions, one can see that the individual is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the topic at hand. Perhaps a way to influence these expressions in the future would be to highlight particular words of phrases on my note card to signal an emphasis.
Overall, given the strengths of my first speech and the constructive criticism provided by the class as well as Professor McManimon, I feel my next presentation will be even more powerful and persuasive.
I definitely struggled a bit with this first speech. Therefore I would like to start on my intended improvements. Firstly, I definitely did not practice enough. I felt by failing in time management, I did not allow myself enough time to get to really know my speech. In the future, I plan on being more on top of my assignment to allot enough time to practice my speech while using the powerpoint. Secondly, my powerpoint was overloaded in pictures. After seeing the other presentations, I realized when pictures are appropriate and when bullets of facts are better. For my speech, I did enjoy using a visual technique because I am a visual learner. However, though I am a visual learner, it doesn’t necessarily mean the audience is. Therefore, I need to be more aware of my audience the next time I prepare my speech. Lastly, I felt I really stumbled on some of my words during my speech. In the past, I have been told I tend to talk to fast and don’t annunciate. I really, really need to work on this. This relates to my first needed improvement; practicing more will help me find a steady flow in my speaking.
ReplyDeleteFor my strengths, I felt I was really passionate about my topic “Going Green.” I feel it is important to always do a speech on a topic I care about because then researching and presenting the information becomes a pleasant task. Also, I really because I felt passionate about my subject it was easy for me to get serious when needed and to become energetic about it. I really like talking in an energetic manner because I feel that grasps the audience’s attention. Lastly, I felt that I was able to provide substantial and new information about “Going Green.” What I loved about presenting this topic was that I got to learn a lot of information about how to recycle differently and a lot of simple little facts on conserving energy. I felt then that my speech was a lot different from what the audience has experience with other speeches and media information on “Going Green.” Basically, I felt I was able to differentiate myself from other presentations or information the audience had received prior to this presentation day.
For my informative speech I felt that I had a good understand of the topic and had good credibility as a speaker on languages because of my linguistics major and that fact that I am already bilingual. Being so passionate about the topic and knowing so much previous through research helped me feel confident in delivering my speech. I thought that i spoke conversationally throughout the speech. I tried to think of the audience as one person that I was having a conversation with. This helped calm down my nerves to some degree. I also maintained constant eye contact with the audience. I tried my best only to glance down briefly at my notecard and make eye contact with those around me instead.
ReplyDeleteI did notice that i was speaking too fast and that I could slow down my words in order to be more effective and clear. The problem was I let me nerves get the best of me and speed through the speech. I also had a problem with my citations in the powerpoint. The placement of the citations for the pictures should have been under the picture itself but i had it placed in the bottom left hand corner. I was also lacking the citations for the sources I used in my speech in the powerpoint. Although I did mention the sources I used when speaking I did not incorporate them in the conversational manner that i could have.
In the next speech I will do my best to pace myself when I talk so that I can have slower clearer speech. Now that i know the correct way to cite my sources I will be sure to do so in my next powerpoint. I will also make more of an effort to formate my citations in a conversational matter to help the flow of the speech. Overall I am proud of my speech but am also looking forward to improvement.
As the first speaker, I was nervous about getting up in front of the entire class to present. However, I believe all of my hard work paid off in the end and I delivered my speech strongly and confidently. Three strengths throughout my speech were my familiarity with the material, my PowerPoint presentation and my in-speech citing. I was very interested in my topic and I think my speech showed how well I researched and practiced the material. The creativity of my speech topic set it apart from many of the presentations. Secondly, I believe my PowerPoint presentation was not too distracting because I used proper animations, color schemes and fonts that were pleasant to the eye. The pictures I used during the presentation were colorful and relevant to what I was saying at that moment. The PowerPoint really enhanced my speech and helped me get my information across more clearly and efficiently. Lastly, throughout my speech I cited the author, title and source conversationally. My statistics and quotes were also woven well into my speech. I was able to boost my credibility by giving such in depth sources within my speech.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there were many positive aspects of my speech, there is still much I need to improve upon. My weaknesses throughout my presentation include my body language, my lengthy bullet points and my citations in the visual aid. Although my speech flowed very nicely, I have to work on connecting with the audience. I plan on doing this by relaxing my body and smiling more often. I also plan to make eye contact with the audience and relying less on my note cards. Secondly, I need to improve my visual aids because on some of the slides I did not utilize the six by six rules. Sometimes I used too many words in a situation when pictures or shorter bullet points would have been more effective. Therefore, I plan on sticking to the six by six rule in order to keep my audience focused on the most important points of my speech. Lastly, and most importantly, I have to cite my sources correctly on the PowerPoint slides. I only used the name of the author when I cited on my slides. In order to improve my speech I plan on using my exact MLA formatted citation to enhance my credibility and give credit where credit is due. Overall, I plan on making these changes to become an effective public speaker during my next presentation.
I was very proud of my first speech. Reflecting back on the experience, I thought I did well because of the amount of time I spent preparing.
ReplyDeleteThinking back on the experience, my strengths were my eye contact with the audience, my speech transitions, and my citations. I felt that I maintained really good eye contact with the audience, and looked down at my notecards only when I needed to. This was a result of me practicing and familiarizing myself with my speech. I also had good transitions that made my speech flow between each main point. This was also a result of practicing my speech. After familiarizing myself with my speech, transitions naturally came out in my speaking. My final strength was my good use of citations. I brought in 4 different sources and cited each of them well in my speech. I thought that my citations were conversational as well.
Some things that I need to improve for my next speech include saying "um" less, putting my references at the beginning, being less serious, and creating a better conclusion. It is hard for me to notice when I say "um" because I say it without thinking. Going into this speech, I already knew that I needed to minimize saying "um" because I know I tend to say it when I give presentations. Although I thought I did minimize my "ums" more than usual, I still need to improve and say it even less. To do this, I am going to practice some more, and be extra aware of when "um" comes out of my mouth. This way, I will recognize the points at which I say "um" and I will avoid it. I also need to improve my speech by moving my references to the beginning as opposed to having them at the end. To do this I will simply place the slide with the citations in my introduction. Another way to improve my speech is to be less serious. I did not smile or look pleasant while I was speaking, because I did not even think about it. Next time, I will practice while smiling to get used to it. That way, when I get up to present I will already be used to smiling while saying my speech. The final thing I need to improve is my conclusion. In this speech my conclusion was bland and did not give my speech justice. In order to improve this, next time I will focus on thinking of a conclusion that will impress the audience and leave them with something memorable. Also, I will practice it on friends to see what they think of the conclusion.
Overall, this speech has taught me a lot about the way I speak publicly. I feel that next time I will do even better, because I am aware of my weaknesses as a public speaker.
Before my speech on Friday, I did feel some anxiety. Although I knew I was prepared, I was still slightly uneasy with the thought of presenting my work to the class. After I finally gave in and volunteered to go, I must say that I am very pleased with how everything went. I knew my material, which to me is one of the most important factors in successful public speaking. Because I was well prepared and was knowledgeable and passionate about my subject, I rarely ever looked at my note cards. In fact, I think I only looked down at my cards to see when to “click”. Another strong point of my presentation was my visual aid, I don’t think my powerpoint was a distraction or had too much on it. I purposely chose to only show large pictures for shock value. I think my powerpoint added emotion, power, and rather than being a diversion from my speech, it really made the class want to listen to what I was saying. A third strong point of my presentation was my attention getter. I thought my opening was creative and really got the audience’s attention because they weren’t expecting it and they were trying to see where I was going with the “imaginary trip” that I was taking the class on.
ReplyDeleteAlthough overall my presentation was successful and I had several strengths, there is always room for improvement and there are a few things that I need to work on for the next speech. My first weakness was my hand movements. I can be a very animated person and at times I tend to talk with my hands. Now that I know that this can be a major distraction, next time I will try my hardest to speak with my hands at my side or just use them occasionally. Secondly, I need to make more personal connections with people while speaking. I tend to just scan the room out of nervousness and I need to fully establish eye contact with members of the audience to help the conversational aspect of the presentation. Finally, on the next speech, I need to make sure that I cite a few more sources to really back up my information and establish more credibility with the audience.
Although I researched my topic on Laughter very well, I was still beyond nervous to present on Friday. I practiced my speech a couple of times before presenting, and I had my notecards ready. When I walked up to the front of the class, I forgot everything I wanted to say, and that's where my nervousness got the best of me. Three things I feel that I should improve on is establishing eye contact, speaking louder, and citing sources correctly.
ReplyDeleteFirst, establishing better eye contact could have been done by practicing the speech more and getting really comfortable with what I was saying. I felt like I was loosing my train of thought, and therefore I relied on the notecards more than my audience. If I practiced the speech more, the delivery would have been more thorough.
Second, I was speaking to myself, and I was really quiet. This also goes back to the lack of practice. Even though I thought I practiced enough, I should have practiced in front of a crowd of people, because I realized it's not the same practicing in front of the mirror and in front of people. If I felt comfortable in front of the class, I would have had better eye contact and spoken in a conversational tone.
Third, my sources weren't cited correctly in the speech. Although I had them cited correctly on my notecards, I still thought I was doing it wrong because it felt like a mouthful to cite the sources in my speech. For my next speech I will practice citing the sources correctly and checking with the professor to see if I am citing it right.
Overall, practice would have made my speech much better, but I notice some things that I liked about my speech and that I would consider my strengths.
First, I liked the amount of research I put into my speech. Laughter was a very fun topic to research and I loved learning more about it and how it benefits our health. I am going to carry over the amount of research into the next speech. I feel that it is very important for us to know our topic very well before presenting.
Second, I liked my attention getter in the beginning of the speech. I thought that it loosened tension in the atmosphere and introduced my topic very well on laughter. The whole class laughed or at least chuckled at the baby who was laughing uncontrollably.
Third, I liked my powerpoint, I thought it was very simple and to the point. Although, I should have put my sources in the slides and made it more evident to the audience what exactly I was referring to.
All in all, I think my speech was very well researched and thought out. However, I should have practiced more and made myself more comfortable with it. I will do my best to do better next time.
After completing my first speech, I was surprised because I wasn’t as nervous when I was up there as I thought I would be. I was very nervous leading up to the speech, but standing up in front of the class wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. Three strengths that I had during my speech were the tone of my voice, my credibility, and my organization. I spoke loud, clear, and confidently. Next, I had sufficient credibility especially because I was talking about my own experience in Australia. The audience knew that what I was saying was believable because I spoke from past experience; this also helped engage the audience because they were interested in my topic. The sources and statistics I found and mentioned throughout my speech also added to my credibility. Lastly, I was very organized in my outline and presentation of my points. I arranged my speech in a good order especially with a credible source followed by my own experience tied in. Three improvements that I need to work on include eye contact, emotion, and less note cards. One problem that I had was that my eyes were looking at the PowerPoint screen more than my audience. Next, I need to show more emotion when I speak. I had an intense look on my face on a topic that I felt passionate about. My emotions and topic did not correlate. Lastly, I need to use less note cards and become more comfortable in front of the class without note cards attached to my hands. My planned course of action would be to rehearse more than the day before. I need to give myself more time to rehearse and practice in front of other people in order to receive feedback about what I am doing wrong.
ReplyDeleteBefore presenting my speech, I felt very comfortable and confident with my overall topic. However, when my time approached to present I began to get extremeley nervous. I became so nervous that I even forgot to put my paper down which was something I intended to do before I began my speech. On that note, I will begin with my needed improvements. One thing that I had not noticed before was the fact that my eyes wander. I have done presentations for classes and programs for my sorority and I generally felt that I usually make connections with the audience through my eyes. Perhaps my nervousness got the best of me. But I am glad it was pointed out because I am now more aware of that. Next, I think the organization of my presenation could have been a lot smoother. When I was working on my powerpoint I think I had good connectors in my mind but I did not identify them as much throughout my speech. Lastly, I should have verbally cited more of my research. The fact taht I was knowledgable about Kiva made me forget to cite concrete research. On a more positive note, having an experience with Kiva allowed me to establish credibility with my audience. I was also very passionate about my topic because of my connection with Kiva. This made it a whole lot easier to talk about Kiva enthusiastically. Finally, this may be considered a mixture of both a positive and negative but on a positive note I intentionally did not bring notecards so that it could prevent the habit of looking down often. I was confident that I could go through my speech without notecards because I had practiced my transitions. However, the downfall to not having notecard was not being able to verbally cite as often being that I did not memorize my speech.
ReplyDelete