Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Informative Speeches Business Symposium
Well, very nice effort for the first speech. As we discussed in classes we have some repeated issues coming up that need to be addressed in the next speech. However, there were a lot of strengths as well. Use this blog to post your critique. Please give advice on the needed strengths and be specfic on the ways that the speech was effective. See you in two weeks after the midsemester break!
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Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday I critiqued Alisha McCain, who informed us about financial aid and student loans. I really enjoyed Alisha's speech! I think her greatest strength is definitely her speaking style. She has a great conversational tone and was so cheerful during her delivery, which made it so easy to listen to her. She made great eye contact, didn’t rely on the index cards, and smiled a lot, so it seemed like she was talking directly to me. She also did a really good job of focusing on her target audience by making the information in her speech understandable for college students. I also thought that her "attention-getter" was really great. She asked a question of "who would like to graduate college debt-free?" and instead of just having the audience raise their hands, she interacted with us really well by actually talking to us and saying things like "we all do, right!?" which I thought was really effective.
For next time, I think Alisha's speech will be stronger if she cites fully in the PowerPoint. It was obvious that she did great research and knew a lot about all of her sources by the way she explained them verbally, but instead of listing "Huffington Post," the full citation should be on the slide. Also, I think it would help if Alisha used more transitions to make her main points really flow together. Lastly (and I’m guilty of this too), the conclusion can get lengthy if the main points are repeated. For next time we know to just have a memorable statement and closing statement in the conclusion. All in all, it was a pleasure to listen to Alisha's speech! She provided me with a lot of really useful information that I'll be using in the future.
Hope everyone enjoys Fall Break!
Michelle Dutka
I critiqued Michelle who shared research regarding religious discrimination. I enjoyed that she discussed empirical studies showing that discrimination is a real problem in the workplace. The attention getter was effective. Instead of asking the class a rhetorical question, she related her presentation to an instance that recently happened to her. Her conversational tone was upbeat and engaging while using appropriate hand gestures to provide emphasis to her points.
ReplyDeleteSome constructive criticism includes providing full citations on the powerpoint. Also, she may have looked at the screen, breaking eye contact yet if so, the impact was barley noticeable. Also the conclusion could've been a little tighter including the closing and memorable statements.
Overall, amazing presentation.
- Jesse de Agustin
I critiqued Lauren.
ReplyDelete-Lauren cited her sources very effectively, both written and oral.
-Her attention grabber was also very good, but I think the audience did not fully understand the term, "post-racial." It would have been helpful to either use clearer vocabulary or to define the term beforehand.
-Lauren knew her material well, but it could have been delivered more forcefully and with a more conversational tone.
-Overall, great job, Lauren!
Audrey
I critiqued Mark on his speech last week.
ReplyDeleteHis attention getter was good, but I was unsure as to what it had to do with his topic. It definitely got my attention, but maybe I missed something in terms of connecting it to his topic of ageism.
He had a very strong voice and he sounded very confident which was good to listen to.
His sources were good, though the citation was a little awkward.
His posture was excellent and confident, but when he was unsure and would say "Um, so..." he would shift his weight around, so I got the feeling that he was very confident in some parts and not so confident in others.
Overall, really good presentation, and gave some great points to think about!
Hannah
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ReplyDeleteI critiqued Brittany on her portion of the Business Symposium speech last week. She made great eye contact with us sitting in the audience. In addition, she maintained a warm smile throughout the presentation and spoke in a friendly conversational tone. Some things to avoid for her next upcoming speech are to make a conscious effort to exclude “umm’s” and to stand with her legs uncrossed. In regards to her PowerPoint she should take extra time to be sure all citations are posted on the bottom of slides, and that she doesn’t rely on her slides to read from. Also, there was a typo on one of the slides; next time proof reading an extra time may help to avoid future mistakes. Lastly, when formulating her next intro she should be sure to include a creative and unique attention grabber. Overall she did a great job and I’m looking forward to see how much she improves in her next speech.
ReplyDelete-Carly Koziol
I also Critiqued Brittany.
ReplyDeleteOverall she had a great job, and only needs a little fine tuning. She was very conversational, I felt that she was like almost talking to me while she was talking to everyone else. She also had very interesting points, that where able to grab my attention. She also had a good tone that showed that she cared about what she said.
I thought it was an awesome speech but a little fine tuning is in order. She needs to be able to cite both on the slide as well as the powerpoint. I also thought the conclusion was just a tad bit too long, not too much over but a little bit. I also some slight hand movements, again it was not too excessive but something too look out for, for the next speech.
--Mark Morgan
I critiqued Leann last week.
ReplyDeleteOverall, Leann did spectacular job with both the verbal and visual aspect of her presentation. She had clearly researched her topic thoroughly and adapted it to the audience’s frame of reference. Her PowerPoint was very well organized and engaging. I really liked her use of pictures and clipart.
Leann also did a very good job looking up and not relying on her PowerPoint or note cards. One thing she could improve is her eye contact. Even though she was looking up, she was looking over the audience rather than at them.
Another improvement she could focus on for next time would be her conversational tone. At times she would be very engaging, especially when using a personal story or example. Other times her information sounded too rehearsed and even memorized.
Along the same note her entire body seemed a bit stiff. I think if she relaxed a bit more and didn’t focus on the exact wording of the speech so much her body would relax too, but of course the nervousness and stiffness will dissipate with more practice.
Leann’s speech was one of my favorites and she did an amazing job. Keep up the good work Leann!
I critiqued Luciano for this past speech. I really enjoyed his presentation because he had an excellent conversational tone. This, along with his confidence in front of the class, was very engaging. He knew his topic very well, which increased his credibility. In addition, he always made eye contact with the class, as he did not rely on note cards.
ReplyDeleteIn the future, Luciano can improve his speech by composing a more distinct attention grabber. To improve his credibility, he should include citing in his speech and use the correct citing format on his slides. One last suggestion might be to reduce the amount of movement when he is speaking. Other than those few hints for the future, I thought it was a very interesting topic and presented extremely well!
I critiqued Meg on her Business Symposium Presentation. She had great sense of humor in her Introduction when she did her “Mermaid” joke. I felt she had a really great perspective on the entering the Job Market on concerns of the content of the presentation. Meg had an excellent conversational tone; I personally was relating to what she was saying as a result of it. She had credible sources (Wall Street Journal and such).
ReplyDeleteShe had a good usage of visual aids when she used a chart to showcase unemployment rates. Her power point was succinct and clear. Didn’t seem she was relying on reading off the PowerPoint. She was able to expound on all the information given on the PowerPoint. I would suggest Meg work on body language she crossed her legs at times. Also, she needs to work on writing full citations on PowerPoint and saying them verbally. I look forward to seeing the improvements in Meg’s future speeches.
I reviewed Alison’s business symposium. I was very impressed by her presentation and I think it was obvious to the class that she was well versed on her topic.
ReplyDeleteThe speech was well worded and had a good flow. She was very good at not relying on note cards or her PowerPoint. On the flip side, the presentation came off as a little too memorized. (no one expects you to know every citation and quote by heart!)
Her posture was great and she didn’t fidget at all however from the audience standpoint she looked too stiff, like she was trying too hard not to move. If she occasionally shifted her weight on her feet however I think that would solve that problem and maybe even help her feel more relaxed and conversational.
She had all the components needed for a great presentation and I think just a little more confidence in her abilities coupled with more practice will allow her to give very compelling and interesting speeches in the future!
I critiqued Alexandria's Business Symposium presentation on internships. Overall she did very well. Unlike other presenters, she was able to use her own experience with an internship as her credibility, which was a very unique and successful approach. It gave a personal touch to the presentation that created a connection to your audience. I also liked the fact that she had a good conversational tone. It was clear that she knew her topic because she spoke as if she was an expert. She also had great information that was helpful and relative to the class. Being in college, we should all know the importance of an internship so her choice of topic was a very good one. Her sources were also credible and cited nicely.
ReplyDeleteAs for improvements, I found that she looked at the ceilings quite a lot during her speech, so I would suggest more eye contact with the audience to keep them engaged, although her tone did help with that. The attention grabber was also missing so just remember to add the attention grabber in the beginning. Nonetheless, it was a great first speech!
Jesse's group focused on different aspects of Motorola's Droid phone. He is an eloquent speaker and did an excellent job of capturing the audience. At the beginning of the speech, Jesse asked the audience questions to draw them in. This caught my attention and made me curious as to what else he would say. He also spoke confidently, which is always important in public speaking. Jesse did an excellent job of relating the speech to his audience. Cell phones are an item that every individual can relate to. This speech actually made me consider buying a Droid.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few areas that Jesse could improve on. He moved around a lot during the speech. When speakers use movement ineffectively, the audience focuses more on motion than the words being spoken. He also needs to watch his body language. In some instances, he angled his body toward the projector screen instead of the audience. The last thing he should focus on is aesthetics concerning the powerpoint. Some slides had a dark font on a dark background, which is difficult to read.
All in all, it was a great speech. Well done!
I critiqued Iana's speech. Overall the speech was very good. She seemed very well prepared and she really knew what she was talking about. She cited good examples that were relevant to her topic. She made good eye contact, and her tone was very conversational and natural. There were only a few things she needed improvement on.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that needed improvement was the attention getter. I wasn't sure what the attention getter actually was at first because of the way it was placed within the speech. Next time, just make sure the attention getter happens first in the speech. I also thought she seemed very nervous at first, but she gained confidence as the speech progressed.
Overall it was a great speech and I think if she just follows those few suggestions she could definitely improve in her future speeches. Good job!! :)
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks ago I critiqued Hannah’s speech. Overall I thought she did a really great job.
I saw that throughout her speech she had many strengths. Here are three specific examples:
1.I really liked how in the beginning of the speech she used props (cash and a credit card) to emphasize the point of whether or not someone should use paper of plastic when making purchases. This made the audience connect with this idea on two levels.
2.I found that she had really good credibility and established it well in the introduction of her speech. It was obvious that she knew her topic well. She also had a really good pace as she spoke.
3.I also really liked her power point. Unlike other people’s power points, hers was not very wordy. It was the opposite, with mostly pictures depicting what she was talking about. I liked how she could tie in images to what she was saying.
I only found a couple of things that needed improvement.
1.I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to this, however there were a couple of “umms” in there. Instead of using filler words, just pause and talk a breath. The silence may feel like a century to you when you are standing there in front of an audience, but to everyone else it is no big deal.
2.You moved your hands a lot as you spoke. At times it was a good thing because you were emphasizing your point. Although it was not extremely distracting this time, being mindful of it in the future would not be a bad idea.
3.At one point in the presentation you messed up and apologized to the audience. I suggest never doing this, because they do not know you are messing up! Only you know if you make a little mistake, and by pausing and taking a breath, you can gather yourself again and the audience will never know it was a problem.
Overall, great job Hannah!!
-Carmella Holl