What went well during the speech? What can be improved? Consider delivery, content, organization, and audience reaction in your response.
I think overall my speech went pretty well, it was one of the first times I had really presented anything in quite a while but I think I did alright. I think I did a decent job at being honest with myself in looking introspectively at my communication style which I found to be more difficult than expected. I felt I did well in projecting my voice to the room, making eye contact, and limiting filler words like “umm.” I think I was well prepared for the speech, I found that I had to many things that I did not get too, so I could work on timing or being more concise. The class seemed to be interested in my presentation, and found it a funnier then I had intended, which is always good. I could have done a better job at practicing my speech before hand, I went in kind of blind – I will try to improve on this. In my delivery, I felt that I could try to be a little less nervous and try to keep my voice from sounding so shaky, as well as avoiding fidgeting as much. I will keep these in mind moving forward.
I did my first Speech during class on Tuesday. I think overall this speech went alright, I stayed within the time constraints and got through all of the points that I wanted to highlight to the class. I think just my understanding of what I wanted to talk about went really well, I feel like I gave enough information and detail without spending too much talking. There were a few things that I feel as if I could change in the coming weeks with speeches. I know that I have a really bad problem with talking fast, nervous or not my talking pace is quite fast. I know that this can be a problem for some people to understand a fast paced talker, I think that being able to have the confidence in what I am saying will be crucial in being able to slow down my pace. Another thing that I think I can improve as the semester continues would just be my voice confidence, I know that I felt my voice shaking a little bit, it may have been perceive by the class. Just being able to have that confidence in my words will be really important in my public speaking journey.
In all honesty I would say my speech went okay. I did not know I talked for 5 MINUTES…. But overall I think I hit the points on my paper. When practicing I definitely came off as more confident but I heard my voice shake a little when I presented the speech. My timing can definitely be improved and my thought process when trying to put my thoughts into words. I rehearsed my speech a couple of times yet my mind still went blank so that is something I want to improve on. I didn’t hate the audience’s reactions, I liked all the comments I got. I believe it went a lot better than expected, that’s for sure.
I think my speech went well but could be improved upon. Most of the student evaluations were about how relaxed and calm I was giving my speech. That worked out well because my whole speech was about me being a relaxed, easy going person. I felt good talking, that I was loud enough, had good eye contact, did not fumble over my words and did subtle hand gestures. I will say I was worried about the time constraint, thus cutting my speech shorter than I planned to meet the time frame. My speech on paper was organized however verbally I think it could have been a little better. Again, I think it’s due to my fear of being outside of the time frame that I kind of skipped around to hit every point I wanted too. When I was finished I felt good other than feeling like it was a bit short but when asked for a positive evaluation I did not expect so many people to raise their hands promptly. The reviews were nice, how I was relaxed and ready right off the bat to present, how some of my topics were relatable to others like my communication styles or my worst case scenario. Also being asked by Professor Miller if I was anxious about presenting, made me think that I presented myself in a collected way that it had to be questioned. Overall I think that my speech went well but the time constraint worried me making me cut my speech shorter then planned however I feel that I played it off well.
During my speech, I think my timing went well. I was able to pace myself and say everything I wanted to say in a timely manner. I thought I did a good job with not using too many spacer words. I also thought I had good volume; everyone could hear me in the back. With that being said, I could improve. I felt that my voice was a bit shaky because I was so nervous. I want to become more confident when saying my words. I need to keep in mind that I should take tiny breaks in between talking to take a breath. My voice was breaking in result of me talking for long periods of time. I want to be able to reference my paper less and give more direct eye contact with everyone. I thought the audience gave me great, positive feedback. I added some humor into my speech, and everyone was able to catch on to it which means I conveyed it effectively. The audience also told me I sounded like I was having a genuine conversation. That means I gave off a calm persona with good body language. Overall, I think my speech went well given how nervous I was.
Sydney Pickering
Public Speaking 100-A
Journal 3
2/3/23
Today I gave my speech to the class and it went well but, it probably could have been better. I know I’ve said I’m used to public speaking but I had nerves as this was my first college speech ever. In my last semester, I took all science classes meaning I only had exams. Despite my being uncomfortable I came off as very honest with some funky humor. My speed bothered me personally, I thought I was going to be very relaxed and calm but I felt I was rushing. I also felt like I did make eye contact with only half of the class. My voice I feel like it could have been stronger, I felt it crack and almost tremble. I enjoy forming connections On the other hand, my speech was well-rounded and had a full-circle moment that connected my high school to my collegiate experience. I like to use examples to help remind myself where I am and what is next. My examples have meaning to me they remind me of how I was confident and how I was raised to be communicative which helped me perform in my speech. I think my voice level was pretty good, I feel as if the whole room, could hear me. I feel like my hand motions helped calm me down and relax me while also adding emphasis to my speech itself. This speech could have gone better but, it was successful, to say the least, and I hope to improve on my next speech.
I believe that I was well prepared to deliver my speech. I liked my organization, as I felt it flowed well with the purpose I was attempting to convey. The speeches of my peers prior to mine seemed a bit more informal and more so about their everyday life communication style. I took a different approach and analyzed my professional communication style, because professional conversations are a daily occurrence for me.
When I become nervous I go into a subconscious autopilot mode, and that definitely happened during my speech. I’m not really sure if people can see that in my presentation, but during natural pauses during the speech I was able to draw myself back in. The audience commented that I exude confidence in my stance and the way I speak, I believe this was more so in the way I present myself, as I felt less confident than I usually do. When I noticed I was shifting my weight, fidgeting with my hands, or looking too much at my paper; I attempted to correct these things, but on a few occasions I would put my hands in my pockets, which I personally don’t think looks good or professional.
Overall, I think my first speech was decent, but there is definitely room for improvement. Over the course of this semester, getting more practice and repetition with presenting some of these issues will correct themselves.
I believe that my first speech went well, as I was definitely nervous because my name was one of the last ones called. I got to see what it was like for other students and realized that if they can do it, so can I. I definitely felt like my voice was shaky at first. I was rushing into sentences that I kept replaying over again in my head which left me blank space. I also glanced over at my phone to see the time a lot of times which caused me to be distracted. Overall, I felt like I had the audience engaged with a loud voice even though I started with the hook being I am shy and quiet. It left everyone thinking. My sentences were flowing at some points but also could have been all over the place in other parts, so I want to focus on feeding each sentence into the next one smoothly so it sounds more natural. The audience was also nodding heads and laughing in a part of the speech so it definitely made me feel more comfortable that they were actually enjoying what I was saying rather than just being forced to listen to it.
The first speech was as I expected and I did not like it at all. I knew I wasn’t gonna meet the time required and that always frustrated me. But on the good note I felt I was still a little confident on what was being said in it. I could have been better about how fast I was talking. Should have slowed down more and paused. It looked like to me everyone was very interested in my speech and did follow along but if i slowed down more it could have been better and longer. More practice is what is needed for the next speech and more confidence.
I was far more nervous than I had anticipated for my speech. Usually I feel much less anxious, but my audience was different than what I am used to. The public speeches I have given in the past were targeted towards an audience that shared my interests, such as marine science related discussions or political pieces. With an audience I had no shared interest or previous knowledge of, I became much more conscious about how I would be perceived.
I thought I would not have a problem reaching the time demands since I have had past experiences of cutting it close, but in the end I felt as though I spoke too fast and left out a few key points to my speech which may have made me fall short.
My head was very busy up until the moment I started my speech, once I began it all went blank and completely empty, I forgot I even had an outline with me to guide my speech. The outline I had prepared felt orderly, however I ended up not following it all too well. For future speeches I want to be able to consider my audience better but also not get consumed by how I am going to come off to them. I also felt very stiff in front of everyone and so I need to be able to take a deep breath and relax a bit more.
I believe that the speech I delivered in class on Friday went well considering the effort that I put into it. Initially, I composed an outline that was short and blunt, but after hearing the speeches of my peers and considering my content a few more times I decided to make some alterations. I stepped back from the things I wrote down first to paint a bigger and broader picture of what communication is to me and how I go about it. At first, like most presentations I give in classes, I was nervous, but that ended as soon as I stood up in front of everyone. The material that I covered in my speech was in sync with the outline that was created, which was very helpful while I was speaking because I did not go too far off track at any point. My speech was coherent and answered the prompt that we were provided.
With regards to the things that I could have done better, the things that will follow, I think they are all more or less easy to improve upon. On one hand I may have been a little too relaxed while delivering my speech, but I am also thinking that is not such a bad thing. Also, my eye contact may have tapered off towards the middle of my delivery, but again, not too big of a deal in my opinion. Ultimately, there are things that went well and a couple of things to think about more in-depth for future speeches.
compose an honest self-reflection journal analyzing your impromptu speech. What went well during the speech? What can be improved? Consider delivery, content, organization, and audience reaction in your response.
I believe my impromptu speech went as well as I could’ve thought. I was honest when I recognized the weaknesses in my communication style, I had a good hook that led right into my speech. I made my audience laugh a bit, and I tried my best to engage with them and find things that relate, like when I said “haven’t we all had an experience where we say a joke and no one laughs.” I felt like I had good transitions to make my speech flow, like how that previous sentence I said led right into my worst-case scenario. I wrapped it up with a conclusion and how I look to learn and strengthen my skills in this class. So I felt like I had a good structure to my speech, and I feel like I delivered it well too. I definitely articulated but I can still work on my “ums.” The audience reacted very nicely as they gave some nice comments after I finished, they liked the relatability and flow of my piece, and how I added a little bit of humor too. I look to take some of these things that I did well into my next speech, but I definitely need to work on my “ums” and slight unnecessary pauses for next time as well. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how this project turned out!
After completing my first speech in class, I thought it went pretty okay for a first speech. When I public speak I tend to lose track of time so I am not really sure how long I ended up talking. However I believe it was around the time frame of one and a half to two minutes. One goal I did not mention is in my speech is my ability to reconize my surroundings while talking. I tent to just go go go and not think or anything, I just do what is in my head and do not adapt quickly as well. One thing that I did well which I tend to struggle with is my volume and mumbling. Going into the speech I was pretty aware that, that was something that had to be improved on. I am happy with what I did for those areas of speaking. Another thing that I thought I could have done a little better was my speed. I feel like I may have gone a little fast for the speech, but it can definitly get fixed. One thing I liked was my ability to paint a picture. I gave three different stories that helped paint a picture for that class and I was happy with that. Overall there are some aspects I could improve on throughout more speeches but it was a good start.
I think my speech went overall ok. For the first speech ever in this class I would consider it solid. It was easy to write the outline and rehearse it in my head, meaning it didn’t take long to get the gist of it memorized. One thing in particular that went well for me was my fluidity, I felt that I kept a decent pace and normal tone. I didn’t feel too high pitched or too monotone which is something that can be an issue when giving speeches. One thing that I think I need to work on and is something that I have always felt that I need to work on is making it seem more conversational rather than rehearsed. I feel like I get it in my head that I need to memorize my speech so then when I’m presenting I focus more on recalling what I’ve memorized rather than being there in the moment. It’s something I’ve always struggled to do and I’m very aware I do it. Another thing is when I get flustered and kind of blank out on what I’m going to say. I know it’s very common to stumble on words and mess up but it’s something that I don’t like doing and it’s a weakness I would really like to improve on.
After delivering speech 1, I am content with my performance. I had a lot of nerves going into it which stressed me out. However, once I got up in front of everyone, I definitely relaxed a little bit. I normally struggle with trying to stay calm in front of an audience, and I think I did a great job calming my nerves. I struggle the most with the anticipation of delivering the speech, and now that I have one speech under my belt, I know what to expect and won’t be as nervous next time. Overall, I think I kept a great pace during the speech. I tried not to speak too fast because usually when I do this, I will stutter over my words and lose my train of thought. By slowing down, and taking a breath often, I was able to focus on what I was saying. My speech organization was strong, and I spoke clearly. One thing I think I could improve is making more connections with the audience. By using more eye contact and looking around the room, I could improve this. The class also gave me several comments about how confident I was.
During the Impromptu Speech we had to give this week I was very nervous. I think it went pretty well though since a couple of my classmates told me I did not seem nervous at all. I thought I was loud enough and kept good eye contact with the class. I also thought it was important that I brought up writing during my speech as well. I think I can get a lot better at my pace during the speeches. Such as talking slower and more clearly than rushing. I also think I could be a little more organized and set up my speech in a better way. My content in some areas could have been better as well. Everyone seemed to react really well to my speech and be impressed, so that was very relieving. It was nice to hear comments from my other classmates because I think it’s easier to relate to them and it is nice to get their perspective as well. Overall I think my first speech went pretty well, but there are always things to improve on!
I was asked to write a reflection on my speech. Now I am very critical of myself and thought that my performance could have been much better. I decided to take this class. It was forced upon me. I’m here to really learn and get better at public speaking. My legs were very shaky which caused distraction in my head and I want to limit that. I also felt like I repeated my sentence once or twice. I think overall I fooled the crowd into thinking it was half decent but that isn’t enough for me. Not only do I want to trick you into thinking I have presented in front of people all my life I would like to fool myself as well. I will say however I liked the positive feedback I received and I think that for not presenting in a long time I was able to mask the fear. I liked my posture and my tone of passage but again I have lots to work on. I know that I can get better so I’m excited to see what my presentations will look like by the end of this course. Hopefully I do much better.
I did my speech on Friday and overall, I feel I did very well with it. One of the things that went well was my eye contact with the audience, which I had said was one of my strengths. I looked around the room at everyone to ensure I connected to the entire audience. I had confidence in myself while delivering my speech which helped my volume, I was able to speak so that everyone could hear me. I flowed through my points and made good time without fully reading off my paper. I had some really good feedback from the audience, they had said that I did very well. The audience liked that I explained how my communication style was developed. They also thought that the point I made about eye contact was great “Eye contact is important because it connects you to the person or audience you are talking to.” But with things that went well, they are always ways to improve. Some things I feel I could improve on are to find ways to connect each key point to help it flow a little more. I could also organize my key points differently, which might help with the flow of my speeches.
I believe my speech went well I stayed relaxed and calm and was able to deliver my points clearly to the audience. I felt like I was connecting with people on a personal level, I didn’t feel robotic and I felt confident. I was able to state everything that I believed about my speaking style and how I believe I do while I present to the class. I think I can do better with my body motions and presense while infant of the class. I understood the assignment well and I believe when I do understand it well then that is when I get to do my best work and when I speak the best because I am prepared for what im getting myself into.
Overall, I think my speech went well. I have had multiple experiences when delivering speeches or presentations where I felt bad about it afterwards but with this speech, I believe I did my best and it went smoothly for me. Seeing other people that went before me, and felt the same way I did, helped me realize I was not alone with my feelings and that most people were equally as nervous presenting as I was. My nerves were calmer in this classroom setting and the people that were giving me feedback were accepting and pleasing to be speaking to. I went at a slower pace than how I would normally talk when publicly speaking which helped me have a constant flow of words and sentences. I am a fast talker normally and tend to speak even faster when presenting to get it over with but during my speech I felt I had improved on slowing down and taking my time. I can still improve upon finding ways to ease my nerves, getting comfortable in classroom settings, annunciating my words, and maintaining steady eye-contact with who I am speaking to. I received good feedback on my speech such as that I looked comfortable when presenting and had a good pace to say what was needed in the allotted time. Continuing to expose myself to larger groups of people and talking in front of them I fee will greatly help my ability to publicly speak.
I honestly feel I did the worst of every one in the class on our first speech, if I am to be frank. I honestly expected a lot more from myself. I thought I would have been able to handle things much better than I was. I had so many points listed on my outline I wasn’t even able to get to, it’s ridiculous. I barely relayed any information in my speech. It’s as though the moment my name was called my brain slowly shutdown while I walked up to the front of the class. So by the time I was giving the thumbs up, I already couldn’t even produce a basic sentence.
I can certainly improve on a lot. I need to work on properly articulating, as well as speaking with more flow and confidence. Just calming down and breathing in general. I know my body language could not have been the best, I probably looked as though I was at gun point also. But I can genuinely say I didn’t feel any judgment from anyone. And I do feel my stuttering wasn’t as bad as it has been for me in past situations. I just really feel jealous for all the students who got a full three weeks to work on their speeches.
I believe that the first speech delivery went well. I did go a few seconds over time, but other than that I stuck to the criteria on the rubric. I think I had a nice flow throughout the delivery and I stuck to the content on my outline. Sometimes I tend to go off on a tangent about certain points I am trying to make and I didn’t do that during the speech which was good. I spent enough time with each detail and stuck to my allotted time (in my head) that I wanted to spend on each bullet point. I believe that the audience reacted fairly well to my speech. I received a lot of positive feedback from my classmates when it was time for everyone to state things that they noticed. I felt as though I kept everyone engaged with my speech as I didn’t see anyone not paying attention when I scanned my eyes around the room. I kept a good volume as well as a nice tone, as I received positive comments about that after class. Next time, I think I can improve upon a couple of things. I can work on keeping my speech within time, and work on improving my diction so everyone can understand what I am saying. No one commented on that during class, but I think it would be helpful for me to remember.
23 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 3”
What went well during the speech? What can be improved? Consider delivery, content, organization, and audience reaction in your response.
I think overall my speech went pretty well, it was one of the first times I had really presented anything in quite a while but I think I did alright. I think I did a decent job at being honest with myself in looking introspectively at my communication style which I found to be more difficult than expected. I felt I did well in projecting my voice to the room, making eye contact, and limiting filler words like “umm.” I think I was well prepared for the speech, I found that I had to many things that I did not get too, so I could work on timing or being more concise. The class seemed to be interested in my presentation, and found it a funnier then I had intended, which is always good. I could have done a better job at practicing my speech before hand, I went in kind of blind – I will try to improve on this. In my delivery, I felt that I could try to be a little less nervous and try to keep my voice from sounding so shaky, as well as avoiding fidgeting as much. I will keep these in mind moving forward.
I did my first Speech during class on Tuesday. I think overall this speech went alright, I stayed within the time constraints and got through all of the points that I wanted to highlight to the class. I think just my understanding of what I wanted to talk about went really well, I feel like I gave enough information and detail without spending too much talking. There were a few things that I feel as if I could change in the coming weeks with speeches. I know that I have a really bad problem with talking fast, nervous or not my talking pace is quite fast. I know that this can be a problem for some people to understand a fast paced talker, I think that being able to have the confidence in what I am saying will be crucial in being able to slow down my pace. Another thing that I think I can improve as the semester continues would just be my voice confidence, I know that I felt my voice shaking a little bit, it may have been perceive by the class. Just being able to have that confidence in my words will be really important in my public speaking journey.
In all honesty I would say my speech went okay. I did not know I talked for 5 MINUTES…. But overall I think I hit the points on my paper. When practicing I definitely came off as more confident but I heard my voice shake a little when I presented the speech. My timing can definitely be improved and my thought process when trying to put my thoughts into words. I rehearsed my speech a couple of times yet my mind still went blank so that is something I want to improve on. I didn’t hate the audience’s reactions, I liked all the comments I got. I believe it went a lot better than expected, that’s for sure.
I think my speech went well but could be improved upon. Most of the student evaluations were about how relaxed and calm I was giving my speech. That worked out well because my whole speech was about me being a relaxed, easy going person. I felt good talking, that I was loud enough, had good eye contact, did not fumble over my words and did subtle hand gestures. I will say I was worried about the time constraint, thus cutting my speech shorter than I planned to meet the time frame. My speech on paper was organized however verbally I think it could have been a little better. Again, I think it’s due to my fear of being outside of the time frame that I kind of skipped around to hit every point I wanted too. When I was finished I felt good other than feeling like it was a bit short but when asked for a positive evaluation I did not expect so many people to raise their hands promptly. The reviews were nice, how I was relaxed and ready right off the bat to present, how some of my topics were relatable to others like my communication styles or my worst case scenario. Also being asked by Professor Miller if I was anxious about presenting, made me think that I presented myself in a collected way that it had to be questioned. Overall I think that my speech went well but the time constraint worried me making me cut my speech shorter then planned however I feel that I played it off well.
During my speech, I think my timing went well. I was able to pace myself and say everything I wanted to say in a timely manner. I thought I did a good job with not using too many spacer words. I also thought I had good volume; everyone could hear me in the back. With that being said, I could improve. I felt that my voice was a bit shaky because I was so nervous. I want to become more confident when saying my words. I need to keep in mind that I should take tiny breaks in between talking to take a breath. My voice was breaking in result of me talking for long periods of time. I want to be able to reference my paper less and give more direct eye contact with everyone. I thought the audience gave me great, positive feedback. I added some humor into my speech, and everyone was able to catch on to it which means I conveyed it effectively. The audience also told me I sounded like I was having a genuine conversation. That means I gave off a calm persona with good body language. Overall, I think my speech went well given how nervous I was.
Sydney Pickering
Public Speaking 100-A
Journal 3
2/3/23
Today I gave my speech to the class and it went well but, it probably could have been better. I know I’ve said I’m used to public speaking but I had nerves as this was my first college speech ever. In my last semester, I took all science classes meaning I only had exams. Despite my being uncomfortable I came off as very honest with some funky humor. My speed bothered me personally, I thought I was going to be very relaxed and calm but I felt I was rushing. I also felt like I did make eye contact with only half of the class. My voice I feel like it could have been stronger, I felt it crack and almost tremble. I enjoy forming connections On the other hand, my speech was well-rounded and had a full-circle moment that connected my high school to my collegiate experience. I like to use examples to help remind myself where I am and what is next. My examples have meaning to me they remind me of how I was confident and how I was raised to be communicative which helped me perform in my speech. I think my voice level was pretty good, I feel as if the whole room, could hear me. I feel like my hand motions helped calm me down and relax me while also adding emphasis to my speech itself. This speech could have gone better but, it was successful, to say the least, and I hope to improve on my next speech.
I believe that I was well prepared to deliver my speech. I liked my organization, as I felt it flowed well with the purpose I was attempting to convey. The speeches of my peers prior to mine seemed a bit more informal and more so about their everyday life communication style. I took a different approach and analyzed my professional communication style, because professional conversations are a daily occurrence for me.
When I become nervous I go into a subconscious autopilot mode, and that definitely happened during my speech. I’m not really sure if people can see that in my presentation, but during natural pauses during the speech I was able to draw myself back in. The audience commented that I exude confidence in my stance and the way I speak, I believe this was more so in the way I present myself, as I felt less confident than I usually do. When I noticed I was shifting my weight, fidgeting with my hands, or looking too much at my paper; I attempted to correct these things, but on a few occasions I would put my hands in my pockets, which I personally don’t think looks good or professional.
Overall, I think my first speech was decent, but there is definitely room for improvement. Over the course of this semester, getting more practice and repetition with presenting some of these issues will correct themselves.
I believe that my first speech went well, as I was definitely nervous because my name was one of the last ones called. I got to see what it was like for other students and realized that if they can do it, so can I. I definitely felt like my voice was shaky at first. I was rushing into sentences that I kept replaying over again in my head which left me blank space. I also glanced over at my phone to see the time a lot of times which caused me to be distracted. Overall, I felt like I had the audience engaged with a loud voice even though I started with the hook being I am shy and quiet. It left everyone thinking. My sentences were flowing at some points but also could have been all over the place in other parts, so I want to focus on feeding each sentence into the next one smoothly so it sounds more natural. The audience was also nodding heads and laughing in a part of the speech so it definitely made me feel more comfortable that they were actually enjoying what I was saying rather than just being forced to listen to it.
The first speech was as I expected and I did not like it at all. I knew I wasn’t gonna meet the time required and that always frustrated me. But on the good note I felt I was still a little confident on what was being said in it. I could have been better about how fast I was talking. Should have slowed down more and paused. It looked like to me everyone was very interested in my speech and did follow along but if i slowed down more it could have been better and longer. More practice is what is needed for the next speech and more confidence.
I was far more nervous than I had anticipated for my speech. Usually I feel much less anxious, but my audience was different than what I am used to. The public speeches I have given in the past were targeted towards an audience that shared my interests, such as marine science related discussions or political pieces. With an audience I had no shared interest or previous knowledge of, I became much more conscious about how I would be perceived.
I thought I would not have a problem reaching the time demands since I have had past experiences of cutting it close, but in the end I felt as though I spoke too fast and left out a few key points to my speech which may have made me fall short.
My head was very busy up until the moment I started my speech, once I began it all went blank and completely empty, I forgot I even had an outline with me to guide my speech. The outline I had prepared felt orderly, however I ended up not following it all too well. For future speeches I want to be able to consider my audience better but also not get consumed by how I am going to come off to them. I also felt very stiff in front of everyone and so I need to be able to take a deep breath and relax a bit more.
I believe that the speech I delivered in class on Friday went well considering the effort that I put into it. Initially, I composed an outline that was short and blunt, but after hearing the speeches of my peers and considering my content a few more times I decided to make some alterations. I stepped back from the things I wrote down first to paint a bigger and broader picture of what communication is to me and how I go about it. At first, like most presentations I give in classes, I was nervous, but that ended as soon as I stood up in front of everyone. The material that I covered in my speech was in sync with the outline that was created, which was very helpful while I was speaking because I did not go too far off track at any point. My speech was coherent and answered the prompt that we were provided.
With regards to the things that I could have done better, the things that will follow, I think they are all more or less easy to improve upon. On one hand I may have been a little too relaxed while delivering my speech, but I am also thinking that is not such a bad thing. Also, my eye contact may have tapered off towards the middle of my delivery, but again, not too big of a deal in my opinion. Ultimately, there are things that went well and a couple of things to think about more in-depth for future speeches.
compose an honest self-reflection journal analyzing your impromptu speech. What went well during the speech? What can be improved? Consider delivery, content, organization, and audience reaction in your response.
I believe my impromptu speech went as well as I could’ve thought. I was honest when I recognized the weaknesses in my communication style, I had a good hook that led right into my speech. I made my audience laugh a bit, and I tried my best to engage with them and find things that relate, like when I said “haven’t we all had an experience where we say a joke and no one laughs.” I felt like I had good transitions to make my speech flow, like how that previous sentence I said led right into my worst-case scenario. I wrapped it up with a conclusion and how I look to learn and strengthen my skills in this class. So I felt like I had a good structure to my speech, and I feel like I delivered it well too. I definitely articulated but I can still work on my “ums.” The audience reacted very nicely as they gave some nice comments after I finished, they liked the relatability and flow of my piece, and how I added a little bit of humor too. I look to take some of these things that I did well into my next speech, but I definitely need to work on my “ums” and slight unnecessary pauses for next time as well. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how this project turned out!
After completing my first speech in class, I thought it went pretty okay for a first speech. When I public speak I tend to lose track of time so I am not really sure how long I ended up talking. However I believe it was around the time frame of one and a half to two minutes. One goal I did not mention is in my speech is my ability to reconize my surroundings while talking. I tent to just go go go and not think or anything, I just do what is in my head and do not adapt quickly as well. One thing that I did well which I tend to struggle with is my volume and mumbling. Going into the speech I was pretty aware that, that was something that had to be improved on. I am happy with what I did for those areas of speaking. Another thing that I thought I could have done a little better was my speed. I feel like I may have gone a little fast for the speech, but it can definitly get fixed. One thing I liked was my ability to paint a picture. I gave three different stories that helped paint a picture for that class and I was happy with that. Overall there are some aspects I could improve on throughout more speeches but it was a good start.
I think my speech went overall ok. For the first speech ever in this class I would consider it solid. It was easy to write the outline and rehearse it in my head, meaning it didn’t take long to get the gist of it memorized. One thing in particular that went well for me was my fluidity, I felt that I kept a decent pace and normal tone. I didn’t feel too high pitched or too monotone which is something that can be an issue when giving speeches. One thing that I think I need to work on and is something that I have always felt that I need to work on is making it seem more conversational rather than rehearsed. I feel like I get it in my head that I need to memorize my speech so then when I’m presenting I focus more on recalling what I’ve memorized rather than being there in the moment. It’s something I’ve always struggled to do and I’m very aware I do it. Another thing is when I get flustered and kind of blank out on what I’m going to say. I know it’s very common to stumble on words and mess up but it’s something that I don’t like doing and it’s a weakness I would really like to improve on.
After delivering speech 1, I am content with my performance. I had a lot of nerves going into it which stressed me out. However, once I got up in front of everyone, I definitely relaxed a little bit. I normally struggle with trying to stay calm in front of an audience, and I think I did a great job calming my nerves. I struggle the most with the anticipation of delivering the speech, and now that I have one speech under my belt, I know what to expect and won’t be as nervous next time. Overall, I think I kept a great pace during the speech. I tried not to speak too fast because usually when I do this, I will stutter over my words and lose my train of thought. By slowing down, and taking a breath often, I was able to focus on what I was saying. My speech organization was strong, and I spoke clearly. One thing I think I could improve is making more connections with the audience. By using more eye contact and looking around the room, I could improve this. The class also gave me several comments about how confident I was.
During the Impromptu Speech we had to give this week I was very nervous. I think it went pretty well though since a couple of my classmates told me I did not seem nervous at all. I thought I was loud enough and kept good eye contact with the class. I also thought it was important that I brought up writing during my speech as well. I think I can get a lot better at my pace during the speeches. Such as talking slower and more clearly than rushing. I also think I could be a little more organized and set up my speech in a better way. My content in some areas could have been better as well. Everyone seemed to react really well to my speech and be impressed, so that was very relieving. It was nice to hear comments from my other classmates because I think it’s easier to relate to them and it is nice to get their perspective as well. Overall I think my first speech went pretty well, but there are always things to improve on!
I was asked to write a reflection on my speech. Now I am very critical of myself and thought that my performance could have been much better. I decided to take this class. It was forced upon me. I’m here to really learn and get better at public speaking. My legs were very shaky which caused distraction in my head and I want to limit that. I also felt like I repeated my sentence once or twice. I think overall I fooled the crowd into thinking it was half decent but that isn’t enough for me. Not only do I want to trick you into thinking I have presented in front of people all my life I would like to fool myself as well. I will say however I liked the positive feedback I received and I think that for not presenting in a long time I was able to mask the fear. I liked my posture and my tone of passage but again I have lots to work on. I know that I can get better so I’m excited to see what my presentations will look like by the end of this course. Hopefully I do much better.
I did my speech on Friday and overall, I feel I did very well with it. One of the things that went well was my eye contact with the audience, which I had said was one of my strengths. I looked around the room at everyone to ensure I connected to the entire audience. I had confidence in myself while delivering my speech which helped my volume, I was able to speak so that everyone could hear me. I flowed through my points and made good time without fully reading off my paper. I had some really good feedback from the audience, they had said that I did very well. The audience liked that I explained how my communication style was developed. They also thought that the point I made about eye contact was great “Eye contact is important because it connects you to the person or audience you are talking to.” But with things that went well, they are always ways to improve. Some things I feel I could improve on are to find ways to connect each key point to help it flow a little more. I could also organize my key points differently, which might help with the flow of my speeches.
I believe my speech went well I stayed relaxed and calm and was able to deliver my points clearly to the audience. I felt like I was connecting with people on a personal level, I didn’t feel robotic and I felt confident. I was able to state everything that I believed about my speaking style and how I believe I do while I present to the class. I think I can do better with my body motions and presense while infant of the class. I understood the assignment well and I believe when I do understand it well then that is when I get to do my best work and when I speak the best because I am prepared for what im getting myself into.
Overall, I think my speech went well. I have had multiple experiences when delivering speeches or presentations where I felt bad about it afterwards but with this speech, I believe I did my best and it went smoothly for me. Seeing other people that went before me, and felt the same way I did, helped me realize I was not alone with my feelings and that most people were equally as nervous presenting as I was. My nerves were calmer in this classroom setting and the people that were giving me feedback were accepting and pleasing to be speaking to. I went at a slower pace than how I would normally talk when publicly speaking which helped me have a constant flow of words and sentences. I am a fast talker normally and tend to speak even faster when presenting to get it over with but during my speech I felt I had improved on slowing down and taking my time. I can still improve upon finding ways to ease my nerves, getting comfortable in classroom settings, annunciating my words, and maintaining steady eye-contact with who I am speaking to. I received good feedback on my speech such as that I looked comfortable when presenting and had a good pace to say what was needed in the allotted time. Continuing to expose myself to larger groups of people and talking in front of them I fee will greatly help my ability to publicly speak.
I honestly feel I did the worst of every one in the class on our first speech, if I am to be frank. I honestly expected a lot more from myself. I thought I would have been able to handle things much better than I was. I had so many points listed on my outline I wasn’t even able to get to, it’s ridiculous. I barely relayed any information in my speech. It’s as though the moment my name was called my brain slowly shutdown while I walked up to the front of the class. So by the time I was giving the thumbs up, I already couldn’t even produce a basic sentence.
I can certainly improve on a lot. I need to work on properly articulating, as well as speaking with more flow and confidence. Just calming down and breathing in general. I know my body language could not have been the best, I probably looked as though I was at gun point also. But I can genuinely say I didn’t feel any judgment from anyone. And I do feel my stuttering wasn’t as bad as it has been for me in past situations. I just really feel jealous for all the students who got a full three weeks to work on their speeches.
I believe that the first speech delivery went well. I did go a few seconds over time, but other than that I stuck to the criteria on the rubric. I think I had a nice flow throughout the delivery and I stuck to the content on my outline. Sometimes I tend to go off on a tangent about certain points I am trying to make and I didn’t do that during the speech which was good. I spent enough time with each detail and stuck to my allotted time (in my head) that I wanted to spend on each bullet point. I believe that the audience reacted fairly well to my speech. I received a lot of positive feedback from my classmates when it was time for everyone to state things that they noticed. I felt as though I kept everyone engaged with my speech as I didn’t see anyone not paying attention when I scanned my eyes around the room. I kept a good volume as well as a nice tone, as I received positive comments about that after class. Next time, I think I can improve upon a couple of things. I can work on keeping my speech within time, and work on improving my diction so everyone can understand what I am saying. No one commented on that during class, but I think it would be helpful for me to remember.