Informative Speech

My informative speech was about one of my favorite topics, the British music Invasion in the 1960s. It was really hard for me not to over-obsess about The Beatles or talk too much about the time I saw The Who. I had to make sure I gave each topic a comprehensive overview that was both short and even in length. Although it was easy for me to find sources that backed up the knowledge I already had, it was hard to be consistent. Sometimes I would write a fact and then forget to look for where I had read it from a while ago.

Overall, writing my speech gave me more knowledge of the music that I love. When writing anything that requires research, it’s always better to pick a topic that you’re not familiar with but have an interest in. And if you already have knowledge of the topic, then it’s fun finding unfamiliar nuances that might have eluded you before.

After my speech, I was curious to know how people felt about my presentation. They were surprised that I wasn’t too over-enthusiastic, since it’s well-known that music is my favorite thing. I remembered that I had stumbled over some words, but my classmates told me that they didn’t notice. I guess being on stage makes someone more hypercritical of their own selves. Being on stage also makes us susceptible to mistakes, since we’re tying so hard not to mess up.

For my next speech, I’m definitely going to go over the speaking outline more. Also, I want to make a comprehensible outline so I can avoid stumbling over my words. With a more organized speaking outline, I would be more confident and my thoughts would be clearer.

Personal Speech

I wrote my personal speech about a place in Staten Island called Alice Austen House. The speech was very personal and I felt very connected with my audience, especially since there is a student there who is also from Staten Island. I tried to make my audience feel comfortable by making them laugh, which in turn made me feel more at ease. Overall, I enjoyed giving this speech, although there are many things I should have to improve.

The best thing I did in this presentation was make my audience laugh. Seeing them laugh was good because I felt their energy and I felt more connected to them. It also showed me that my audience was engaged with my speech. However, I felt that I could have improved my vocal delivery. Looking back at my presentation, I felt like I was talking too casually, and I felt like I was conversing with the audience more than giving a speech. At the beginning of the speech, I was trying too hard to make it sound speech-like, and I felt like it sounded very obvious. That was when I decided to converse with the audience more than delivering a speech. But there are ways to make conversation sound more oratory, and when there is a more formal speech assignment, I will definitely make sure that my vocal delivery corresponds with the words of the speech.

If I seemed physically uncomfortable, it was probably because I felt too naked in front of the audience. Usually when I would present or give a speech, I would be behind a podium or next to a computer cart. Giving a speech with just paper in hand and nothing to hide my body makes me uncomfortable, so I might have been shaking or doing weird things with my legs. Next time, I will be more conscious of the fact that there is no podium in front of me and I just have to work with it. I have to learn how to stand up straighter and stop fidgeting with my hair or my feet.

Overall, I felt like my speech went well. Since the subject matter was personal and not that informal, I felt like I handled it well. There are things I can improve like my posture and my vocal delivery, and with more practice in front of a mirror, I feel like I can improve greatly.