My College Experience: The First Speech
This is the first speech I have done in my college career, as well as, one of many in my academic career. To be quite frank I am disappointed in the final product of my speech. The process is new, and I am known for my slow learning curve, so in the future, I believe I will have a more suitable performance. I will detail my errors through this essay as well as noted solutions.
In the preparation of the speech, I am not accustomed to using a traditional speech outline. I have my method of speech writing that I need to be more fluid with because I won’t be doing the same type of speech that will be best applicable to my preferred method. Next time, I will practice using the given outline and “act out “the speech in different ways. It usually would help to visualize how I would like my speech to go and to work it into the outline of choice. several times to perfect my speech.
Understanding how to organize my work to have a solid overview of what I will be saying when presenting. As a first-time college student, I hope it takes me to a whole new level on how to talk to people and how to control my emotions when in front of any audience regardless if it’s a friend, professor, or interviewer. By allowing myself this openminded way of understanding and awareness will help give me pinpoint the exact things that will improve the ability to stand up and say what I need to say when giving a speech or if I am the audience listening to the speaker and to be able to offer my views on what is being said.
My main issue of public speaking is the pronunciation/ enunciation of words. Then to properly formulate sentences without rushing to get the words out, before forgetting what I was to say. Normally to control my stuttering I try to think as slowly as possible. This is important because when I start to think quickly, I tend to speak quickly which attributes to my speech deficiencies.
To rectify this error, I keep myself speaking at a slow pace by slow tapping my fingers or feet quietly to try and set a pace for myself. I learned this from my speech and debate teacher for my sophomore year because I was failing my original oratory because my pacing and stuttering were inadequate. Not only will I use this strategy for our class, but also in life. I reverted to my lisp and had trouble pronouncing words but might be derived from talking about a difficult time in my life.
During class times given to work on our speech, having the students with similar speech elements help clarify my topic was amazing. It was nice to have several other perspectives to interpret, analyze and confer with to help with the structure of my writing. Helping others was also a big thing to do whether it was confidence, the personal nature of the topic, or the writing itself. I feel this had made me a better writer and more confident in my abilities to improve and to teach. The workshops that included the Professor Brayack was helpful with assuring what I wanted to make my speech about, on the direction of the speech, impact, and what I wanted my audience to take away from my performance.
On a final note, my speech skills will need improving but though this is an ok starting point to assure success down the road. In my next class, I plan to work on improving my verbal communication in front of my peers. Including to avoid using filler words that will distract my audience. Being able to talk among my peers by keeping good eye contact on them at all times, and lastly to stick to the timing requirements needed to implement an effective speech on whichever topic of my choosing. I am optimistic about my next speech.
