I got an A- on my last speech. I'm good with that as a grade. I had, however, prepared for an A++ by spending some countless amount of hours getting ready for it. But, that's my style, over work and under perform. That has always been one of my issues when I prepare for something. I always over prepare and over think every step of the way. That leads to creating doubt and then I go back and redo it. Most of the time if I had just left it alone in the first place, it would have been just fine. In the end, I feel that the execution went as well as it could have.
When I chose the subject, I was excited since I knew a lot about the subject I would speak about. I had just spent 3-4 years researching the subject and I had just spent the last 8 months actually preforming a hands on project. Later, as I prepared for the speech, I had found myself not as informed on the subject as I had once thought.
I believe in the end I got my point across. My goal was to explain how solar energy works, make some pros and cons and explain how to get solar if someone wanted it. I am a big supporter of solar energy and I had been hoping I could inspire others to go solar . I had looked into it a long time ago and now it seems it is cheaper than it has ever been.
With every speech I give, it seems to get easier. I have found that a good outline is important. My comfort level with speaking in front of people has gotten better too. I believe it's about structure, experience and knowledge of the topic. If I were to have done it differently, I would have done a single rough draft then let it sit for awhile before rewriting it. I kept writing and rewriting right away and at times, lost track of what I was trying to do. If I were to follow this one concept, I think I would have been able to improve my content and delivery.
The differecne between this speech and last was of course the power point. I have never done power point before. This was a challenge. However, when I consider my goal, using power point was a good thing. This was also a bad thing. It definitely cut into my time for preparation. having to use power point was very time consuming. I tried to implement using a laser pointer but this proved to be a distraction from my focus on the content and delivery. I don't think I'll try that one again.
I though my eye contact was good. When I read my grading paper, apparently it needed improvement. On a scale of 1-10, I would have given myself an 8. I'll have to work harder at it and try and keep in mind a goal of a 10. I agree with the grade of A-. I worked for a higher grade but it all came down to execution. For example, I had planned on being within the time limit, but as before, I went over. I had practiced 10-15 times. The last 5 I was under time. However, I strayed off course and went off script. I have to stay on course next time.
I made sure I mentioned 4 citations in my speech. I also made sure they were in my power point. This was an area I messed up on last time. So, I made sure to include them in my notes as well.
In all, I feel this last speech was better than my last. Probably because I had a little more passion and personal knowledge of the subject. I also think the power point helped deliver my message better than the demonstration speech. I'm looking forward to using the things I have learned from these speeches on my next speech. Even writing these self evaluations has given me some things to think about when I prepare for my next presentation.
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