Reflective Essay: Public Speaking
Public speaking is a skill that is extremely important in a career in the business field mainly but can play a part in most if not all career paths you decide to choose. Because I have been interested in pursuing a career in the business field I feel that public speaking skills are one of the main characteristics a good business person would need to have. Due to the fact, I will need to be leading meetings, having one on one interviews and who knows maybe i’ll even have my own TED talk.
Looking back on this class, I have realized just how much my writing, speaking and self confidence has improved since the beginning of the semester. I went from being a writer that was not confident in her work and over-thought everything into someone who found her own writing style and spoke as confident as the various TED talk speakers.
There are many things that I have learned about myself this semester. I have learned that if I do not overthink my speeches while I am writing them, and stop trying to make them perfect (until the end of course), my writing will move like butter on toasted bread – with eaze.
Personally, I do not believe that public speaking is my strongest skill. To accommodate for this, I practiced the strategies we learned in class. I knew that the more I practiced my part of the speech, the more prepared I would feel. It is recommended to practice a speech approximately six times before presenting. This helped me to know exactly what I was going to be talking about and feel more comfortable and less nervous while in front of the audience. I also practiced using gestures and making sure they were visible to the entire audience.
I was certainly most nervous for the speech exercises that we gave in class because we had no time to prepare our topics that were chosen for us. I used some incorrect words and was not even paying much attention to what I was saying, but I was able to make eye contact and come up with main points for me to talk about. I think that this was probably my weakest speech performance in the class due to the fact I was unable to prepare beforehand.
As for my informative speech, I was able to prepare my three main points beforehand and use a visual aid to keep the audience focused. I was more prepared with what I was going to be talking about, so I think that my performance in the informative speech was better than it was in the impromptu speech. The group persuasive speech may have been my best performance because not only was I prepared, but I also had other group members to make me feel more confident speaking in front of the class.
I think that the area I need to work on the most with my public speaking is making sure I avoid talking too fast when I get nervous. During my informative speech about Disneyland, I started out talking calmly and slowly, but as I stayed up there longer, I began to get more nervous and stumble over my words. I think that this is an issue that I can fix with more practice and more public speaking opportunities. It is important that when I am speaking, I remind myself to stay calm and take my time.
One specific improvement I made during the semester was learning to make better eye contact.I tried looking less at my notes so that it would not look like I was just reading off a sheet of paper. I think that I also improved my use of gestures. Previously, I would stand in a position and either rock back and forth or fidget nervously. I also tended to clasp my hands together and get shaky when I would get nervous. During the speeches this semester, I focused on avoiding these distracting tendencies. Instead of fidgeting, I used meaningful gestures. I tried to stand up straight and still rather than slouching and moving around.
Another thing I learned that helped me during speeches was to use the speaker notes in large, easy-to-read BOLD font. Having a long paragraph of exact words to say would make it sound to the audience like I didn’t know what I was talking about because it would sound like I was reading the information. Just including basic bullet points of the points I wanted to make made it easier for me to focus on maintaining eye contact. I would just briefly glance down at my notes to ensure that I remembered all the points I wanted to make.
I believe that the improvements I have made in my public speaking this semester have already began to benefit me in life. I have had to speak at weekly meetings of the RHA for my position as a Floor Rep. for my building and I was much more nervous and shaky when I spoke at the beginning of the semester than I am now. I now know to plan out the basic points of what I plan to say beforehand and to take deep breaths and relax before it is my turn to speak. My public speaking skills have also benefited me when I ran for positions within my sorority. I had to write four speeches for elections, and thanks to my preparation and my confidence when speaking, I was able to win each of the positions I ran for.
Overall, even though Mama Jacobs was tough at times she still managed to put aside her work in order to make sure you got the extra help you needed. This course was challenging but in a good way, she allowed you come out of your comfort zone using the speech exercises we would do in class. If I had to give you advice on anything in order to get a good grade in this class would only have to be.. PRACTICE. Practice your speech, practice your gestures, practice your eye contact, practice your flow. In honesty, just practice practice Ms.Jacobs does grade on all of the above. If you have to think if she grades on a certain thing she probably does. This course was probably the highlight of my year, I was always so excited to come to this class because she made public speaking so much fun and intriguing. Last little advice to you, smile and have fun with your speeches! In my opinion I don’t want to hear an eight minute speech on the history of rocks… scan your audience, keep them interested in what you’re speaking about.
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Public Speaking as an Effective Skill Essay
Public speaking is a highly important and useful skill that carries multiple advantages for personal life and professional career. Public speaking skills are required for specialists of various kinds. In this regard, mastering public speaking is going to serve as great enforcement for anyone. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate different situations where public speaking skills play an important role to show the reasons why public speaking is considered an effective skill.
First of all, the knowledge of theoretical and practical sides of public speaking provides one with multiple benefits such as understanding the ways people think and process the information, communicating thoughtfully and with higher efficiency, using the critical thinking, knowing how to organise and prepare presentations, researching the unfamiliar audiences and using appropriate communication strategies (Coopman, Lull 2014, p. 12). It is a well-known fact that most people experience certain difficulties in adjusting to a new society. For example, in a situation when a person starts working at a new place, they would feel the need to fit into the group of new co-workers, find a common language and establish friendly atmosphere at the workplace.
Public speaking skills provide a person with an ability to evaluate the audience, analyse their needs, learn their potentials, and successfully build contact with them. Proper application of public speaking knowledge will allow the new member of a group to move through the stage of getting to know the colleagues and feel comfortable talking with new people in unfamiliar situations (Coopman & Lull 2014, p. 12). In this case, public speaking skills will allow avoiding the discomfort at the workplace, which may lead to disruption of the work process and create problems for the whole company.
The most obvious situation where public speaking skills are always very useful is an actual performance in front of a group of people such as a public address, presentation of a new project at work, or a motivational speech. In such situations, the speaker can represent a group of fellows or the ideas important for many people. Due to this, a successful performance and efficient delivery of information are highly valuable and important (Keith & Lundberg 2013, p. 4). When one person is chosen to speak on behalf of many, it creates a certain pressure and responsibility for the speaker. In the case of the successful performance of one, the whole group will benefit. The good public speaker has to be able to present the information, keep the audience interested in the delivered ideas, and defend the point of view in case of criticism or counter argumentation.
The skills of public speaking provide one with courage, confidence, and the ability to fluently express themselves. One more situation that demonstrates the importance of public speaking skills is a casual conversation with a stranger. People are social creatures, interpersonal relationships of different kinds are highly important for us. Starting and maintaining friendships, being close to family members, having romantic relationships makes our lives easier and fuller. A skillful speaker will be able to represent themselves in the best and most appropriate way. This can be quite a challenging occupation. Performing in front of just one person is another variation of public speaking (Goldwasser 2006, p. 42). Successful personal representation in any situation, will it be a first date or a job interview, is extremely meaningful for anyone. This is why the development of public speaking skills is considered highly beneficial.
To conclude, almost every day, people face situations where speaking in front of an audience is required. The size of the audience may vary from one to hundreds or thousands of people, but the importance of professional and efficient delivery of information is always high. Knowledge of theoretical and practical sides of public speaking will enable the speaker to feel confident and comfortable and to present themselves and the necessary information in the best ways.
Coopman, S. & Lull, J. 2014, Public Speaking: The Evolving Art. Cengage Learning United States, Boston.
Goldwasser, I. 2006, Interactive Communication: A Guide to Effective Communication. Pearson Education Australia, Sydney.
Keith, W. & Lundberg, C. 2013, Public Speaking: Choice and Responsibility. Cengage Learning United States, Boston.
- Public Speaking: Ethics and Critical Thinking
- Public Speaker: Essential Qualities
- Ethical Speaking in the Board of Directors
- Computer Mediated Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication
- Transmission vs. Ritual Communication
- Types of Communication Disputes: Mediation and Arbitration
- Human Communication: Issues and Future
- "The Fine Art of Small Talk" by Debra Fine
- Chicago (A-D)
- Chicago (N-B)
IvyPanda. (2020, May 12). Public Speaking as an Effective Skill. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/
"Public Speaking as an Effective Skill." IvyPanda , 12 May 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/.
IvyPanda . (2020) 'Public Speaking as an Effective Skill'. 12 May.
IvyPanda . 2020. "Public Speaking as an Effective Skill." May 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/.
1. IvyPanda . "Public Speaking as an Effective Skill." May 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/.
Bibliography
IvyPanda . "Public Speaking as an Effective Skill." May 12, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/public-speaking-skills/.
34 Reflection and Self-Evaluation
Learning Objectives
- Perform a self-evaluation of speech performance to determine speaking strengths and areas of improvement.
As adults, one of our biggest methods of learning is through experiences and mistakes. While just getting through the speech may feel like a huge win, we should not stop there if we wish to improve our speaking habits. We need to analyze what went well or as planned, what didn’t, and what we can do differently so that the next time we speak in public we are even better than before.
Self-reflection enables you to understand what you did well and what you can improve. Self-reflection is something that we may do at a subconscious level. We may walk away from a speech thinking, “I rocked that!” or “That was terrible!” While neither of these extremes is likely true, we generally walk away with a sense of the experience and if it went well or not. However, purposeful self-reflection offers us the opportunity to analyze specific elements of our performance to provide us with more accurate information about our strengths and opportunities for improvement.
One method of self-evaluation is using a SWOT analysis to examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Although this is typically used in a business setting, it can also be used to understand our personal strengths and opportunities for improvement. Specifically, it can help us to see how we approach our public speaking and helps us to see how we can improve our speech-making process to enhance our speaking skills.
Article Reference
Watch the following video for a method of evaluating your nonverbal behaviors during your speech.
Key Takeaways
- Engaging in self-reflection is a powerful tool for learning and growth.
- A SWOT analysis can help us to determine our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Public Speaking Copyright © by Dr. Layne Goodman; Amber Green, M.A.; and Various is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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A Note about Reflection
Katie Gruber
As we established at the beginning of this text, speech preparation is one part of the speech process, while speech delivery is another. The final piece to the puzzle is reflection, that is, reflecting on our performance in order to improve for the next speech.
Think about your favorite athletes — what do they do to improve? Watch game tape. Yep, that’s what you should do, too! While it’s no one’s favorite pastime, watching your “game tape” can be incredibly helpful.
This author recommends watching your video recording once to get over the awkwardness of seeing and hearing yourself. The thought, “ Do I really sound like that?!” will inevitably come across your mind. Once you have watched it at least once and can be (more) objective, consider the following questions:
Did I accomplish all objectives in my Introduction? Conclusion? Were they delivered fluently? Did I make eye contact with my audience? Did I have logical, balanced, and separate main points? Did I use clear transitions between my main points? Did I clearly cite my sources, supporting my claims with statistics, testimony, and examples? Were my arguments sound and based on compelling and credible research? Was my voice loud enough for all to hear? Did I change my inflection and speed? Was my voice assertive, fluent, and expressive? Did I use filler words and vocalized pauses? Did my facial expressions, gestures, and posture match my message? Did I adapt my remarks to the feedback from my audience? Did I look professional and appropriate for the occasion?
Finally, ask yourself what you can do differently to prepare for your next speech, so that you can be even better.
As we noted in the chapter on Listening, you will inevitably listen to more speeches than you will give, so what can you learn from the speeches you have observed?
Principles of Public Speaking Copyright © 2022 by Katie Gruber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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32 Reflect – Informative Speech Self Critique
Informative Speech Self Critique Assignment
Understand the mn state communication pathways learning outcomes for this assignment:, students should be able to:.
1.4 Utilize appropriate research strategies to discover and ethically integrate supporting materials from diverse sources and points of view.
1.5 Demonstrate the ability to listen, analyze, and provide feedback on public discourse.
Description
Start: After you give your speech, ASAP — watch your video one time without stopping it. Then, watch it a second time and answer these questions, rewinding, stopping and playing, etc. as you go. Answer the questions honestly. Remember to use specific examples to support your responses. Remember to quote your online textbook – OR notes online in the Content Area that are relevant to your response — often folks forget and that is the only reason they get poor scores (really!). You will “cite” the textbook like you would a source in your outline.
Read: look back at the chapters related to this unit.
Practice: review the vide of your speech
Do: Complete this
A nice job here will help bolster your grade…!!!
- How did you practice for this speech (honestly)? How did your preparation differ from the Introduction Speech? What went well in your preparation and what will you do differently for your next speech? How was anxiety similar/different this time? Answer fully below (about at least a paragraph – and please use proper grammar/spelling for full credit – i mn not “texting” mezaages k?):
- Did you state your sources at least 3 times during your speech? When — be specific – add times from your video if possible. Did you say “who, where and when” — be SPECIFIC). Add the “times” on the video for full credit.
- Watch your speech carefully. Now describe your greatest strength concerning the CONTENT of your speech (content is “what” you said, delivery is “how” you said it careful not to mix these up).
Look to chapters that talk about supporting materials and organization for this question.
Include a specific example from your speech to illustrate your response (yes, quote yourself); explain why this is a strength and include a quote and citation from the free online textbook (or if you have a hard copy, you can use this too) to support your explanation.
My greatest strength in the content area was my use of transitions. An example of this was when I moved from my first main point to my second main point I said, “Now that I have told you how this book represents my hard exterior, let’s open it up and see how it can also represent the softer side of me.” This was a strength because I was clear and creative in my movement between ideas, as described on page 8-7 in chapter 8 of the online textbook, it says, ” One way to connect points is to include transitional statements. Transitional statements are phrases or sentences that lead from one distinct but connected idea to another. They are used to alert audiences to the fact that you are getting ready to discuss something else.” Thus, these should be smooth and help you move from one point to another” (Barnett, 8-7).
- Now watch your speech carefully and describe your greatest strengths concerning the DELIVERY of your speech (delivery is “how” you said it, content is “what” you said).
For this question, include a specific example from your speech to illustrate your response (yes, quote yourself and describe the delivery of that quote); explain why this is a strength and include a quote and citation from the free online textbook to support your explanation.
My greatest strength in the delivery area was my use of eye contact. For example, in the body of my speech, when I was covering my second point on why this occurs, I said “this could happen to each of us” and began to look directly at the audience members, and looked to each side very slowly (at 1:30 in the video). I think that this is a strength because if you can look someone in the eye, you generally appear sincere. In the text, on page 12-10, it states, “The eyes are called the windows to the soul, and the importance of eye contact in communication cannot be overemphasized. Ideally, a speaker should include 80% to 90% of the delivery time with eye contact” (Capecce, 12-10). Thus, the online stresses you should not read your speech, with my eye contact I was able to avoid that!
- What will you want to improve upon concerning your delivery? List three areas you will focus upon for the next speech. For each area to improve, give a specific example from your speech to illustrate your response. Then describe how you will work to improve in this area.
I used too many hand gestures. For example, when I was describing the first reason the ball represents me, I looked like I was flying. I raised my hands 10 times in just 43 seconds! I plan to watch myself in a mirror and actually practice my gestures next time. I will write out on my note cards when I should use the gestures…. (then add 2 more areas to improve and your plans for improvement as above).
The Public Speaking Resource Project Copyright © 2018 by Lori Halverson-Wente and Mark Halverson-Wente is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Communication Skills — My Battle with Public Speaking
My Battle with Public Speaking
- Categories: Communication Skills Speak
About this sample
Words: 980 |
Updated: 15 November, 2023
Words: 980 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read
Works Cited
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). The Road to Resilience.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Mental Health Basics.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Workplace Health Promotion.
- Galinsky, T., Swanson, N., & Sauter, S. (2001). The Human Side of Work: Improving Work-Life Balance. American Psychological Association.
- Harvard Health Publishing. (2021). Spirituality and Health: What’s the Connection? Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/spirituality-and-health-whats-the-connection
- Healthy People 2030. (2021). Wellness. Retrieved from https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health/wellness
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018). Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/frequently-asked-questions/how-effective-drug-addiction-treatment
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020). Eight Dimensions of Wellness.
- United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Occupational Wellness.
- World Health Organization. (2021). Mental health: strengthening our response.
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Assignments
Assignment: reflection.
Following the completion of your audience analysis and your rebuttal research journal, write up a journal entry explaining how both exercises impacted the plan for your speech.
What were the results of your audience analysis?
Did learning how “the other” side feels impact the plan for your speech?
This assignment can earn you up to 10 points.
- Reflection Assignment. Authored by : Christie Fierro. Provided by : Tacoma Community College. Located at : http://www.tacomacc.edu/ . Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
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Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
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