start.stop.continue.

Start:

·      I need to slow down when presenting. I get nervous and start talking really fast.

·      Speaking more clearly. In the beginning of my speech I was talking so fast that it was hard to make out what I was saying.

·      Projecting my voice.  I tried to project my voice so everyone could hear. There are parts of my speech where my voice was loud and strong, but towards the middle I forgot what my next line was causing me to not speak as strongly. I got nervous and it showed.

·      Being more comfortable on “stage”.  This will come in time but I need to relax so my speech is more convincing.

·      Make my speech longer. My speech was two minutes and nineteen seconds. I was going for two minutes and thirty seconds but I started talking way too fast. It would help if we had a timer up with us that way we know if we need to slow down or speed up.

·      Having better transitions. I need to learn how to transition from points. I did an okay job but I have to do better next time. My nerves caused me to stutter which compromised the fluidity of my speech.

·      Make eye contact with the classroom. In this presentation I found it difficult to make eye contact because I was not sure if I should have been focused on one person rather than making eye contact with everyone.

·      Practicing more. I practiced my speech the day of the presentations so I didn’t give myself enough time to know it by heart completely.

·      Practicing in front of the mirror, in front of an audience, or recording myself before my actual presentation. This will help me get an idea of what facial expressions or hand gestures I should use. Would also help with the nerves.

·      My overall goal was to convince the scholarship foundation to extend their scholarship. My intention was not clear up until the middle of the presentation. I should state my goal at the beginning or make my goal appear clearer.

Stop:

·      Talking with no emotions or in monotone. There are some parts of my speech where I was talking like a robot because I was so focused on delivering my speech just as I had (poorly) practiced that I sounded pretty flat. It sounded like I was reciting my speech rather than me just casually having a conversation with someone as it was intended.

·      Looking down at my notecards. It looked pretty obvious that I did not practice as much as I should of.  I looked down almost after every point I made. I was using my notecards even though I did not need them.

·      Waving my hands so much. I tend to get nervous and start using my hands. Although it is good to use hand gestures when speaking I used too my hands too much which can distract my audience.

·      Looking at the ceiling when I get nervous. It seems I look up to avoid eye

contact.

·      Making it obvious that I messed up. I would roll my eyes when I would stutter bringing more attention to the mistake.  I should just keep going. No one would notice if I had messed up but by me rolling my eyes it made it very obvious.

·      Pausing so much. I know its okay to pause to gain momentum or instead of using filler words but I paused way too much in my speech because I was having a hard time transitioning.

·      Focus on my breathing. I felt rushed and would speed up and then would stop and catch my breath, which resulted in more pausing.

·       

Continue:

·      Pausing instead of using filler words. I was pretty good at not using so many filler words although I did use a few.

·      Use of kinesics. I like that I use my facial expressions to convey a certain emotion. I smiled a bit in my presentation but I could have smiled a lot more.

·      Using good body posture. Standing up straight.

·      At the end of the speech my “follow-up plan of action” was okay. I ended my speech by giving her my contact info. I believe it could of have been stronger but due to my scenario I was not sure how to go about it. Next time I want to end my speech on a stronger level, making the audience feel really convinced of what I was trying to portray.

·      I had good amount of background knowledge that helped me back up my points. I looked up information on the scholarship foundation prior to my presentation that way my points seemed relevant and convincing.

·      Adapting language to audience. My speech was not too formal but it was not too casual.  Made it seem realistic to the best of my ability.