Speech 2

For my second speech I gathered information through various articles that were about the new extension to the Paramus Park Mall. I also used other sites to gather statistical data about the mall and the town itself. One of the assumption I made in my speech was that I assumed people would think that this new extension would create a lot more traffic in my hometown. However, I was able to explain why the traffic would not be an issue in the future. I think that I did a much better job with this speech than I did with the previous one. I spent more time reading my speech over and the practice definitely helped. Also I think I spoke in a clear manner and at a consistent pace so that the audience could follow along. Some of the negatives were that my voice began to get lower at the each of sentence. Also I personally did not like using the teleprompter. It squished my entire speech into one giant paragraph and a few times I lost my place when I was giving my speech. Also for my next speech I definitely want to talk with more emotion. My professor and peers thought I spoke in a monotone voice which I do agree with. Those are some of the things I would like to work on for my next speech. Like my first speech I want to add more content too my speech. I think I did a better job of giving my speech point support for my second speech, but I can still improve. I also thought I eliminated saying "uhhh" and "ummm" in my speech, although I caught my self saying it one or two times when I lost my place when reading my speech. There is definitely progression in my ability to give speeches now. There was a big difference in my confidence from the first speech to the second one. I hope that I can continue to build through the critiques of my peers and professor.

Speech 1

I prepared my first speech by gathering information about my home town. I used the Internet and found articles to find certain facts and staticstics that vividly described my home town. I did,t really make too many assumption about the audience. The only assumption I really made was that people had the wrong impression of where I am from. I assumed that most people have never been to my hometown and had the impression that it was similar to typical stereotypes that New Jersey is associated with. Personally I thought that my speech was not that great. During my speech I noticed myself relying on the Powerpoint too often. I also noticed that I started to get a little nervous and began to speak quicker. Many of my peers also agreed that I was speaking too fast. Both my teacher and some of my peers noticed I was pausing and saying "uhhh" between slides and sentences. Some positives were that both my teacher and peers made was that I projected my voice well and spoke at a good pace. Those two things were aspects of my speech that I really focused on. However there is a lot more I can also improve on. I think that the feedback from by class mates and teacher will definately help me when I present my next speech. One student said I should give more eye contact to the audience, but another said my eye contact was good. I'm not exactly sure who to listen to; however, more eye contact with the audience can't hurt so I will definately try to incorporate that more into my next speech. For my next speech I will definately try to add more content because I did notice that my speech was quite short. I also ended my presentation abruptly so I will definately try to have a better conclusion to wrap everything up. Also I should practice my speech more before I give my actual presentation. I think that with practice the speech will sound more natural and can eliminate those pauses where I was saying "uhh" and "umm."