Speech review

  Speeches are made by the dictation, including the pacing, the pronunciation, and the enunciation. The content is also important, but I think that an enthusiastic speaker can make even the most boring story somewhat interesting. But a monotone speaker can make the most interesting story be obnoxious and boring. I feel like I have to work on my intonation and pacing more than anything. I think that I have done a good job as far as eye contact goes, yet I constantly speak too quick or too quiet so the speech still is not perfect. I try to remind myself of that but I usually forget while on the podium or when it is time to present the speech. Watching my classmates deliver their speeches helped a lot because it helped me realize how important the points we cover in class really are. They all had interesting stories to tell, yet sometimes their monotonous tone made our focus sway and wait until it ended. Other times, they would read the story very quickly, so we would struggle to follow what the speaker was telling us. The pose also influences how we view the person, some of us were slouching on the podium or swaying from side to side, which affects the audience’s focus and their perception of the speaker more than I thought; the slouching and swaying make the person seem nervous and not prepared to give the speech. The eye contact also caused some problems, some of us lost where we were on the speech while looking at the audience, which is why structuring it to fit the way you look at the audience is very helpful. But many times, the mistakes were caused by technical problems which are also a factor, such as struggling to read on the iPad.