Evaluation of How To Speech

     "How-To Speeches" are speeches that explain how to specifically do or prepare something. My How-To speech talked about the importance of body language interpretation in other countries. I talked about how different body language can be offensive in other countries and gave a few specific examples. In the end, I believe I did a very good job on my final speech.
     In my last draft of performing the speech I used one, organized note card but had most of the speech memorized. I believe that my speech was interesting, though I could have maybe added more detail to make it exciting. I believe that my topic was clearly introduced and given clearly throughout the presentation. Although I did not get the speech perfect on the first try, I believe the final one was pretty good. I thought my volume was loud but not yelling and I don't believe that I stuttered too much. I don't think that I was reading off my notecard and I believe I made good eye contact. I don't think I was swaying a lot, like I usually do, but I may have touched my hair a few times which could have been slightly distracting.
     I thought the content of my speech was very clear. I started out with my credibility and tried to show that I knew what I was talking about. I believe that my topic was clearly introduced. I tried very hard to logically explain my topic and show specific examples of types of body language that should not be used in certain countries. I tried to explain why they were disrespectful as well so I had to find background on the subject. I had three different examples that I tried to clearly represent and show to the audience. My conclusion was kind of short but I wanted to quickly sum up the point of my talk so I believe that went well. I could have tried harder to make the conclusion a bit more interesting but thought it was pretty good overall.
     Even though I did some things correctly there are still many things I could improve on. I feel like I need to articulate more and also wish I was able to memorize the entire speech. If I memorized the whole speech I would be able to make even more eye contact and it would seem like I knew what I was doing, therefore increasing my credibility. Although I do go to a school with people from over 30 countries, I still don't think I have a large amount of credibility on the subject of national affairs due to the fact that I have never even been out of the United States. I needed to act more confident to seem more credible than I actually am. My conclusion was better than my first draft but I believe I still could have made it more interesting for the listeners.
    Overall, I thought my speech was good but could have used some improvements. I now know what I need to focus on in creating our next project.



http://www.inc.com/ss/jeff-haden/20-public-speaking-tips-best-ted-talks