Self Evaluation Assignment #3

For my third speech which followed the persuasion genre I chose to speak about the need for a public option in the American healthcare system. I think that I achieved the purpose of my speech because I researched well and not only attempted to be persuasive but I wanted to the speech to also be somewhat educational for the students. If they had never ever heard of this plight I wanted them to know something about it after I was done. I felt extremely confident during my speech I had memorized and felt that I could deliver it extemporaneously and with good vocals and clarity. I was not confident however about my slide presentation and it showed. I did not show my last slide and I felt horribly silly and also felt that it took away from my overall presentation. If I had to do it over again I would have practiced more with my slides. For my preparation I would have continued to memorize my speech and would have made the outline on my cards less detailed. I felt that my delivery and organization flowed well. What was different from my last speech was that I felt that I had the chance to educate my speakers and if I could present good facts and testimonies that I could sway some of them to look more into the topic. During my last speech I was more nervous but this time I decided to just put all nervousness out of my head and just give it my all. That was a major improvement for me because my first two speeches went well but I didn’t feel confident during my deliveries because of my nerves. I know that because this time I was more confident I was able to look at my audience more that my eye contact improved. Memorization really allowed me to feel confident about looking away from my note cards and feeling comfortable with the class. Good preparation also allowed me to limit most of my distracting gestures and postures. I wore my hair back so it would not be in my face and I wore comfortable but appropriate clothing. I think I did wave my note cards around somewhat but I don’t know if that can be helped. On a scale from one to ten I would rate my eye contact at a nine. I really felt that I looked at my audience for about ninety percent of the speech and I credit that to good preparation. I would also give my performance a solid “A.” I made sure that my voice projected with confidence and clarity and I made sure that I made solid eye contact. My memorization helped me to let the speech flow clearly and I said everything that I had planned to. I think the only hindrance for me was my slide presentation which I intend to perfect. I really felt that the overall experience I had with this speech from the research and topic preparation to the delivery was excellent for me personally. I realized that I finally knew how to work the speech from beginning to end. I felt very confident about my outline and when our professor reciprocated those feelings I knew that this was going to be a good speech. I think that it was the best presentation I had out of the three. As far as the technical requirements during the speech, I mentioned three source citations during my speech but at the end I forgot to mention the Congressional Budget Office because of my slide snafu. I remember that clearly and was bummed because I know how important the citations are. In reviewing all three speech presentations I would say that this one was the best from my point of view. I received good feedback from my classmates. One even said that they appreciated the reference in the speech that I gave to people who currently have healthcare insurance. I’m glad because I feel that the healthcare debate includes every citizen not just the ones that are currently not covered. Having an audience member notice a point like that made me confident that I did a good presentation. So I think that I performed the best on this third persuasive speech that included Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. I feel that the audience went away thinking about the topic and will look more into in the future.

What are you going are you going to take from this class that you think will be helpful in future endeavors?

The number one thing that I will take away from this class is my learned ability not only to write a speech but be confident in my material and present it. I have moved passes my fear about speech presenting and now feel that I would be able to present material that I have researched in any class that I attend. I will definitely use the positive calming exercises and mental exercises on viewing my experiences as positive and successful. The research concepts that I learned were also invaluable. I am always open to learning knew and correct ways to research assignments and materials. My knew persuasive speaking skills will also lend a great hand the next time I go to a job interview of have to defend my opinions or views. I will also continue to practice with my media presentations and keeping myself calm enough during my speech to keep myself fully aware of slides and media that is part of my presentation

Which speech was your favorite and why?

My favorite speech? That was hard to choose. I felt that many of my classmates did an excellent job. I was persuaded to take action so there is one I would say was my favorite. I was convinces though of the fact that I should give blood regularly. I was informed that there is a blood shortage and because of that If I or family members need blood there is a possibility that we could not receive some. I don’t want to leave the responsibility up to someone else but I want to make a change in someone’s life by donating blood on a regular basis. I also liked the speech about general education requirements in the respect that it is a known fact that American children lag behind the rest of the world in learning. I believe that a overhaul is needed and the American way and schedule throughout out primary and higher learning institutions is needed.

What concept or concepts from the class that you thought was the most helpful in preparing your speeches?

The concepts that I found most helpful from the book were a variety with a few that I depended on for every speech. Learning how to research my topics were helpful because this was my very first speech class. I had a hard time at the beginning of the term choosing my speech topics and was even worried as time went and second guessed my choices. But as I learned to research in the correct manner I realized that the topic does not influence the quality or success of your speech, research does. The second concept that I enjoyed learning was about different types of supporting materials. I had some testimonies and examples in my speeches of people that I has researched and I liked helping people get their stories out. The concept that I relied on the most were the earlier concepts about using positive thinking and calming exercises to make sure that I was mentally prepared to present my speeches.