Persuasive Speech - Child Soldiers

                I feel like the delivery of my persuasive speech about child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was not very well done. When I began the speech, I seemed like I hadn’t quite gathered my thoughts, so the attention getter was not as effective as it could have been. Without a strong attention getter, the audience was not pulled into the speech and it was hard to get them to listen, let alone persuade them. There was also some shifting and filler words such as “um”, “like”, etc. I think that, with the absence of these words and clearer, more put together notes, I would have definitely brought my point across stronger and more successfully. Unfortunately, because I had to stand closer to the computer to go through the power point, I was only partially in the video, so it was hard to tell whether any shifting continued. I generally didn’t sound very confident or, I guess, persuasive enough. I think that more practice and better notes would have made a big difference in the presentation of the speech. Although it went okay, one or two more times running through it would probably have made it smoother, clearer, and I would have been more confident with the content of the speech. Overall I was really disappointed when I was watching my speech. I really am passionate about this topic, and I really want people to start doing something to help, and I don’t feel that my speech did a good job of persuading anyone to action. The content may have all been there but the assurance and forcefulness was not. It is pretty obvious to me what I would have needed to do to be clearer and generally have a better presentation. I hope that people were still touched by the stories and topic, and that they will do what they can to help child soldiers in the Congo, although, from the performance I gave, I would not expect much of a response.

Introductory Speech

            I think my introduction speech went fairly well; I was able to say all that I wanted to and I didn’t get too nervous. When I went back and watched the video of my speech I noticed a few things I shouldn’t have done or could have done better. I am overall satisfied with the way my speech went, however I hope to make some changes in my performance for speeches in the future.

            I basically did my speech how I had practiced it, I said the same things, and I was confident in the content of it, (of course that was easier because all I had to do was talk about myself). I think practicing really helped me not to be so nervous and also just to present everything more clearly. Practicing in front of people more would have probably been useful and helped me to be more confident and sure of my presentation.

            When I was watching the video, I noticed a few things that I could definitely have improved on in my presentation. I was not standing with my feet planted the entire time, so there was a bit of shifting and fidgeting. This should have been eliminated and I think it would have looked more professional, and less casual. I also looked to my note cards or even to my object more than I needed to. Sometimes I think I looked to them out of nervousness, or to collect my thoughts, but some of it was unnecessary and should have been reduced. Though it was easy to hear, I could have spoken more firmly and confidently, or even loosened up to make more natural hand gestures.

            Overall I think my speech went pretty well. Although there were definitely things I could have improved on, I am satisfied with my performance and I learned things from it that I think will help me in my future presentations and speeches.