Reflection on Big Presentation

During my presentation, I think that my strengths were that I barely used my notecards. In addition, I made eye contact with my audience, which I think was a result of not using my notecards. I practiced my speech a lot before giving it, so I really knew my facts well too, which I feel was another strength. Practicing my speech gave me the assurance I needed to successfully deliver my speech.

As for weaknesses/areas I would like to change, I wish that I had been stronger in the last two portions of my speech. I feel that I lost my way a little bit towards the end and I wish that I had been better prepared for those sections. I also wish that I had made my transitions more seamless. I feel like I stumbled a little bit around certain points and I think I could have been stronger. Another area I wish I could have changed was my movement. I wish that I would have moved a little bit more comfortably, as I feel that my movements were out of nerves more than anything.

In terms of ethos, pathos, and logos, I told personal stories and used shocking statistics. Both of these appealed well to my audience’s emotions and logic. I also established my credibility through using personal stories which helped my audience see me as an authority.

As for my goals this semester, I am fairly content with my progress. My first goal was to diminish my remaining fears of public speaking. For the most part, I feel this was met with some success. However, I was really nervous for this speech, but I think it was because of the PowerPoint and the clicker, as this was the first time I’ve ever had to present with a clicker in my hand. In addition, the oral citations made me nervous too. My other goal for the semester was to improve my skills. I feel that I did meet this goal with success.

My biggest improvement this semester is that I became more comfortable speaking to smaller groups of people. When I’m speaking to a smaller group, I’ve found I often am more nervous than I am for a larger group, but I improved this skill this semester.

I think that I still need to work on being more seamless with my transitions and my presentation as a whole in terms of flow. I also need to work on not getting quite as nervous when a presentation is different than ones I’ve done in the past.