We are about half-way through the class at this point, and you should have delivered 40% of your speeches. Now that you're getting more comfortable in front of an audience, let's talk about delivery.
Create a new comment and:
1. List the area of delivery that you struggle with MOST. This can be what you perceive as your weakest element, what you think is the hardest part about delivering the speech, etc.
2. Let us know how you are coping with this. Do you have a strategy to help you avoid the distracting behavior? Are you trying different things in preparation to help you become better? Is the strategy working?
Your comment should be at least two full sentences long. A thoughtful response will receive 10 points.
Monday classes -- due October 11th before class
Tuesday/Thursday -- due October 12th before class
Wednesday class -- due October 13th before class
58 comments:
I have only delivered one speech so I don't have much experience. One thing I did notice I struggle with is using words like "um, uh, and like". I also fidgeted because I was so nervous. Watching my speech really helped me see what I need to work on and now that I am aware of my problem areas I can hopefully improve on them.
I noticed that I rock and clear my throat when I am trying to remember my material. I improved these things in my second speech by being better acquainted with my topic.
I think that I have problems with my rate I get nervous and want to get my speech over with and also I need to pause more I think by doing this I wont jumble my words
Sarah Stuart
When it comes to delivering a speech, or even when talking to people in general, my weakest element is undoubtly my lack of eyecontact. In order to move past this hitch, i've begun praticing my speeches infront of the mirror so i can count just how many times i look up. Each time i practice my specch, i make a goal for myself to look up at least one more time.
I have a problem with relaxing and rushing through the speech. I try to remedy this by remembering to breathe and speak a little slower. I also struggled with being spontaneous with my second speech. I think much practicing will help that.
Will Sneed- I have been a little bit random with my facts but overall I feel that my content is good. I just need to spend more time organizing and practicing so I learn how to sqeeze the information in the speech without going overtime.
I still get nerves when talking in front of a group. The issue I had on the last speech was I was nerves and forgot some of what I was going to say. I also got some of the contents mixed up.
I have only gave one speech so far but, I know that I am extreamly nervous when it comes to talking in front of people and eye contactis one of my weakest points.
The part of speech giving that I struggle with the most is keeping calm when I'm in front of the large group. I try to realize that everyone that gives a speech has been in the same circumstances that I'm in and, understand that because of that they they won't judge if I make a mistake.
Jeb said:
I get nervous when I am being graded. A week ago I stood up in front of 25 people and conducted a 30 minute lesson at church and didn’t feel the same anxiety I’ve felt delivering my speeches. I prepare more for my speeches, but the aspect of being judged changes my perspective.
I’m going to try to be in the same frame of mind as I am in church for my next performances.
My weakest aspect of my speeches is that I get really nervous when I go up in front of everyone in my class. I know everyone gets nervous but I get really nervous becasue I hate being judged. I also say "and" and "um" a lot. I am dealing with this by just not caring if people are judging me anymore and I focus on my speech which in turn helps me stop saying "and" and "um" so much. So far it is working.
Talking infront of a crowd does not bother me unless I'm told to give a speech. For some reason, it makes me so nervous no matter how much a practice. When I'm giving a speech my voice gets super shakey, so I try to take deep breathes to help calm myself down. It helps, but then it comes back shortly. I also say "and" a ton, so when I am practicing I make myself restart whenever I saw things like "and" or "um". Sometimes it works but other times I don't even realize I'm saying them again.
I struggle with speaking in front of groups of people. I am coping with this by practicing my speeches in front of friends and family. I also try to take a lot of deep breaths before I go up to speak which seems to help me out a lot in calming my nerves.
If it is a topic that I am familiar with, I normaly do fine on the delivery/speech overall. It's because I know that I'm "in control" and really do know what I'm talking about. But if it is a topic I am unfamiliar with I sometimes get nervous and start to loose confidance/control of the speech. And it tends to show through my delivery by my voice shaking, I start to fidget, and I look uneasy.
I have noticed that it is easier every time I stand in front of the class. I know I have issues with keeping it short, staying on topic, staying on control and remember what all I am supposed to say. I dont feel confident. I am always worried what others are going to say. I will to either enthusiastic on one and then change. I cant do all at once. Over all, I have issues speaking about topics I am not as familiar with as a topic about me. As I try to stay calm and focus it helps but the nervousness still stays. As I look at the class when I am giving a speech, and they seem to have blank looks so I try to change things to make it worth there while to listen and try to make it interesting. I feel I fail simply because I dont get feed back from them. I feel that is part of it anyway.
With my two speeches I noticed my weakest element is my fidgeting, whether its twisting my rings or messing with my hair. I didn't even realize I was doing it until I watched the videos afterwards, its distracting for the audience. To cope with this I just need to not get so worked up about my speech and be completley aware of myself while i'm speaking.
While watching myself give the speech, I noticed I fidgeted a lot with objects around me because I was so nervous. I also say “um” often. Even after practicing my speech, the fidgeting and the use of “um” was still present in giving my speech. However, after watching myself I learned tried to figure out ways to relieve my stress and get to the point without saying “um” even if it is a long run-on sentence. I will be able to practice these techniques when I give my second speech.
I seem to struggle with two areas. I struggle with talking about things off the top of my head and with getting really flustered or visibly nervous when talking. I have coped with these things by making a notecard and preparing what I'm going to say. The only problem with this is that it sounds pre writen. I still need to improve on that. A good sugesstion I received on my last speech was to write down topics you plan to talk about but not writing down word for word what you're going to say. As far as calming myself while speaking I have found that practicing in front of someone before hand helps. You find out which areas you need more material for and which ones seem to trip you up and also get a good idea for how long you're speech is.
I was dreading my first speech. I enjoy talking to people, but there's something about standing up in front of a classroom with specific guidelines to follow that is very uncomfortable for me. My main struggle is with keeping my thoughts organized. The way I resolve this is to practice ALOT! I'm re-learning how to prepare, and good tips on my presentation.
Hopefully, things will go well on the next speech!
I struggle with shaking, and rushing through my speech. I suffer from high anxiety,and take medication for it. I am going to try taking my medication and before I get to class and see if it helps my nerves any. I am also going to start presenting my speech in front of my parents, as well as my husband and see if that helps me become more comfortable. I know for my last speech I didnt have time to really practice in fromt of people, instead I practiced in front of the mirror, which helped a little.
Because I naturally shake, I know the last speech my hand started shaking and I couldn't read my notecards. I dont know if there is anything I can really do to combat this other than trying to control it. I know I tried to memorise my speech a little more last time and got points counted off for it.
Also I have a problem with eye contact, which is due partly to my nerves. Because it makes me uncomfortable to look at people. For this, I have made a few friends in class and going to talk to them, so I am making eye contact.
Meghan Wiles
Mon Afternoon
The more I watch the video of my speech the worse I think it was. I definately say and um way to much and really need to work on that. I'm not sure that I agree with the statement that it used when someone does not know their speech as well as they should. In my case I practiced like crazy on my speech but I just get so nervous. I guess I will just practice it even more this time and see if it helps. I can't even seem to stand in front of a mirror by myself and practice without freaking out. What is up with that? Oh and I really need to work on my fidgeting.
A weak aspect in the way that I deliver my speeches is being unsure, which causes bad habits while delivering my speech such as swaying back and forth and speaking too softly. I will will work on this, by trying to be confident and standing tall and still while delivering my speech, and increasing my volume while speaking so my speech is delivered strongly.
I have trouble with trying to end the speech. I cant seem to find a way to summarize what I want and not end it abruptly. I have been trying to watch how other people end their speeches to get ideas. I have been practicing different ways to try and find something that works for me.
During my speeches i feel as though i tend to jumble a lot of my thoughts together. I don't do very well at delivering my speech as a whole because it doesn't tend to have a whole lot of flow. I could make my speeches better by spending more time practicing so that my delivery is stronger and so that i have more flow to my speech
I have trouble with keeping eye contact with the class. I can pratice by looking in the mirror or giving my speech to my roomate and keeping eye contact with him.
A lot of times I get really nervous and just have to force myself to get up and give a speech. Which one of the easiest ways to fix is that is to go first and just get it finished.
Of course like many people, I get nervous when speaking in certain environments. I try harness the nervousness to my advantage though, by being enthusiastic and spontaneous. I do notice that my rate of speech increases a lot whenever those nervous moment do occur though, and it is something that I need to work on. As for coping, I really don't have any suggestions or strategies. I simply know that in order to do well that I will need to complete the assignment as prescribed, and thus need to plan and practice accordingly.
Well my biggest problem is staying monotone and not keeping my eyes in contact with the crowd. I just seem to lose all of my normal speaking skills while I am giving my speech to the glass. The way I am trying to get better is I speak into my Mac Book on Photo booth and re watch it to see if I am keeping eye contact with the screen and changing my voice levels.
Shea Sanford
For my delivery I need to improve my pre-speech preparation. If i go into the speech prepared I honestly believe my delivery could be near perfect, in my past speech i was not prepared very well and jumped order a few times and seemed to ramble at times. My delivery otherwise seems fine, I speak clearly and tend to avoid words or phrases such as... and umm.. umm... like.... so... Also I use my hands a little, not to a fault, but something to be conscience of.
Jordan James
I have a combination of speech delivering problems. If it's not the pitch, it's vocal fillers. My deep sound makes it hard to be heard. I will be trying sound variations.
I have a problem presenting my speech.
Mostly just being nervouse when presenting it. I know what to say but i got it all jumbled when getting up their to present it. But then when i start talken its no problem. I have no problem talking to others so i am not sure why i get that way standing up doing it.
I also need to practrice more at the pre speech preperation. I think that if i work on the preparatiponb and practice speaking in front oif my friends then i will do better when presenting in front of the class.
The area of delivery that I seem to struggle the most with is being well prepared to actually give my speech. I don't seem to have a problem actually giving the speech but having the discipline to actually sit down and do the research and organize the material for the speech is the thing that I struggle with the most. I am working on being more organized and learning how much time I need to devote to the actual preparation of my speech. Hopefully through better time management and preparation I will be able to deliver better speeches.
I feel that my largest problem within the delivery of my speech is that I add a lot of fillers such as "um," "and," and "like." I add these words most of the time during the weaker parts of my speech. I am learning to practice those areas of my speech more often so that I can weed out those fillers.
I think the thing that I struggle with most is my own personal doubt. I think I might over analyse the situation and worry about the speech to much. I think my weakest element would be my self confidence in speaking in front of groups. I thought with time (even though I speak in front of coworkers during meetings ALL the time) that I would get better but that does not seem to be the case. The hardest part of my delivery is being able to stay focused. I start feeling really nervous and it makes it hard to concentrate on what I have said and what I practiced to say next. To cope, I tried to practice more on my last speech by rehearsing my speech several times 3 nights before my class and several times through out the day of the speech. As far as distracting behavior, I noticed in my first speech on the video that I kept playing with my ring. During my second speech, I made a point to not do this but then found myself fumbling with my note cards. As far as preparing, I have no problem with gathering the data for my speech and doing the research or the practice of the speech, it is all in the delivery that I struggle.
i have one delivery to my speech. and its is when i go up and in give my speech my heart starts pounding really fast and i get nervouse. really fast. but after all the note that take.and what you said durning class help alots
by matt alford
Ok so the class sizes are getting smaller so being in front of a large crowd is not so much of an issue. I find that I still have stage-fright to a point. It is not as bad though, as it was. I find that a full sized mirror helps to practice and also a recorder works with the speed.. Also note cards do help.... Ed Macken Crowder Mon night
One of my main struggles with delivery is, like many others, nervousness! I do get nervous that my subject will not be of much use to the class, so sometimes my delivery feels awkward. I also have a more relaxed style of speaking more often than not, and that can make it hard to stay on topic. Work before hand on delivery with a relaxed but professional atmosphere, should help me to relay the information that I have. I think that more practice will make a speech easier for me.
Matthew Middleton
My main struggle is been nervous. I can have my speech ready & know everything but once i stand up half of it just disappears. Then i end up looking horable in the end. Im not a big talker in front of alot of people so that makes it harder to give my speech the way i practiced it.
my main problem with delivery is that i cant stop moving when im speaking. i think its because im nervous and its away to calm me down. I can probably help this by practicing my speech more before class.
The main problem with my delivery of speeches is the uh, um, and like words. I know that part of this issue is not practicing enough. The more I know my information the better the delivery of my speech will flow.
I think that my weakest part in delivering my speech would actually getting all of my information in order to deliver it. I don't have any problem getting my information and putting it together but I have't got the concept yet on how to put it together to deliver it in the right order. I am trying to get my information together better so that when I actually give my speech it's not out of order.
I think that my weakest part in delivering my speech is my voice. I believe I have all my information aligned and clearly represented throughout my speech. I believe if my voice would stay constant and strong throughout the speech then I would be more deliberate and give an overall better speech.
My weakness is that I can't really handle being in front of large groups of people. I have trouble focusing on what I'm talking about. I haven't really figured out a strategy to overcome this other than seeing a counselor...
Jessica Carpenter - I would have to say that my weakest element is either my eye contact or that I fidget and can't stand still when I am in front of the class giving a speech. I am trying to fix this by practicing giving my speech to the people on my floor.
I still get really nervous when I give speeches and I want to avoid eye contact at all cost. I am trying to solve this problem by just learning to relax when i give speeches and speak more loudly and confidently.
I struggle with approaching my audience with confidence. If I am speaking to a group of my friends or family practicing the speech it seems to go so much better. Once I stand up in front of my peers I loose everything practiced. I am trying to go in with a positive mind and keep practicing. Eventually I know I will overcome this.
The most difficult aspect of a speech for me is the introduction. I feel that compared with the rest of my speech my introduction is the worst becuase I am still nervous right when I stand up to face the class. This causes me to forget what I was going to say and possibly say something completely different. The way I try and cope with it is by preparing myself mentally before I even stand up to present the speech.
The most difficult part of a speech to me is making sure I remember to say everything I want to say or the most important points. I feel like I forget some important points because I get nervous and then I just go to everything I know really well. I am coping with this by making sure I read through my note cards and make sure all the important parts are on there. Also, I am practicing it more so I know my speech really well. This is how I plan to cope with me forgetting important points and by practicing more I will know my speech better than when I wrote it.This strategy is working because I feel like I don't forget as many points as I originally did like in my first speech.
An area in delivery that I struggle with most would be vocal fillers. I feel that the “ums, and likes” in my speeches come out more when I’m nervous because when I practice in front of my roommate the fillers are rarely used. A strategy that I think will help, will be to practice without saying the fillers at all and to go into my speeches more confident.
I think I struggle most with volume. Sometimes I feel like I do not loud enough to the audience. In order to fix this, I am trying to practice enunciating more, so my sentences are easily understood, and hopefully my volume will be louder.
Julie Boggs
I struggle most with eye contact. I always seem to look down during my speeches or look at one person for too long. I think if I come more prepared to give my speech I'll gain enough confidence in my presentation that I'll be able to concentrate on the simpler things. Like eye contact.
What I struggle with is the heavy use of vocal fillers and fidgeting while giving a speech. These things distracted the viewer and the distracted me as well,but only really come out when I am nervous.I plan to rehearse for my next speech in front so that i can over come these difficulties.
My biggest weakness is getting nervous the day of the speech. When I get nervous it makes me forget parts of my speech and lose track of time. I deal with this by practicing my speech beforehand. This helps me be not so nervous and I do better at delivering my speech.
The area that I struggle the most is using vocal pauses a lot when I suddenly forget what to say in my speech. Also, I think making good eye-contact is still hard for me. I can't really 'look' in the eyes of my classmates. Also, I tend to roll my eyes when I get confused with the order of speech or get nervous. I try to avoid this by looking at the wall for a second to think and straighten up. The main problem is vocal pauses, so I plan to work on memorizing orders of my speech and practice the context lots of times.
The area that I struggle most with when performing a speech is time management. Of the two speeches that we have given thus far in class, I have exceeded the time requirements by a minute or more. I spend time rehearsing my speech and am fully able to complete it in front of a mirror within the allotted time frame, but when presenting in front of the class it seems to take more time. I think that this is because when in front of the class I inadvertently apply more pauses, take longer and deeper breaths or simply lose my place and must take a few moments to regather my composure before continuing. In order for me to correct this error I should cut out some of the unnecessary or irrelevant information and allow a little more leniency with time while I am practicing. Also, perhaps a subtle, occasional glance at the clock might do me a little good.
The area I'm struggling most with is talking quickly I believe, I have a high speech anxiety and when I am nervous i tend to talk quicker and the inflection in my voice changes and can skew the message i am delivering. I'm trying to help this by just taking deep breathes before i go up, be absolutely positive i know all that im talking about, backwards and forewards. this helps eliminate the possibility of me slipping up and adding to my anxiety. im also trying to pause more and take a breath quietly while i pause to help me stay calm and reservered. practice is always key in this though as the mroe i say it over and over the easier it is to say infront of an audience.
I'm struggling most with stage fright. I hate getting in front of a group of people and speaking. When I get nervous I tend to fidget and run my hands through my hair. It would probably benefit me most to practice in front of my suite mates so I will be more confident when talking in front of the class.
I think that the area of delivery I have the most trouble with is appropriate hand gestures. By this I mean that I have difficulty making my hand gestures useful and effective rather than just meaningless and distracting. In order to combat this, I am trying to just think about it and concentrate on it so that way I will be aware of my hand gestures and can make them more effective and meaningful. So far, the strategy seems to be working, though there is still a little more work to be done.
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