A Memoir of Public Speaking & Other Mishaps

I was assigned speeches quite frequently in high school, so when I think back on my public speaking history, I remember some successes and a whole lot of pain.

One speech that I gave for Public Speaking was a sales pitch, and a critique I received afterward was that I used my hands too much to emphasize my points. Some people said I flailed my arms when I was trying to make a point I was excited about, or I would fidget and wring my hands. Others said I’d flip my hair from side to side, and fix it constantly (it used to be long enough to do that without looking dumb).

According to the comments made on my rhetorical artifact speech, though, I had a “strong and confident presence.” That was nice to hear, especially considering my hands were shaking so badly I couldn’t get my powerpoint into presentation mode. So, I guess that’s a strength I should “capitalize” on.

As far as weaknesses go, I demonstrated mine pretty well on Wednesday. I rely quite heavily on “um,” “so,” and “alright,” verbal fillers that are only made worse by the fact that I talk too fast. Even though it was rocky, I think the exercise on Wednesday really helped bring attention to some of the useless things I say speaking in front of an audience. That exercise also made me realize how connected verbal fillers are to the rate at which I speak, because I definitely slowed myself down to be more aware of those trip-ups and run out the clock.

I thought that the 40-second stretch without saying “um” or anything was really telling, and I’ve been trying to think about in normal conversations with other people. It’s really not as effective in mundane interactions, though, because I don’t feel nervous or fall back on the verbal fillers.