Monday, August 26, 2013

Introduction Speech


Please reflect on your first speech by writing one well-written and thought out paragraph. Upper class students should be writing paragraphs with compound and complex sentences that are a minimum of six sentences long. Use complete sentences and correct grammar. 

Things to consider (you do not need to include all of them)

*eye contact
*nervousness
*audience feedback
*preparation (enough? not enough? What will you change for next time?)
*voice (rate, variation)
*gestures
*poise
*confidence level
*introduction and conclusion
*organization
*visual aid (if applicable)

What went well? What do you need to work on? Be as specific as possible.


Please leave feedback for at least two of your classmates. Feedback should be constructive, original, and well-written. 
Reflection: 20 points
Feedback: 10 points each

38 comments:

  1. I thought my speech went well. I was actually quite nervous, hopefully it didn't show. Even though it was an intro speech, I'm glad I went through it 4 times prior. I actually didn't notice doing the hand gestures. I was relieved that we could use notes, they help a lot. I do think that I spoke faster than when I was practicing.

    I thought Alison's speech was good. I learned a lot more about her. The only thin she could work on is better eye contact.

    I also thought Jon had a good speech. He didn't seem nervous at all and he made good eye contact.

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  2. I thought my speech went well but I was very nervous. I tried to release some of my energy and nervousness by walking around. Overall I think I did an ok job on my speech Hopfully my speech skills will improve over the course of the semester.

    I thought Lauren did a well job on her speech. She was good at sticking to one topic but also exploring the others.

    I also enjoyed listening to Alison's story of traveling to another country.

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    1. I felt that you did quite well with your speech and I really liked how you moved around a bit in the front of the room. It made things more interesting and I am glad that I could learn about your love of cooking and baking.

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    2. I thought you did very well, walking around was a good add on to the audience. You spoke quietly and at some points it was hard for me to hear but overall good job.

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  3. I thought my speech went pretty well. I was nervous at the beginning but by the end I had gotten over that. I only practiced 2 times, so I should probably practice some more and my speeches will hopefully get better throughout the semester. Having my notes up front definitely helped avoid some awkward silence. Timing for my speech was good but I think I could have done more hand gestures, unless I didn't notice doing them. Otherwise I think my speech went well.

    I thought that Billy's speech was alright and his use of images definitely helps to connect to his speech.

    I thought that Angel was good with the side aspects of his speech like eye contact, and tone but could have talked some more about family or hobbies.

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    1. Dakota, your speech was great and it was fun learning more about you and it was well planned. One thing is you had a nervous rock where you kept stepping forward and backward.

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    2. Dakota your funny and very interesting speech was in my opinion one was the best. You made good eye contact, you didn't seem to be nervous, and you kept your speech interesting and packed with info. So that is why I thought your was one of the best.

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  4. Travis's was good but he seemed like he rushed through it a bit.

    Jacob's was good but he seemed like he was a little quiet possibly due to nerves or something.

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  5. I thought my speech went ok, I was kind of nervous. I think I should work on using my hand gestures and possibly using more eye contact. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to not talk as fast.

    I really like Lauren's speech. She did a great job of on her presentation with her hat and picture.

    I liked how James walked around during his speech, I felt like he was telling us a story or something.

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    1. Hayley, I enjoyed your speach because I knew you worked at Miller Park but I never knew you raced as a sausage. You were also well prepared. When you talked you tended to trail off and get quieter when you reached the end of a point.

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  6. For a first speech I thought mine went pretty well. I don't really get too nervous before hand but my voice always seems to shake anyways so I could work on being more confident in my voice. I was turned towards the screen so I didn't have good eye contact with the left side if the room so it would've been good to walk around or switch sides to connect with the whole class.

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    1. You did a good speech and had a good presentation with it, but you spoke really fast and the beginning just shot off like vertical velocity at six flags, it took me awhile to catch up but when I did it was a vey good speech overall

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  7. My speech went alright I suppose. It was odd because the nervousness set in about 20 seconds in but other than that everything went about as well as I expected. I probably should have practiced the speech more. I felt like I made decent eye contact with the audience and spoke pretty clearly, please let me know if I didn't. I appreciate constructive criticism.

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    1. I really enjoyed Connor's speech. He did a great job of connecting with the audience, comparing his height to Angel's dog and by asking the audience questions.

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  8. I felt like my speech could of been better just for the fact that I was extremely nervous. I felt like I was rushing really fast just to get it done and over with. But it's just the first speech of the year. I'll do better.

    I really liked Sara's speech especially when she spoke a little bit of Polish in the beginning.

    I also liked Drew's speech about how costumers can actually ruin your day. Also how he looked like he wasn't nervous at all.

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  9. I thought my speech went really well. I went over it 3 times but also wrote it the night before so I will prepare further in advance next time. I was pretty nervous seeing that I hate talking in front of people and I let that show a lot when giving my speech. I am hoping to improve my speaking skills and overcome my fear this semester.

    I thought Mealonie's (sorry if I spelled it wrong!) speech went really well and I knew nothing about her so learning that she wanted to be a meteorologist was really cool! She seemed a little nervous but still spoke loud and clearly.

    Travis also had a good speech. The way he organized it and even threw in a couple jokes into it. He seemed like he was very prepared and confident.

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  10. I think that my speech was better then I originally anticipated it to be. Next time I do need to practice more, because this time I only went over my speech twice. My closing was a little rough, and I think I should focus on better transitions to my conclusion in the future. I'm glad that I did hand gestures, but in the future I hope to be a little more conscious of them so that I don't have to ask if I did them or not.

    I really enjoyed Melonie's speech. Even though she said she was nervous and didn't think that she would be a good public speaker, I think she held herself with confidence and presented her speech with grace.

    I also liked Dakota's speech. What he said about making a customers day is true. I know! It perfectly explained many of the experiences I've had at my part-time, and I felt like I could really relate to it.

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  11. I thought I did pretty good a lot less nervous than I thought I would have been. I do need to practice my hand gestures I thought they were a little lack luster. I practiced 0 times so I will need to practice on practicing, my transition was pretty smooth I thought which is good but I will practice those more

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  12. After a few days of being sick, I finally had the chance to give my speech. After having a few more days to prepare, I thought I was pretty well prepared and I was nervous at first but it wasn't so bad once I started to speak, I practiced about 4 times prior. I thought overall I did pretty good. One thing I can improve on is my "um's" I tend to use ALOT of those! I tend to use my hands a alot when I talk so that wasn't a big problem for me. Being sick my voice was definitely not on 10, but I hope all of you understood me! (:

    I thought Bryce had a good speech, wanting to serve our country is definitely a big decision, and I have so much respect for people who are in the armed forces. His eye contact was good, and the volume of his voice was perfect.

    I also liked Alison's speech. I know she was nervous, but she pulled it off and I learned some things I never knew about Alison! She had good eye contact, and volume, and her speech kept me listening! Good Job!

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    1. I really had an interest in what you had to say in your speech, you hit good main points. I also give you praise for doing it while you were sick!!

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    2. I thought you did a great job! You opened up about your life very well, it was very detailed. I also liked how you talked about your troubles in life. That really got my attention. You also made good eye contact and you kept a level tone even when you were sick. Overall great job

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  13. I felt like my speech went alright. I got lost in my notes once or twice. I tried to keep a good casual eye contact and tried to keep it calm and controlled. I probably could have practiced more. I could also work on my transitions a little better.

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  14. I thought my speech was okay. I scrambled it together unfortunately so i paid the price of not knowing what was gonna happen when i finally presented it. I only practiced once or twice, and i learned my lesson and wont make that mistake again from here on out. My speech wasnt very natural i even noticed it felt very scripted almost.

    Angel, i thought your speech was clever, it didnt seem like you had much planned before hand but you improvised most of it to make it hit the time and make it acceptable. Well done thinking on your toes.

    Michael, I thought your speech was well thought, simple and informing. Sounded natural. Well done. I also knew when he was done because of his well thought conclusion.

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  15. I honestly think I had one of the poorer intro speeches. I spoke very quietly and made minimal eye contact. I also made my nerves very obvious by taking a 5 second pause. Taking better notes definitely would've fixed that. I have learned that practicing 2 times is NOT enough.

    Nicholas did an extremely good job of dealing with the distraction of the smart board malfunctioning. He spoke loudly and clearly, showing no signs of nerves.

    Angel's speech was given quite well despite lack of preparation. He sucked the audience in and drew their attention by making them laugh, which is a very smart strategy.

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  16. I thought my speech was decent, nothing special really. I think I could have been much more prepared then I was. I didnt really bring anything different to the table in terms of intro and conclusion. One of my problems in the speech was that I keep saying the same things over and over just to waste time, also I didnt run through my speech before I presented.

    I thought Jon's speech was good. He told us about how baseball means a lot to him, which I can understand. Well done Blair

    James' speech was good, but the part I enjoyed most was when he kinda walked around the room. He got everyone's attention in a very clever way

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  17. I thought my speech went pretty good. I thought maybe I didn't make that much eye contact, but at least that's something I can work on. I also could have actually practiced my speech to make it seem like I was more prepared.

    I thought Lauren's speech was very well done, especially since she went first. She must've been nervous but it definitely didn't show.

    I thought Connor's speech was good. He asked questions which helped keep everyone's attention throughout his speech.

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    1. Overall Bryce had a good speech. He seemed relaxed and confident but he could work on his enthusiasm.

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    2. Bryces speech was very good but he tended to say "like" and "uhm" alot

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  18. Overall, I think my speech went reasonably well. I probably could have prepared and practiced more. I might have been talking too fast and practicing would have helped. My eye contact and confidence were pretty good, I thought.

    Angel, despite not being that well prepared, gave one of the better speeches. Even without preparation, his humor drew everyone in.

    I like that Dakota's speech was relaxed. Even if he was a little nervous, it didn't show that much.

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    1. Travis I thought your speech was funny. You also made good eye contact. But I thought you spoke a little fast and rushed your speech a bit. All and all though I thought your speech was good and interesting.

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  19. For my first speech I didn't think it was that bad. I was very nervous. I thought I did good cause I hit all my points on my notes, but I didn't express when I was going to stop. I also thought it wasn't bad cause I stayed within the restrictions like the time, having my stuff ready, and making ok eye contact. So overall I thought it wasn't to bad.

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    1. I felt Billy did a good job. There were a couple things to work on such as varying the rate he was speaking and not using filler words

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  20. I felt I did a good job overall. I tried to include the audience and also make a connection to another speech. I tried to stay relaxed and appear somewhat confident. I made good eye contact but only with one section of the room. I noticed I had a couple of nervous ticks such as swaying or itching my face. I felt that I did generally well on this speech though.

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    1. I thought you did a great job. You did not seem nervous at all. You seemed very relaxed. You just seemed yourself. I like how you did not only talk about your life at home, but also your life at school. It was very interesting to learn more about you. Overall you did a great job.

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  21. I thought i did a fairly well speech. I was almost always had eye contact with the audience. I think i was prepared pretty good, i ran through the speech a couple times. My voice was good but i tend to mumble and not even notice. I was a little nervous at the beginning of the speech but towards the end i got used to it and just plowed through my emotions.

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  22. I felt i did a okay job but I was kind of nervous if i would have practice more i would've got a good grade. I should've had better eye contact better hand gestures i should have did everything better but this is feed back for me. I really thought Lauren did a good job she had good eye contact good volume and her speech was exciting because she brought in a pokemon hat she made but overall she did a outstanding job

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  23. I felt like I did an ok job on my speech. I was really nervous and I had a hard time getting the words out. I also got out of order in the way my speech was supposed to go. I hope next time I don't get all tongue tied in the end.

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  24. I felt a like I did a good job on my speech. I was not very nervous and I tried to give you as much information as I could to introduce my self. I tried to speak fluently even though I have an accent and have to search sometimes for vocabularies. But I hope I did a good job overall and gave you a better understanding of my life and my position as an exchange student in a different country.
    Personal I liked the speeches of connor and hayley a lot.
    Both were fluently, free spoken and you were able to see that they were really prepared for their speeches.

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