Monday, September 23, 2013

Impromptu Speech


Please reflect on your impromptu speech by writing one well-written and thought-out paragraph. Use complete sentences and correct grammar. Upper classmen should be writing paragraphs with compound and complex sentences that are a minimum of six sentences long. Things to consider (you do not need to include all of them)

  1. eye contact
  2. nervousness
  3. audience feedback
  4. preparation (What did you do during your 2-3 minutes--would you do the same thing? Do you have advice for future impromptu speakers?)
  5. Speaking Rate (too fast? too slow? too many pauses?)
  6. gestures (Did you do any?)
  7. poise and presence 
  8. confidence level
  9. introduction and conclusion
  10. organization
  11. facial expressions

What went well? What do you need to work on for the next speech? Would you want to try it again or are you glad it is done forever? Be as specific as possible! 

In addition, leave feedback for at least two students. Feedback should be specific and original

57 comments:

  1. I was so nervous about having to give this speech. Thankfully I got a topic that I actually had an opinion on. Due to the fact that I got a really great topic, I was able to give a speech that was long enough, and I was also able to feel confident while I was giving the speech. This speech was better for me than I expected it would be, and I'm glad that it went so well. I hope my speeches in the future continue to get better and better, and I hope to be well prepared for any speech I may have to give in college.

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    1. Sara did a good job she is a great speaker i wish me and her could switch because i dislike speaking in front of people with a passion but she did great.

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    2. I really like Gaby's speech. She brought up a lot of changes that almost every student would love to have in the school, and I think that she put thought into the subject at other points in time, which helped her to give a great speech.

      I enjoyed Grace's speech because she gave a solid reason for why she like Christmas the most. I liked how she connected the fact that her younger sister learning about her family's Christmas traditions was what made her like Christmas the most.

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    3. I liked Sara's speech a lot. Even though she said she didn't feel comfortable giving speeches, she seemed perfectly fine. I can tell she will be a natural speaker in the future with the way she gives her speeches right now.

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    4. I really enjoyed Sara's speech. I liked how open she was with us, she didn't hold back anything.She seemed very comfortable while up there. I liked how she said that she didn't like giving speeches. She seemed very confident and had a very good tone. Over all she did a great job!

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    5. I really liked the way sara presented her impromptu speech.
      She didn't seem nervous at all and new how to talk about her topic.

      Another speech I enjoyed a lot was the presentation of hayley.
      I liked the way you talked about your own experiences and you knew exactly how to use your topic for a great speech!
      You spoke free and you had eye contact with the class and you seemed very confident in front of the audience.

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    6. The speech I enjoyed the most was the speech of Angel.
      He really made me lough with his stories out of his childhood and I liked the way he was open and just shared his memories with the audience.
      Great job!

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  2. The speech went worse than I hoped it would. The biggest mistake I made was choosing the topic. I really should have chosen a topic that I knew more about than one that I could potentially talk about. I got really nervous while I was up there and once I got about half way through I had no idea what to talk about. I hope to do better some day in the future.

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    1. I Thought that Gaby's speech was interesting. She didn't seem terribly nervous and the topic that she chose was a good one. Many people would agree with her on most of the topics she mentioned.

      I also thought that Don's speech went well. I completely agree with Him on the subject of mosquitoes. They absolutely suck! Don seemed to be searching for things to say while he was speaking but, that is very understandable considering the type of speech that we did this time.

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    3. I thought Luke did a great job he showed great eye contact and he is just a amazing speaker

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    4. Luke, you did a good job of incorporating humor into your speech while getting your point across seriously. Maybe you could work on your conclusion a little bit though.

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    5. I thought Luke had a decent speech. He seemed a little uncomfortable and nervous. He made eye contact and had a steady pace. It is important to at least appear confident and appeal to everyone in the crowd.

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  3. I think i did a okay job on my speech it wasn't my best work but i did try my best. I need to work on my speaking skills a lot more because I get really nervous and start to loose my thoughts.

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    1. Don, you did a pretty good job with a topic that was pretty tough. You showed a little nerves by stopping and looking at the ceiling

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    2. Don, the question you chose was 1 of the 3 I picked, it was a really hard topic to talk about, and I give you props for trying it. However, your speech was really short, and I wish you had more to say because I would have liked to hear what your thoughts were.You had a really long pause which was kind of awkward for a lot of people, but again, it was a really weird/hard topic and I give you props for trying.

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    3. Don, I was very impressed by youre speech because of how hard the topic was. It seemed like you put good thought into it, and were well prepared and took advantage of the short time you had to prepare. It was short, but you made it as good as you could with the topic. So overall i think you did a great job.

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  4. My speech went very well I think. My conclusion was a little weak, because you couldn't really tell i was finished, but I think mixing sports into my speech helped me get my point across easily.

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  5. Well my speech went really bad I thought. I chose a poor topic to talk about and during the few minutes I had to prepare I spent most of my time choosing between two topics. I did not talk very long and all of my points were pretty choppy and did not flow nicely. I now know that I am better at giving planned speeches than giving an impromptu speech. Also it did not help that I had lost my voice in the days leading up to my speech...

    I liked Lauren's speech a lot. She made good use of her time and she talked about a lot of interesting things during her speech. Her tone was also good and she was able to make the speech even more interesting to listen to. She also did not seem very nervous to give her speech even though she had to go first again.

    I also enjoyed Sarah's speech. She was able to tie her speech into the present task at hand (fear of giving a speech) and even other things people could relate to. Like Lauren, she also had good tone and inflection. She made it interesting to listen to and her different points flowed together nicely.

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    1. I think Alison did a decent speech. I wasn't sure what other topics she could've chosen from, maybe another topic would've helped her be more open to talking but other than that I can see she's becoming more and more comfortable with giving speeches.

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    2. Alison, I always think you are too hard on yourself. You are so good when you aren't nervous. You should just take a breath and get it over with. Your voice was a little funny though.

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  6. This speech was a lot better than my second speech. Even though I had about one minute to figure out what I wanted to say wasn't enough time. I actually liked my topic of the speech. It's something out of the ordinary wanting to go halfway across the world just to see a concert. But, I wished I had a little bit more time to practice and it would of been perfect. What I notice about my speeches is that I sometimes mumble when I speak, also I talk really fast hoping I can finish my speech not looking too much of a dork. Hopefully I can work on getting my points on strong and clear.

    Nick's speech was really good for one of his favorite holidays Thanksgiving. I couldn't believe that he ate so many rolls during that holiday; that was really impressive. He looked so calm and focused something I need to work on myself.

    Grace's speech was really cool. It was really cute that she listens to Christmas music so early in the year. You can tell that she loves and cares for her little sister because she mentions her in all three of her speeches so far. Also, when she was describing all of the activities she does with her sister made me wish it was Christmas right now.

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    1. Melony I thought your speech went pretty well!! I liked how youbtied in the type of Korean music you had talked abiut in a previous speech. You got a topic in which you could really be sincere and it made your speech really good. You didn't have awkward pauses and your hand gestures were very natural and fit your speech. Great job!

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  7. I actually thought I did an alright job on my speech. The two minutes prior was just trying to think of what topic I could talk the most about. I didn't really think of any opening or closing which was why I feel like my speech was weak in those areas. However I think that picking topic was easier because I made it feel less like I'm giving a speech and more like I'm just telling an event in my life to some friends.I do know that I could improve a lot if I just slowed down my rate more. In the future if I need to give an impromptu speech I won't dread it because now I have one out of the way, and to be completely honest it really wasn't so bad.

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    1. I think Lauren did a great job. I like how she picked a topic close to her. I liked how she layed out her trip for us, it made me want to hop on a plane and go there. She didn't seem nervous at all. She had a great tone and rate. I especially liked how she brought up snow cones in the story. Over all she did a great job and I can't wait to hear another speech from her.

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    2. Lauren's speech was good in general. There are some aspects of it that need improvement. While telling her story, she was not putting much emotion into it. Also, it seemed as though she was rambling and did not know what to say next. She was confident and did a good job on the rest of her speech.

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    3. You made it seem like you had plenty of time to prepare and it really seemed like you had you're speech written out and then memorized. You typically have the best speeches in the class and the most fluently flowing speeches. Keep up the good work.

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    4. you made it look easy. you got up there and talked to us and not at us. you could have had more descriptions about your trip to Texas. An example would be what flavors the snow cones were. you over all did a really good job on your speech.

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  8. This speech compared to my other two, I thought was my worst. Having to talk about a topic without really any preparation is quite hard. Therefore I basically didn't know what to talk about half way through my speech. My Intro was at least decent however it could have been better. If i have to give a speech off the top of my head again, Hopefully it is on something that I know a lot about, then it wont be so bad.

    Angel's speech was really well done. Angel did not seem nervous at all and was able to talk fluidly. Relating to a childhood story helped to connect with the audience and make it interesting.

    Luke did an alright job with his speech. While not the most polished, he was able to get his point across and interject some humor as well.

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  9. I thought that this was a good speech, but it wasn't my best either. I was glad to get a topic that I loved to talk about because that made me happy and a lot less nervous. On the other hand I felt like I was getting to repetitive. I said I love christmas about 8 times in the whole speech. I could tell I was losing people. Unlike my other speeches I did not have time to practice or think out what I was going to say but it could have gone worse. Overall it was a good topic and I had fun talking about it. I just wish I could have been more resourceful.

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    1. Grace, you did a great job on your speech. You got a topoc where you could really tie in your sister which was awesome. You were a little bit repetitive but it emphasized your poimts well. You're rate was good but I think more hand gestures would really enhamce your speech a lot! Good job.

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  10. I thought I did a pretty good job even if it wasn't my best speech.
    The topic was okay and I had a few infomation I could speak about.
    I wasn't very nervous but in the end I didn't know what to say anymore because I ran out of information so I couldn't make a strong end.
    I am pretty sure my english is getting better everyday what influences my speeches maybe.
    Everything in all I'm comfortable with it.

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  11. I felt this was my best speech so far. I was comfortable and confident when I was giving the speech. The topic that I chose was beneficial to me, as I could talk about my sister for a long time. I had good eye contact and posture, while also having a steady rate of speaking. I avoided ticks like swaying. This speech was my favorite because I was able to put the most of my personality into it. This speech was my favorite because it was comfortable and I did a good job.

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    1. Connor, I really liked your speech and I think its super cool that you're really tight with your sister, and I also thought it was really cute that you admitted you miss her. You didn't seem nervous at all and your eye contact, voice, and personality were all great in this speech. Good Job Connor!

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    2. I really liked how you talked about your sister in your speech. You always do a great job with all aspects that we talk about in class. You never seem to be nervous or anxious about giving a speech either.

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    3. You did a really good job. you really emphasized the importance of family, and how much your sister means to you. i liked how you used Sunny as a reference to you McFamily. you made me think about how much of a jerk i am to my little brother and how i should try to be friends and not try to push all his buttons.

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    4. I'd agree that this was probably your best speech yet. I thought you really worked your kind of humor into it. That and the fact that your were comfortable talking about your sister made you really confident.

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    5. I really like how you talked about the special bond you and your sister have. I also liked how you like to spend with your sister.

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  12. Overall, I feel like this was my best speech yet. I was really nervous about this speech because I didn't know how I felt with only having 2 minutes to prepare and not knowing my topic until the day of. Out of the 3 questions I picked, I decided to do my speech on what I would do/change if I was the principal at Martin Luther High School, and I'm glad I chose that question because I had ALOT to say. Having alot to say made it a lot easier for me to give my speech, and the fact that I had alot of people agreeing with me also made me more confident in front of everyone. I felt that I had very good eye contact,and my voice level was good. Definitely my best speech yet!

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    1. Gaby you did a superb job! I felt like you used your little time to prepare wisely. You look confident up there and you made very good eye contact. I didn't see any real problems and this was just a very good speech. Great job

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    2. You did an excellent job and I loved the topic, agreed with you one-hundred percent on what to change cause seriously to much rules and a lot of them are dumb. All of your speeches have been amazing between eye contact and gestures you seem to be a natural at speaking.

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    3. I believe that you did a wonderful job on you speech. You have great speaking skills and you look very comfortable up in front of the class. You did a great job with topic you received good job.

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  13. My over review of my speech is ok. I feel a lot better with this speech than I had with the other, I don't know why but I did. I felt I knew my topic right away and it was easy for me to talk about it. I need to work a little more on my eye contact, because I only look at five different people the whole time. I liked how we only got a certain amount of time to work on this speech. the tone in which I was speaking was monotone I felt, but not at all times. I had the classes attention for the most part because of my opening questions. I think we should do more impromptu speeches because they help with real life problems.

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  14. Overall I wasn't really nervous for this speech. I don't mind just getting up and talking about something on the spot.....as long as its something I care about or am knowledgable on. I wasn't able to find a connection between me and any of the three topic I chose so that made my speech a little more difficult to give. During my preperation time I didn't write anything down when I should have outlined some main points. Since I didn't have anything written down I talked a lot faster than usual and for some reason my eye contact was worse even though I had nothing to look down at. This speech really showed my how much work I need on some of those fundamental basic parts of giving a good specch. I didn't have any awkward pauses but I did repeat and was unsure of myself. I would honestly like to do another speech like this to see if I can improve.

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  15. i feel as if my speech was very poor. I didn't take advantage of the 2 minutes I was given to prepare for the Impromtu speech, because i figured it wouldnt make much of a difference to review none, or review for 2 minutes anyways. It seemed like it wouldnt be that different regardless of my choice. But I was wrong. My speech wasn't very long and I think that was the only major flaw. Because I didnt plan my speech i think thats the reason I didnt succeed on this speech too well.

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  16. My speech went pretty well i think i had a pretty strong intro. it could have been a little more developed. i thought i kept good eye contact and used gestures well. I think that the way i used different ways i could use 100 dollars. it went pretty well but i ran out of things to elaborate on. that is why i had a shorter time than i wanted

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  17. I thought that my speech was pretty well done. I had a pretty good opening question and i thought that i got my point across to the class. My eye contact was superb but i was lacking in gestures. The one thing that i would change about it was that i would have talked for a longer time,

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    1. Micheal I thought you did well. You made good eye contact and you went up there and you looked like you practiced but clearly you didn't. I think you could have go e a tad bit longer but overall I think you did a great job

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  18. I think my speech went pretty good. I didn't mean to offend anybody at the beginning, it was just a joke to get the crowd loose. But other than that I feel like my speech was good. I felt confident up there and I got a topic where I could mix in a funny story which is really my strong suit. Eye contact was a little shaky but in the end I think my speech was good

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    1. I really liked your speech. I love your humor and think that it definitely makes your speeches interesting.

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    2. Your speech engaged the audience with your life story and let me tell you it was funny and woke me up that hour. your gestures were on track and eye contact was good your speech was indeed good, good job.

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  19. I was pretty nervous throughout my whole speech and I think it really affected how I delivered it. My prep went pretty well, but I lost track of where I was and the conclusion sort of fell apart. Though I couldn't tell while speaking, this probably meant that I started to speak very fast. My introduction went pretty well, I thought. I did forget a Beatles lyric for a conclusion, though. Overall, I thought it went well, but I could have done a lot better.

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  20. I was fairly confident not to nervous this one although I realized I forgot one of my points on why I would want to go Japan the game shows are hysterical Gaki No Tsukai is awesome. My gestures were better rounded this time unlike last time but I recall kinda staying in the middle section for eye contact but that could just be me. I feel this speech was easy for me and the longer speeches are going to be the one's to kill my grade.

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  21. I thought my speech was good. I liked that I didn't pause as much as normal and I felt I spoke clearly. I didn't like my topic and I felt my speech was a little short. I hope to in my following speechs to improve and do better.

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  22. I feel my speech went pretty good, I thought I was gonna be terrible at the impromtu speech. I think i maybe could have been less stumbly on my words, but I mean that's kind of the nature of impromtu. Also, I think maybe mine was kind of short in time, I don't know really how long mine was. Also, maybe I could've been a little more organized with my ideas.

    I thought Travis's speech was very well done because he was good at everything basically.

    I also thought Michaels speech was very good, alot of good eye contact, and very organized with his ideas.

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  23. I feel my speech went OK but it was kind of hard to pick out of the 3 topics I had. I felt I was sort of stumbling over parts of the speech. I believe that lack of time to prepare because it was Impromtu was why it wasn't as good as it should have been.

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  24. I am dreading getting up in front of the whole class to give my speech becasue i get nervous while speaking publicly

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