Introduction
The purpose of this critique is to evaluate the speech I gave during the class, note the strong and weak points as I see them after the fact, and suggest improvements. This variety of self-evaluation is essential to the development of my public speaking abilities, as I can impartially assess the weaknesses of my delivery and associate them with my internal reasons. As a result of the critique, I will be able to evaluate the internal factors that cause external manifestations I want to eliminate and work on addressing them.
Speaking Characteristics
During my speech, which was a self-introduction, I did not need to reference any written material and was mostly able to reproduce the contents from memory. However, I stumbled and had to pause several times during the speech as I tried to recall what I wanted to mention next. This tendency gave the address a somewhat disconnected nature, as I usually began talking about a completely different topic after the pause. At several points, I used a verbal tic to fill the silence while I was thinking, which can also be considered an undesirable trait.
When watching the video, I got the impression that my speech was too quiet as, while it was not difficult to distinguish, I had to turn the volume up to bring it to an acceptable level. I also believe that several of my sentences were poorly worded, although that trait may be attributed to the informal manner of the speech and the tension I felt while delivering it. I believe that the primary characteristics I should work on to improve my public speaking skills in the vocal department are confidence and the habit of forming sentences before saying them aloud.
Gestures and Fidgeting
I believe that I displayed my nervousness during the speech prominently in the overall body language. I kept shifting my balance, moving around, and shaking my leg, which are indicators of anxiety. I also kept my hands together in front of me, which was not necessary for the gesticulation I used during the speech. I did it because I had not thought of a use for them during most of the presentation and did not know what I wanted to do with them. In the future, I will try to use hand and arm gestures more during my presentations to avoid such uncomfortable moments.
The gestures I used were mostly appropriate to the context and reasonably easy to understand, but there were some notable outliers. The most significant ones were located in the vicinity of the section where I explained my mother’s profession as well as my own. For the most part, the gestures were excessive and mostly meaningless, only serving to distract attention. The most noteworthy issue was the moment where I showed off the tattoo on my elbow. I have noticed that it is difficult to see the image depicted in the tattoo on the video, and I did not elaborate on the topic, leading to possible confusion. I will try to use more explicit and more relevant gestures in my future speeches.
Conclusion
I think there are various improvements that I need to consider for my speech patterns before I can decide that it is satisfactory. Planning out my sentences in advance would help me deliver a better-flowing narrative. I should also try and become more confident, speaking louder, pausing less, and removing my fidgeting habits. I also want to use more gestures in my speeches, but do not know how, which suggests another area for improvement.