Thursday, October 29, 2015

Am I boring?

I generally enjoy public speaking.  It is the only time  where everyone present actually has to listen to what I have to say.  In a sense, it is my moment of glory, with which I can do what I wish.  Quite obviously, the goal is to deliver an entertaining presentation.  I usually practice a good deal in order to accomplish the goal of making a good presentation, and to help avoid making the audience feel uncomfortable along with me.  To do so, I capitalize and focus on my strengths, and ignore my weaknesses and pretend that they do not exist.  

I would like to capitalize on how I enjoy public speaking, and my eye contact.  I think that these two strengths make a speaker seem more confident overall.  Confidence is the key to a presentation in my opinion.  Without it, your ethos is shot, and you seem weak and ineffective to the audience.  Eye contact not only radiates confidence, but it also helps the crowd feel connected and engaged.  If they see me enjoying my time speaking, the prevailing hope is that I can impart some enthusiasm in them. By maintaining eye contact and relaying my enjoyment, I want to focus on being confident and displaying this to the audience.  

As I said before, I usually pretend that I don't have any weaknesses when I deliver my speech in order to maintain confidence.  However I have numerous weaknesses, the most obvious being a rather flat and boring tone, and the fact that I tend to deviate from any plan I had and completely surprise myself with the words that I emit.  The tone has a huge impact on my speech.  Since it is flat, the important part of my speech are not highlighted.  The rogue nature of my speeches could be reigned in a bit as it often results in a lot of verbal fillers.  

2 comments:

  1. Eye contact is definitely a crucial aspect of public speaking that many of us need to improve, but it's good to know you find it an advantageous part of your presentation skill set. Recording yourself speaking on your iPhone could reveal where inflections in tone could really emphasize your important points. Good luck!

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  2. Hi Tim, I agree with you that being confident is very important. I think you are right that in your last speech, your tone was pretty flat. I also think standing behind the podium put a barrier between you and your audience. This time, make sure to be engaging in your tone and body language.

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