The video I chose to review is Neil Hilborn and his slam poetry piece called “OCD”. I decided to go this route because while speeches require everything we discussed in class, poetry performances utilize a bit of theatrics that I think is definitely important when preparing to deliver a TED talk. Hilborn has pretty locked in eye contact, and while we don’t see the audience, it is clear from their applause they at least fill a large room. Good eye contact helps engage a large crowd, and avoids the feeling of talking to a sea of people. His volume is great- but sometimes becomes too much. There aren’t any instances where what he says is too quiet to understand, but a few moments his voices rises in volume over what I personally would view as a smooth performance. I attribute this to his emotional connection with his topic. His rate of speaking varies highly in his poem. There are occasions where he slows down for emphasis, in his closing lines and in some of the more important pieces of information he wanted to hit on throughout. In contrast, he sometimes speeds through certain pieces. Also, his organization was fantastic in my opinion. They way he describes the girl he was with earlier gives the audience someone to reference as he begins to tell the story further. In addition, I like the way he looped back to a few of his certain tics he has at the end regarding the locked doors and lights left on. Overall I think it was a job well done, and think there is a lot of good behavior to pull from this as I prepare for my TED talk.

 

Video Curtesy of: https://youtu.be/vnKZ4pdSU-s