Preparation:

In preparation for this TED talk, I tried to learn from the mistakes of my previous speech in CAS 137 by prepping earlier this time. I made sure that I was working on this speech at least a week in advance whereas for my first speech I only had given myself a few days to prep.

The hardest part for me was the selection of a topic that would be catchy enough to stick and hadn’t been done before on the TED stage. Eventually, mine came to me, and I got to work. As my topic was a highly personal one filled with stories and I only had a limited time frame, I didn’t devote as much time to research as I should have. I just used one source in my works cited, and it was a reasonably unscientific one too. Never the less I think it worked out in the end because of the sheer amount of content I needed to cram into my 4-5 min. speech. Reflecting back, while more research could have happened, I feel that it wouldn’t have taken a prominent place In my talk anyway and would just feel slightly out of place.

Once my speech topic was chosen, I started to prep my speaking and refine my delivery of the message. The rehearsals occurred mainly in my dorm room and the library. Sometimes I would be alone, and other times I would be joined by one of my peers. This rehearsal schedule was sufficient for me to familiarize myself with my material although it could have been increased if I had started earlier.

Aside from going to office hours on the day of my speech, I failed to take advantage of my professors time to help me perfect my speech. He helped me restructure my speech slightly, and he offered me suggestions about my vocal tone. His advice to make the speech more conversational probably helped me improve my speech more than any other last min changed.

I finished my powerpoint at the same time as my first draft, so it underwent revisions just like the speech. I tried to make the powerpoint simplistic and professional from the beginning, but even at that, I found I needed to cut some stuff out to enhance the flow and clarity of my message.

In general, to strengthen my future talks I should:
1. Go to the professor’s office hours before the day I speak
2. Conduct more thorough research

Analysis:
My first impression of my speech left me feeling saying the speech “isn’t bad” but needs room for improvement.

The Good: I liked the conversational speaking style that my professor recommended to me. It made me seem like less of a robotic salesman. I also appreciated my use of two stories. The stories were, in my opinion, the most influential part of my talk. I felt like they connected with the audience more than any other part of my presentation. I also knew the stories better, and I was less prone to making a mistake when recounting one. It was only when I went into the other parts of my speech that I started to the have minor memory problems. I also liked how I made eye contact most of the time. Having the back row stand was a good idea.

The Bad: During the conclusion and my mid-introduction of the topic, I messed up slightly. I got myself on a small tangent which was harder to recover from. Ideally, this could have been averted with more private and group practice. Also, I could have introduced the two graphs I had more funnily and perhaps not used the phrases “crazy stupid hat” and “talking out of my butt.” When I think about my speech now those two lines, stand out to me the most and they don’t convey my message at all. Hopefully, they added to the conversational and light-hearted tone of the whole speech.