Here is the link to my TED talk: https://youtu.be/83EAZ_pG4b0
My TED talk was about technology use and the psychological effects it can have on a person’s mind that create an addiction. I really liked the content that I was presenting, as it is information that most people are not aware of, but is really relevant to our everyday lives. The information is important to know in today’s technology-driven world.
I thought starting my TED talk with a personal story was clever, as it was an anecdote that the audience could relate to. Throughout the rest of my talk, I had several facts and statistics that supported my points and further proved the existence of addiction to technology. I felt like the use of factual based evidence strengthened my argument and made my talk more captivating.
Additionally, my visual to go along with my TED talk consisted of pictures on each slide to complement my speech. I tried to balance out the pictures, so that they did not distract from what I was saying, but instead enhanced my presentation. I think that this aspect of my TED talk was done pretty well, especially the slide showing the cycle between technology, happiness, and sadness. This truly captured my message in a simple and direct way. In general, I thought that the visual was laid out nicely and did a nice job of accompanying my talk.
Although I did think that these parts of my TED talk were done well, I noticed some other parts that I can improve on in the future. For example, there were some parts during the speech where I started talking at a faster pace. During presentations, I tend to feel nervous and often talk at a faster rate than I intend to without realizing. I have continuously been trying to improve on this point, and I think that I was better at pacing myself overall in this presentation than I have been in the past. Even though there has been improvement, I still think that my pacing can be better. While rewatching my talk, I noticed that there were certain parts during which I started talking faster, which caused me to stutter during the presentation. I gave myself less time to process and think about what I was saying, and a couple of times, I took longer pauses than I wished to take. I want to continue working on slowing down my pace throughout my speech, so that my whole presentation sounds smoother.
In addition, I want to find a balance between practicing too little and too much. I kept running my talk over and over again before presenting, which led me to subconsciously remember certain parts of it. Although I did not have a prepared script, there were phrases or portions that it almost seemed like I had memorized, because of how much I had practiced. I started wording these parts the same way each time I practiced, so in my mind the wording became familiar, and I would say it in a similar manner every time. As a result, I was searching for that specific wording while talking during my actual presentation, which distracted me from what I was saying. This also contributed to my presentation not being as smooth as it could have been. I want to move away from this habit and be more confident in the fact that I know my material, so that my presentation flows better.
One other element that I could improve is my movement while talking. As I was watching myself present, I noticed that I seemed stiff. Although I was looking around the room, I was not freely moving and turning due to my nervousness. I was also looking back and forth from the screen behind me to the audience frequently, but I feel like I should have been looking at the audience more consistently. I want to avoid doing these things in future presentations, and reach a point where I can feel comfortable in front of an audience. This way I will feel more at ease, and the audience will not notice my nerves as much either.
A side effect of my stiffness while presenting was that I was not using my hands as much as I had hoped. While practicing, my hands were moving around a lot more freely as I was talking, but once I got up to present, my hands were stiff and by my sides for most of the presentation. I think the use of my hands could have enhanced my presentation, but I completely forgot to think about them in front of the audience.
Through this reflection, I noticed both strengths and weaknesses in my presentation. While I am happy with the way my presentation went overall, I definitely still want to use it as a learning experience to improve my future presentations and hopefully become a better speaker.