professional success foundations

First and foremost

Let me compliment you on your speech; it was fairly pleasant, and you had my attention from the beginning. You were clear and concise with your letter. I appreciate you beginning your speech about how not to deliver a speech and including specific examples to support your message, and since this was a speech about “how to start a speech,” you hit the home run for the crowd. I really liked how you provided examples on each situation you presented, such as providing examples before submitting three ways to deliver a speech. Like the example, you gave on how to approach people in networking “I think we know someone in common” was a classic and am planning on using it myself in future.

There was a sense of transition

in your speech, and I feel you particularly had the audience at your behest when you started with the third best way to give a speech. You had the audience actively listening and engaged as everyone wanted to hear the number one best way to give a speech, so that was quite a clever way to have them engaged. I, however, feel you shot yourself in the foot on the facts part of the speech, having even portrayed yourself as trustworthy. Given that you gave an example that wasn’t factual then went ahead to confirm to the audience that those were indeed two true facts. If you google, you’ll find out that about 100 billion people have died compared to 7 billion people alive today. That is contradictory to what you said.

Looking at your presentation on grammar and paraphrasing

am convinced you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You had so many mistakes I feel your students didn’t come out with much from your presentation. From the onset, you were unprepared and had to have someone help you project your presentation. While it is not a sin to have help, I feel you were just not ready or weren’t even interested in delivering your presentation. I feel it is courteous and healthy practice to introduce yourself before a speech or delivery. You never introduced yourself which seemed rude and that alone would have rubbed a significant part of your audience the wrong way and caused them to lose interest in your delivery. You never faced your audience throughout your delivery and no eye contact whatsoever. I think eye contact makes the audience have an interest in what your speech. Maybe it’s reflex for you to cross your arms, but it wasn’t a good gesture, and to me, it was adding salt to injury.

All these dramatic poses and lack thereof must have lost you a significant part of the audience.

You were not loud enough and were too fast on your delivery, which would have cost you a part of your audience that was keenly listening, particularly those at the back. There is a part of your delivery I particularly didn’t like, you asked a question, and before you got a full response, you rudely cut them off. Your delivery also gave no opportunity for questions to those who wanted further information or clarity. I feel you have to work on your delivery and be audible. Always try to engage the audience actively to avoid monotony and most importantly maintain eye contact.