Self-Evaluation

The Importance of Proper Oral Presentation

The oral presentation can seem to be an easy task because it only requires courage and words of mouth. This point, however, does not apply to anyone who stands in front of an audience to make a message. When addressing a group of individuals, whether professional or your colleagues, there are several considerations to remember. Nonetheless, based on my presentation in class, there were several aspects of making a successful speech that I did not understand. According to Overby (2017), an outstanding speakers must follow a two-step protocol to ensure that they have the correct facts in the best possible manner (Overby 34).

Planning and Preparation

The first stage involves the planning of the content which includes setting the objectives to be achieved at the end of the process. Moreover, it is vital to thoroughly prepare the materials and adequately review them, arrange the points in an order starting from the strongest to the weakest. Finally, there is a need for practice as many times as possible (Yuen). Unfortunately, I did not rehearse my speech well before taking the stage for the presentation, and this lack of exercise significantly contributed to my poor performance in class. It is clear that lack of confidence was one of the reasons as to why I could not complete my speech.

Effective Delivery

The content is the most obvious element of speech thus the saying that “if you have to talk, it is better you have something worthwhile to say” (Yuen). On this element, I am confident that I did my assignment well. However, the means of delivery came under scrutiny (Overby34). An excellent speaker is supposed to maintain eye contact with his audience; this did not happen in my case as it is evident in the video review. The lack of confidence led to the failure look straight at my listener’s something that made me appear unprepared. The other substantial failure in the presentation was lack of engaging the audience. Overby further explains that moving with your listeners through the speech makes the presentation lively and sustainable (Overby34). Moreover, such an action relieves you from a lot of pressure that may lead to nervousness. Humor is an essential aspect of oral presentation; it attracts the attention of the listeners and makes the intercourse exciting (Yuen). Additionally, enthusiasm combined with humor in presentation spices up the message and provides considerable time for the speaker to relax (Yuen). All these elements were lacking in my speech thus making me meltdown and leave my presentation halfway.

Learning from Mistakes

However, the most crucial thing in life and learning process is taking advantage of mistakes and turn them into success. I now understand my shortcomings after the self-evaluation, and I am fully confident that I have come out this stronger than I was before the presentation. Moreover, the review has enabled me to acquire more knowledge on the best ways to prepare a speech and deliver it prosperously. The poor performance was just a starting point, and from this, I will build better skills and that will define my future endeavors. In conclusion, it is paramount to mention that hard work and commitment to a course pay; therefore for one to deliver a quality speech he/she must be ready to abide by the set guidelines.

Works Cited

Overby, Megan S. “Stakeholders’ Qualitative Perspectives of Effective Telepractice Pedagogy in Speech-Language Pathology.” International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders (2017): n. Pag. 34. Web.

Yuen, Raymond Wai Pong. “How to Deliver a Humorous Speech.” SSRN Electronic Journal (2012): n. Pag. Web.