Self Evaluation of Narrative Speech

Original Text: Self Evaluation of Narrative Speech

Content
My narrative speech started with a rhetoric question which hooked the audience in. The speech comprised of many descriptive details like the distance of Goa from my home, the number of days spent in one of the most captivating tourist spot of India and the stupendous beach near our hotel. The use of colorful and illustrative language was evident by the use of sentences like “A mischievous though creeped into my mind” and phrases like “swept away”, “ferocious tides” and “whaling for help”. This created a very eloquent image in the minds of the audience. Use of dialogues in my speech could have made it more real and dramatic. The climax arose some tension in the audience. I could have used humor to dwell and create more interest in the audience.
Voice
My voice was well audible in the whole room with appropriate pitch. Vocal variety was a little evident while using phrases like “popped out”, “sneak out”, “sea at its best” and many more. It showed the change of pitch but it could be made better by practicing regularly. My articulation/pronunciation contained some flaws. I fumbled while pronouncing some words but as I got adjusted to the surroundings, my speech became much more fluent. I took many vocalized pauses by using filler words like “ah”,” you know” and “so”.




Eye Contact
Good eye contact depicts our personality and makes the audience have a belief in us. I looked into the audience’s eyes but failed to look at the audience on my left side. I had no “eye darts” and my eye contact was direct and sustained. I swept my eyes across the center and at the right side of the room.
Gestures/Non-Verbal Delivery
I had average facial expressions which can be made better by continuous practice. I used “the box” without locking my hands in between. I did not lean and had my weight balanced on both my legs. I can still try to be in a more upright position from next time. I did not use the Speaker’s triangle efficaciously but worked the room by moving from time to time from one point to another. My appearance was formal yet comfortable. I had worn plain black jeans with a buttoned sweater on the top. I did not have any distracting features.
Conclusion
The conclusion of my speech involved a pithy quote: “Look before you leap”. The correlation of my conclusion with the speech’s topic was perfect. I had good time management.
Summary
Factors like vocal variety, pitch, articulation, appearance, eye contact, gesture, expressions and purpose are very essential to become a master of the art of public speaking. Alexander Gregg once said “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: First, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience”. So, being truthful and loyal is one of the most valuable features to give a good speech.

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Revised Text:

Content

My narrative speech started with a rhetorical question, which hooked the audience in. The speech was comprised of many descriptive details like; the distance of Goa from my home, the number of days spent in one of the most captivating tourist spots of India, and the stupendous beach near our hotel. The use of colorful and illustrative language was evident by the use of sentences like, “A mischievous thought creeped into my mind,” and phrases like, “swept away”, “ferocious tides” and “wailing for help”. These created very eloquent images in the minds of the audience. Use of dialogues in my speech could have made it more real and dramatic. The climax created some tension in the audience. I could have used humor to create more interest in the audience.

Voice

My voice was well audible in the whole room, with appropriate pitch. Vocal variety was a little evident while using phrases like; “popped out”, “sneak out”, “sea at its best” and many more. It showed a change of pitch, but it could have been made better by practicing regularly. My articulation/pronunciation contained some flaws. I fumbled while pronouncing some words, but as I got adjusted to the surroundings, my speech became much more fluent. I took many vocal pauses by using filler words like; “ah”,” you know” and “so”.

Eye Contact

Good eye contact depicts our personality and makes the audience believe in us. I looked into the audiences' eyes, but failed to look at the audience on my left side. I had no “eye darts” and my eye contact was direct and sustained. I swept my eyes across the center and the right side of the room.

Gestures/Non-Verbal Delivery

I used average facial expressions, which could be made better by continuous practice. I used “the box” without locking my hands in between. I did not lean and had my weight balanced on both my legs. I can still try to be in a more upright position next time. I did not use the Speaker’s Triangle efficaciously but worked the room by moving from time to time, from one point to another. My appearance was formal yet comfortable. I wore plain black jeans with a buttoned sweater on the top. I did not have any distracting features.

Conclusion

The conclusion of my speech involved the pithy quote, “Look before you leap”. The correlation of my conclusion with the speech’s topic was perfect. I had good time management.

Summary

Factors like; vocal variety, pitch, articulation, appearance, eye contact, gesture, expressions and purpose are very essential to become a master of the art of public speaking. Alexander Gregg once said, “There are three things to aim at in public speaking: First, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience”. So, being truthful and loyal is one of the most valuable features of giving a good speech.

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