Self-Introduction Self-Critique Blog

I watched my video three different times, once only looking at the video, once only listening to the audio, and the last time with both. This might sound rather odd, but it helped me to see if I was performing excess body movements. The audio, on the other hand, helped to see if I was clear enough to be understandably heard alone. After doing each of these, I'd rate myself 8/10.

Body Movements:

I improved on making eye contact, but I feel that I looked mostly at the camera, and not so much towards each side of the room. I adequately kept my stance and didn't fidget, which is an important part of any speech. However, I do feel that I used more hand gestures than I needed; some of which didn't really relate to the speech (such as switching the note cards in my hands). My visual aid helped in the speech but I feel I pointed back at it more than was needed, making it a slight distraction. It also distracted me personally, preventing me from making enough eye contact. I was glad that I did show some facial expressions within the speech, normally alongside hand gestures, which I thought went well and enhanced the speech.

Vocals:

I could hear myself easily and was surprised to find that I actually wasn't talking that fast. There were a few words I could have pronounced better, to be more understandable. I showed vocal clarity just as with the first one, even though it was a tad bit harder seeing as how it wasn't a story being orated.

Overall:

Overall, I feel I did a good job at completing the requirements for the speech, minus the fact that I was really close to 3:00 minutes (maybe even over by a few seconds). I think the cause of this was me adding a little bit more content to some of the points, out of noticing interest from the audience. As was demonstrated in the speech, though, I didn't allow myself enough wiggle room to fit it in successfully. Next time, I will make sure to give myself more room for addition in the speech. To improve next time, I won't overuse my visual aid, preventing it from cutting down on my eye contact with the audience. Also, it may be a better idea to reduce the time the picture is visible in the background. I will continue to use vocal clarity and speak clearly. I will attempt to use a few less hand gestures, but not completely and add more facial expressions to give more character to the presentation. Next time, I hope to come up with a more interesting grabber that's more in depth for the intro also. One thing I can say I was completely satisfied with was my little “thought” at the end, hopefully inspiring thought within a few audience members.