Presentation… Progress
As well as how I view the path I’m currently on (Presentation Mastery), the main reason I’m engaged in it specifically is because of my experience in Student Radio. As I said in my last post, the more I volunteered and engaged in it, the more relaxed and confident I got behind the microphone. And sometimes, that made me think about why I couldn’t accomplish that same confidence while delivering a simple PowerPoint presentation as part of a project in school and college. I don’t consider myself someone who has a fear of public speaking, but at the same time, don’t expect me to recite these posts ad lib somewhere like YouTube because, as you’re about to read… I’m not a natural talent on the speaking stage. It’s taken a lot of practice and honest feedback to just get the basics right.
When it comes to feedback I’ve received for my speeches, it’s generally been that I am so natural at projecting my voice, using vocal variety and having a varied vocabulary. But sometimes, I’m hit and miss with the basics I look at myself as an Evaluator, more on that in a moment. And I can sometimes go overboard with the amount of content I try and pack in. In terms of speeches I deliver, I generally go with my life and what I’m interested in, which is a fair bit as this whole section has demonstrated so far. Truth be told, I’m not proficient in terms of practice. What I do is have an outline of the key points I want to hit in the speech on hand that I occasionally glance at to keep me on track. But I do think a major thing I need to start practicing myself is rehearsing every Prepared Speech I do. Evaluating, on the other hand, doesn’t quite have that onerous of a requirement in terms of rehearsing but, even so, is a trickier business.
The section that I seem to thrive more in is the business of evaluating the speeches of others. In general, my style is calling the presentation I watch how I see it. More specifically, I like to evaluate a speech on both sides of the coin: The Speech itself and how it was delivered. I enjoy speeches that are structured logically and cover a topic that intrigues me. For instance, a speech I heard at a contest (more on those on the next page) talked about Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, which was a fraction of the length of the delivery that came before which lasted two hours. The speech was titled A Strange Speech, which I said in evaluation was an interesting title with a plethora of interpretations that made sense when I made the connection.
As for the delivery of a speech, I first focus on what I consider to be the five basics of public speaking: Eye Contact with the Audience, Voice Projection, Pace, Gestures and attachment to the Podium. I believe getting eye contact, pace and voice projection (i.e. How loud or soft you speak) consistent and to a level that is loud and clear for all is a good start. Using gestures in and of itself is also a good sign. Whether they are effective for the purpose of the speech is another matter. And I think not being glued to the Speaking Podium and having next to no notes shows confidence and is a sign that you’re not afraid to face the audience at the very least.
There are other elements of public speaking I scrutinise if those basics are all met such as Vocal Variety, integrating a PowerPoint supplement and how one moves about on the stage. But I’ve generally been praised consistently for evaluating fairly and honestly. And it’s this consistency that encouraged me to start entering competitions, which is where I’m going to finish this post with.
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