blog assignment #5

Over the time of the CAS 100 public speaking course, my ability of public speaking has become progressively more well rounded. Before entering the course and receiving education on this area of communication, I was seriously lacking the skills to deliver an effective public speaking presentation. By learning some of the basic keys to success in speech, I was able to put together my first presentation on my cultural object. This first presentation, however, lacked several elements mandatory for an ideal public speaking demonstration. The lack of proper and effective preparation was evident during the speech, as well as the high presence of filler words such as "like" and "um". Among these problems, there were also issues with my attention getter, as well as the lack of a sensible flow of content and an effective visual aid. These issues were all elements that I aimed to resolve in my second speech, the problem and solution presentation. To correct the problems with my preparation, I created an in depth outline of the material I was going to present. Then, based off of this outline, I made several note cards summarizing the speech's content. Along with these preparations, I also intended to solve the problem of an effective visual aid being excluded from my previous speech. To correct this issue I created a powerpoint that appropriately corresponded with the material in both my outline and my notecards. In addition to having better prepared the material of the presentation, I also practiced the delivery of the actual speech. After presenting the speech I was able to analyze components of the speech, such as fillers. Although the "likes" and "ums" were slightly less prevalent in my second speech, they were still noticeably existent. I identified for future presentations that this is an issue that must be worked on for the credibility of the speaker. The attention getter, on the other hand, was a problem I was able to solve in my second speech. Starting off the presentation with an effective attention getter helped to increase the interest of my audience. Although there was much progress made from my first speech to my second, there is undoubtedly multiple elements that I both need to and aim to improve for future presentations.