The Improvements On My Public Speaking Skills

Tom Peters: “Leaders do not create followers; they create more leaders.” This quote motivates me to strive to be a good leader every day. I do want to inspire those who are learning from me, not to be mere followers. This course has helped me improve in many areas of public speaking. My poor eye contacts, my shaky grip, and my shyness have all improved. These improvements are exactly the same as those in my CIP essay because I decided at the start of the year that these were the qualities and goals I wanted to improve.

This course has also helped me improve my researching skills, persuasive speaking skills, public speaking apprehension and other skills. First, I’d like to talk about public speaking anxiety. My last speech was a lot more relaxed and less swayed than my first one. In my final speech, I tried to make transitions by moving my feet a bit. This is something that Ms. Shanna has always said. I also wanted to improve my ability to say “like” or “as”. I knew that this would not affect our grade, but I still wanted to do better.

Second, I would say that my research skills have been significantly improved. I used to be able find academic sources, but they were not always easy to locate. Now I know how to search the database of my library, and any other database for academic sources in order to support my argument or paper. In addition, I learned how cite a reference correctly orally and in a document or speech. It is important to me because I will use this skill for the rest my life when giving public speeches. Citing your work will ensure you don’t plagiarise and it will also help your audience believe in you. Your credibility is your statement of truth and they can trust your opinion because of your personality and their influence on the world. As an example, professors, doctors and authors can all be considered credible sources.

My third goal is to improve my persuasive speech skills. The correct way to deliver a convincing speech as well as what is required to make it a powerful speech that will get others to follow you in your persuasion. In my learning, I discovered that you need Toulmin’s model in your persuasive speech. This includes a claim with evidence and credibility, as well as a warrant. Toulmin requires all these elements. Toulmin’s model has taught me how to give an effective persuasive speech while also stating the opposing side view.

Like everyone else, I’m not perfect. There are certain things I would have liked to improve. My nervousness is one of them. Although I think that I cannot control this, I do believe I’ve become less nervous over the last few weeks. I attribute this to the fact that the more people I talk in front the better I know them. My last speech was much more calm and relaxed. I also felt less fidgety. My speeches became less nerve-wracking as they progressed. As I practiced my speech more, I became more confident in my delivery. To calm my nerves, I also did anti-stress exercises before my speech. For example, taking a deep breathe and drinking tea.

Conclusion: I think I’ve improved on many of the flaws I had when I started this course. After I wrote my CIP report, I set goals for myself to improve on my lackluster eye contact, my shaky grip during my speeches, and the fact that i was so reserved and timid. This class taught me many things that I can use in the future. This class taught me a lot of things that I can use in the future, not only in speech classes but also in other classes and my communication skills. Roger Love says that “public speaking can be done to a person or thousands of people”.

Author

  • jacobcunningham

    Jacob Cunningham is a 26-year-old education blogger and teacher who resides in the Pacific Northwest. Jacob's teaching and writing focus on the use of technology in the classroom, and he is a frequent presenter at education conferences around the country. Jacob's work has been featured on sites such as The Huffington Post, Edutopia, and TechCrunch.

jacobcunningham

jacobcunningham

Jacob Cunningham is a 26-year-old education blogger and teacher who resides in the Pacific Northwest. Jacob's teaching and writing focus on the use of technology in the classroom, and he is a frequent presenter at education conferences around the country. Jacob's work has been featured on sites such as The Huffington Post, Edutopia, and TechCrunch.