My Off Hand Speech

Good afternoon, my dear friends! 

How are you? I`m longing for true spring! April is already here, but we still enjoy nasty winter weather in Novosibirsk(( Spring, where are you? You have to be a little bit quicker☺

Nevertheless, we keep on with our studies in all kinds of weather! Today I`d like to present you my off hand speech which I delivered last time during our oratory class. I should say that it was a complicated task, because we had no time at all (!!) to concentrate and prepare our speeches. We worked in the format of "Uncompleted Sentences". It means that we received a random part of a sentence from our professor and then we had to finish it, developing our idea in a 1 minute speech. Our oratory classes are full of challenges and unexpected tasks, that`s why I like them)) They really help me to be stronger) My first part of an uncompleted sentence was: "I hope that I can..."

Here is the video of my off hand speech👇

As usual, I`d like to make a self-analysis of my speech using the "Self-Evaluation. Know thyself" chart. Let`s go!✌

1. Did you make an effort to gain the mental attention of your audience in the introduction to your speech? My speech was very short this time, so I can`t say that I had a clear introduction, a main body and a conclusion. Also it was difficult to remember about the structure of the speech in such stressful situation. I didn`t have a clear attention-getter at the beginnig of my speech, but I should admit that at least I tried to involve the audience in my speech, to make the topic closer to everyone. I said: "I hope that I can overcome my fear of public speaking, and I think that all of you hope the same". With the help of this phrase my audience and I became united. I think that it helped to get people`s attention, because they began smiling, laughing, so they shared this idea with me. Then I gave some examples: "We write our blogs, we communicate to with each other, go on these course just to make it real", which also involved the audience in what I was talking about.

2. Did you clearly state your topic or question? Actually I had to finish an uncompleted sentence, and that very sentence was the topic of my speech. I stated it like that: "I hope that I can overcome my fear of public speaking". I think that my topic was rather clear throughout my speech, because I said which steps I`d follow to avoid my fear of public speaking and also I explained why is it important for me("I`d like to be a teacher...").

3. Did you map the direction your speech was taking? Unfortunately, no, I didn`t. I didn`t have a preview of my speech and I didn`t tell the audience what I was going to talk about. But we had only one minute for our speech, it was off hand, so I don`t think that the preview was a necessary thinh in that case. My speech could be divided into the introduction (when I was trying to involve the audience), the main body (when I was talking about the importance of oratory skills and what I`m going to do to overcome my fear of public speaking) and the conclusion (where I tried to persuade the audience to do their best and exercise). So there was a kind of a certain directon my speech was taking.

4. Did you support the major ideas with examples, instances, facts, questions or proof? I think that my speech certainly lacked support. It wasn`t very personal, because I didn`t give any examples from my own experience. I could have given them when I was talking about the importance of public speaking, to tell the audience a short story or a situation from my life. I only gave some examples of what we did during our oratory course. I gave several theses in my speech, like "We need public speaking in all kinds of professions", "It`s essential in our life", but I didn`t provide the audience with clear and bright proof. And that is a serious drawback of my speech.

5. Did your speech have a conclusion (summary, action, appeal)? Yes, it did. I didn`t have a summary (because there was only 1 minute for the whole speech), but I did have action and appeal. I even used a gesture, when I was appealing the audience. I said: "I would like to say to you: always try to do your best and exercise!" Maybe it wasn`t enough to inspire the audience, but at least I try to make my speech important and useful.

6. List three areas of your last speech that you believe were the most effective.

• Organisation. I think that my speech was rather logical, it includes all the necessary parts and they were quite effective. Actually I am proud of it, because I thought that because of the lack of the time my speech would turn out to be confused and chaotic.
• Adherence to time requirements. I managed to present a well-organized speech with clear ideas in a ` minute, and it was complete. There wasn`t a feeling of an abrupt end. In general, I managed to deliver the most important ideas of mine on this very topic.
• Clear articulation. Everything was easy to understand, and I haven`t noticed any serious mistakes in pronunciation. My speech sound very pleasant to my ears.

7. List three weaknesses of your speech.

• Support. I`ve already mentioned that there weren`t enough examples, facts or stories. That`s why I consider my speech rather plain and not creative enough.
• Posture. During the whole speech my posture was closed! That`s a very bad thing! It ruins the impression completely. That`s strange, because I never strike such poses when I deliver a speech. What`s come over me??
• Gesturing. The same about gestures. I didn`t use them at all, which is also completely out of character for me. I used only one gesture in 1 minute! I guess that was because of my closed posture((

8. Pick one area of organization or content that you desire to improve in your next speech. I`d like to improve the support of my speech. I should use some facts or situations from my own experience. It will make my speech fresher, more creative and personal.

9. Pick one area of delivery you desire to improve in the next speech. I`d like to improve my posture in the next speech, definitely. In that very speech my posture was a complete failure!))

What do you make of my speech? Have you ever presented an off hand speech?

See you soon!✋