Photofunia

Good afternoon!

Last week we received a very unusual task: we had to create a story, using our real and fake photos, and then to tell this very story to the audience. What do I mean by fake photos? We used this interesting website https://photofunia.com/ru to make them. There are lots of amuzing templates for all tastes) We had a lot of fun with these photos, really!☺So, our task was to prepare and deliver a story based on our photos, and the others were to guess which photos were real and which ones were fake. Here you can see my attempt to be the master of Photoshop))

Now let me present you my self-analysis of this speech. This time I`ll pay more attention to the introduction of my speech, because it was the topic of interest for us last week)

1. Did you make an effort to gain the mental attention of your audience in the introduction to your speech? Yes, I tried to make the introduction interesting and memorable for my audience. For this I used a kind of a thought, which I had come across the other day: "Travelling turns you into a storyteller". Then I made an attempt to unite the whole audience with the topic of my speech, to make a reference to the audience: "I think that it`s true to everyone, because all of us have hundreds of stories about our journeys, that we are eager to share with others. I even decided to start a special travel diary...". Then I showed that fake diary to my audience and said, "Now let me turn some of the pages and tell you 3 stories about my adventures in St. Petersburg". I think this introduction was quite a good start for my talk, because it was clear and to the point. There was even a kind of a metaphorical effect in it (about the pages of the diary), so it was unusual. However, I also believe that maybe I could have made my introduction a little bit longer. At home I actually had written more information for my introduction, but at the double-period I decided to make it it shorter. I became afraid that I would run out of time. But now I think that I should have stuck to the plan, it would be much better. In the original version of my introduction I was supposed to say a few words about people`s temptation to explore new places and to gain experience. That` s important, because I wanted to emphasize our common desire to travel, which again would have united me with my audience. Maybe it also would be better if I had used the other quote about travelling, especially of a famous person. Such quote would be more powerful and trustworthy for people. However, I`m proud of myself that I tried to use a kind of a quotation instead of asking questions (I usually ask questions at the introduction of my speeches). I should try and use other interesting attention-getters.

2. Did you clearly state your topic or question? No, I didn`t, but we were supposed to tell stories, so I think that it was fine. At the introduction I was talking about travelling ans stories about travelling. I also said that I was going to tell the audience some stories about my trip to St. Petersburg. So, it seems to me that everyone understood the topic of my speech. 

3. Did you map the direction your speech was taking? Yes, I did. I said that I was going to tell them 3 stories about my adventures in St. Petersburg and to show them some photos from my travel diary. 

4. Did you support the major ideas with examples, instances, facts, questions or proof? Yes, I did. I believe that my stories were very personal, with lots of colourful and funny examples. I used humour to make them more amuzing and vivid. I also gave my audience some facts about the city, for example: "St. Petersburg is rich in Irish culture. You can find lots of Irish pubs in the streets"; "You can see lots of street artists in Nevskiy avenue"; "They usually paint the views of Russian nature, cityscapes of Petersburg, ballerinas, flowers and cats" and so on. I hope that some of them were new and useful for my groupmates. The most important task of this speech was to amuze people, but I also included a bit of interesting factual information in it))

5. Did your speech have a conclusion (summary, action, appeal)? In my opinion, my conclusion was quite successful. Again I tried to involve people in my topic: "I hope that these stories won`t be the last about St. Petersburg, because I want to return there one day and maybe you will go there with me? My groupmates were smiling and nodding at that very moment, so I think that this suggestion of a journey together was nice. There were also action and appeal at the conclusion of my speech: "Just try and set off on a journey to this incredible Russian city and your travel diaries will be full of memorable and precious stories!" There is also a kind of a link to my travel diary and storytelling about travelling, which I was talking about at the introduction. 

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

• Facial expression. Usually I don`t like my facial expression during public speaking at all. But this time it was very nice. My face was relaxed and friendly. I smiled a lot!☺ 
• Support. All stories and photos which I prepared were connected with each other. I think they really helped me to draw the image of my trip to St.Petersburg. I told my groupmates a number of interesting facts about the city and suggested some places to go and things to do there. There were lots of personal examples and great stories. 
• Clear articulation. This time I liked my articulation and pronunciation a lot. Everything was easy to understand and without serious mistakes.

7. List three weaknesses of your speech.

• Tempo. Sometimes it was too fast and it made my speech difficult to understand and to follow.
• Emphasis. I had problems with it, because sometimes I emphasized the additional details, instead of the main ideas and information. It also made my speech strange and difficult to listen to sometimes. For example: "Just try and set off on a journey to this incredible Russian city..." The word "Russian" here shouldn`t be stressed that much.
• Eye contact. Again I have problems with looking at the audience during the whole speech. Sometimes I just looked around or at the ceiling. 

8. Pick one area of organization or content that you desire to improve in your next speech. I`d like to improve the organization of my speech. I`d like to use a new type of attention-getter in the introduction, like to make a reference or to tell a story.

9. Pick one area of delivery you desire to improve in the next speech. I`d like to improve my tempo in the next speech, because many people believe it to be too fast for complete understanding of my message.

What do you think about my speech? Have you ever tried to make such fake photos of yourself? If not, try it, it`s a lot of fun!