I never thought I had a problem with public speaking, but it seems that every time I have to present in front of a room full of people, I get tense and nervous.
I was pretty unhappy with my presentation on Thursday. I didn't have a hard copy with me so I had to retrieve the speech on my phone; that set me back a bit. I know I definitely rushed the speech, since it seemed short to me. I think I could have improved on my pace. Perhaps I was just nervous, so I rushed through my speech and I probably omitted a few things from my presentation since I was nervous. Next time, I know I will have to keep my pace steady so that I won't skip key points in my speech. To improve, I should have a timer and rehearse my speech, so I know that I'm not too fast or too slow. Rehearsing a day beforehand would help a lot and I should definitely know what I am talking about, or else I would risk rambling about something unrelated to my speech. Plus, I should do those tension-relieving exercises! Of course I don't think I can ever do those exercises in front of everyone..I'll go to the bathroom and shake away all the tension.
However, I did do at least some good things in my presentation. I engaged the audience, and I incorporated their input in my speech. I asked before hand if anyone knew where the name "SoHo" came from, sort of as a clincher to the speech. However, I did cut off a student just as they were about to finish their sentence. Again, I might have been more nervous than anything, so I didn't even realize I cut someone off! Then again, I was somewhat relieved that no one else engaged the audience. Engaging the audience made my speech stand out a bit more.
As for my vocal delivery, I believe I was loud and clear. Perhaps, when I hear myself talking, I seem loud. But I will try to speak louder just in case my voice is too soft.
Physically, I may have moved my hands a bit too much, and I definitely looked at the ceiling or the wall most of the times. Plus, I darted my eyes across the room rapidly, not taking a moment to look everyone in the eye. I just have a problem with making eye contact with everybody. I don't have problem making eye contact when I'm with a smaller group of people. I guess since I was technically the "center of attention" I felt like there was an invisible spotlight shining on me and I felt awkward looking at everybody. I should probably take my own advice about eye contact: look at the person's hair, or forehead. I know that I don't necessarily have to look at a person directly in the eyes. I can fake eye contact by looking somewhere near it.
Overall I believe my presentation was above average. There were some areas I definitely needed to improve upon, and some areas that I believe I did very well.
