Public Speaking Self Evaluation Report

Self-evaluation

Explanation Speech

Lucía Skinner

Comm 001

Public Speaking

T/Th, 12:40

On November 18, 2014, I shared with the class a brief history of the Drug Cartel in South America and the USA as my assignment for the Speech to Explain. I started to research about the topic about 5 weeks before the speech was presented. Although my research turn to be very interesting and rich, I believe that I went too deep on it, what made the selections of main topics difficult.

I knew that the topic was going to be interesting for the audience, therefore, I did my best on adjusting the speech and choosing the most relevant issues for them. I selected, from each story, the pieces that I thought were somewhat familiar to the public. I spoke about the main cartels in the region and left out all the small cartels that are part of the big trafficking network.

My audience recognized some of the authoritative sources what made easier for me to keep moving forward with the speech. With regards to the delivery of my ideas, I believe I used words and visual aids that helped the public to better understand, to follow, and remember. In fact, some people form the audience kept talking and asking questions. One of my strategies was to try to narrate a story instead of giving facts and dates only.

I started my presentation by reading some news from a newspaper about killings and tortures in the border. By the face and expression of the audience, I knew then that I had capture their attention. I felt much at ease and confident. In my closing, I quickly summarized the most important parts of my speech regardless the mismanagement of my time. My speech was too long, as it is a common and repetitive issue in my speeches, and I did not have time to go over some important