Introduction Speech

The Introduction Speech did not take too much preparation because it was a short minute informative speech about myself. Since the speech was about myself, I did not have to do any additional research which made preparation easy. During the process of preparing my speech, I learned that it was very important to only include vital and interesting information order to keep it within the time limit and to keep the audience engaged at the same time. I realized that including “fluff” information only distracts the audience and can sometimes even bore and disengage them from the speaker.

I thought that that this speech was somewhat fun in that it was a fun way of getting to know my classmates. Also, a lot of people shared their activities during the summer (which consisted of a lot of traveling) which was also very interesting to listen to. This introductory speech was important to me because this was my classmates “first impression” of me. It was also a chance for me my classmates to get to know me better being that I did not know any of them. 

As for my speech, I was able to make eye contact with my peers instead of reading off my notes. However, for my next speech I hope to slow down when I talk and use less “um’s” and “likes.” I was initially nervous but as I continued my speech, I found it comforting when the audience interacted with me by making eye contact, nodding, and smiling. Overall, I thought that audience engagement was very important to me in that it helped me feel less nervous.