•      The first prevalent difference between the speech and monologue is that the Speech takes more preparation. For the monologue you’re emulating and portraying a character, for the speech you’re sort of being your own. I thought I did well on the monologue but my delivery for the personal speech was less effective. It was easier being another person than being myself in front of a crowd of people.
•     Honestly, it’s just embarrassing to watch at first. I did take away some valuable notes from this. I need to correct certain parts of my posture and my vocal pitch stays too low at times. The part that assailed of the effectiveness of my own speech was the use of filler words. Every time I heard myself use “uh” I didn’t want to listen to myself speak. I think I sent my speech to the grave with how many times I used “uh.” I was satisfied at certain points in my speech where I thought I was convincing, I also thought I had an overall good pace.
•      Qualities in my classmates that made their speeches engaging was their use of vocal variety and tone. Most of them had a interesting content and felt comfortable enough to share their stories. Most were straight to the point and it was easy to follow. There were a few who, dragged on and either spoke too slowly or too quickly.
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  Stated earlier my use of “uh” and not being able to connect my points quick enough really sent my speech to the grave. I hope to improve upon it next time.

This blog was very different from our assignment, the monologue, one because obviously one was my own words and the other was not and two because with the Personal speech i was able to be much more flexible and it was much more natural because it is something i experienced.  I was able to be more extemporaneous and i didn’t have to try to remember my lines because it was something that happened to me.

When i watched the video of my presentation, i saw for the first time how i speak in front of an audience, i saw how i use my hands and how i sound when im up. Watching it the first time it was funny to see myself and i was a pretty harsh critic. Although after taking in the information and watching it again, I feel i didnt do as bad as i thought. If i used more eye contact and talked to the entire room instead of one part it would have been better. Also, a breath here and there would have been very helpful when my voice was breaking up. I can tell by my voice i was kind of nervous but as i speak more that will go away. Overall, i feel watching myself really did help me in knowing how to do a better presentation for future assignments.

What my peers did that got me really engaged in their personal speech was when they got really into their story and got emotional. When the story got personal and they were passionate about what they experienced it got me very into it. Also the use of humor had me engaged with the speaker as well.

This picture represents my speech because going up i was very nervous, and i didnt think i was very well prepared and knowing that a video camera  was recording me added to the pressure, but during the speech i got a little more comfortable and although i stumbled here and there it looked like it went better than i thought it would.

Often, when I plug in my headphones, I feel as if I am in my own personal little bubble. As I watched my speech, my bubble burst as my roommate asked, “are you okay, Val?” I realized then that I was no longer in my little bubble and in fact, my inward commentary was audible to the world around me. I was not “okay,” as I moaned and groaned in disgust of my own speech. I felt as if I were a child as I peeked through my hands to watch myself present.   Unlike the monologue, in which the ideas and words were not my own, this presentation was a direct reflection of who I am as a person. Having to share intimate experiences with classmates was challenging, but in the end, beneficial. The negative aspects of my speech stuck out to me like a sore thumb, unfortunately. I know that I speak fast, I’ve always been a bit of a blabber mouth; however, now, I understand how this is distracting. As I watched my speech, knowing exactly what the content was, even I had trouble at times keeping up with myself. I realize now that this is distracting because it forces the audience  to keep up with the words rather than the content.  I also noticed that when I was reading from cards, my words came out faster than when I was speaking more freely. From this point forward,  a more extemporaneous approach to speech giving would work best for me. What I feel I achieved successfully in my speech body language. For example, I pivoted my body to engage both sides of the room, used natural/conversational hand gestures, and made eye contact with the entire audience. Also, I had inflection in my tone and used vocal variety in my pitch. Using these types of stylistic elements makes  a speech more engaging. As a member of the audience, those who used these approaches made the speech more interesting. I also liked when the opening sentence made the audience reflect on past experiences or values, for this made me want to listen in. I found it hard to continue listening if a speech was too long or a tad artificial. A shorter, yet to the point speech, that didn’t sugar coat too much were the types of speeches that I was really invested in. By a non sugar coated speech, I mean one in which details weren’t added just to take up time and the content was to the point and easy to follow. Although nerve-wracking, this was a beneficial experience to have. From now on, I will look back upon this speech to remember what works and what does not.

-Valerie Auciello

Personally, I liked the personal speech better than the monologue. I think the monologue was a little more intimidating to do. This is because we had to memorize it and on top of that, we had to act it out. The personal speech allowed us to have index cards to help us. It was easier to talk about myself than to pretend to be someone else. Theater is not my thing. Had I not watched the video of my speech, I would never notice the things I did wrong. It gave me a new perspective. I realized what things worked and what didn’t. Firstly, I realized that I wasn’t as “awkward” as I thought I was. I thought I looked at my index cards too frequently, but upon watching my video, I realized it was fine. But, I noticed I didn’t have a strong posture. I had one leg kicked back and it didn’t look professional. I sounded scared to be speaking and I don’t want that to happen in any future speeches. Also upon watching my speech, I realized what posture, gestures, and tones would be better. I am definitely going to use that for future references. The personal speeches of my classmates that were either I could connect to or really personal were really engaging. Good introductions also kept me engaged. If the speaker was passionate, it made me want to listen. Any speaker who mumbled or didn’t have a strong introduction turned me away from listening. Also, if the topic of the speech was something I didn’t enjoy or I could in no way relate back to me, I didn’t really want to listen. One thing I found interesting about my own presentation was I had prepared to look at my friends, but I ended up making eye contact with people I barely speak to. It made it much easier to speak. I won’t lie, I was extremely nervous about speaking. However, once I got up and began my speech, it just flowed smoothly. I felt the same way about to monologue as well. I’d rather give a speech than perform a monologue though.

The personal story, in my opinion was a lot easier than the monologue. First of all, we had index cards available. So when my mind blanked out for a split second, I had something to keep me on track. With the monologue, I was constantly forgetting the next line, even though I memorized it. I also believe that my nerves had to do with that. Also, the personal story is about me. The monologue, although I believed in the message it was conveying, was more forced. They weren’t my words, and I think it took away from the presentation a bit. The personal speech was much more natural, because obviously I know what happened, and I can speak about it without worrying about forgetting anything. I felt more comfortable in that sense. However, there was a larger sense of vulnerability that I felt with the personal speech. I was speaking on a topic that was very close to my heart and had a big emotional effect on me. It made me feel very exposed, and to a certain extent, it was a little uncomfortable.
After watching my video, I saw how stiff I looked. In my opinion, the speech itself wasn’t bad, but my physical presentation could definitely use some work. I looked like I was clinging onto my index cards for dear life, and the way I was standing didn’t say anything about my confidence. I definitely need to start taking deep breaths before I start speaking because my nerves were clearly visible. Towards the end, my volume started to drop, and that’s something I need to work on too. To be honest, I didn’t even notice any of these things when I was speaking.
The image below shows how I jumped out of my comfort zone to do this speech. I found myself feeling really uncomfortable standing and speaking in front of everyone, but after it was over, I was proud that I got through it.

Thulasi Pius

Giving the personal speech in class was a very different experience for me compared to our monologues.  The monologues were fun to do when we really got into it.  Honestly I was a nervous wreck before giving my personal speech and it was not fun.  I started out thinking I was going to be fine because I believed in the message I was giving and I had gotten my speech memorized perfectly but that was not the case.  After going up there and being put on the spot made me hesitant in what I was saying.  The difference in the two speeches was most likely the content and the way the speeches were prepared.  The monologues were written for us and the emotions are already put into it, all we had to do was deliver it.  Our personal speeches however, had to be about us and we had to put in what emotions we wanted the audience to see.  Watching my speech made me realize a lot of things that I was doing wrong.   When delivering the speech I never realized that I swayed left to right.  After watching the video I saw how I shifted for right to left almost every other sentence.  I also need to work on my volume.  I couldn’t hear me speaking in the video with my earphones.  I had to watch it on my desktop with my speakers.  Volume is definitely a problem that I’m going to have to fix.  Watching everyone else’s speeches made me realize the issues that I have to work on.  They talked clearly and with very strong posture.  It drew you into the speech and made you want to listen.  Watching my self trip up on words and fidget every now and then made me realize a big factor that I was missing.  Confidence.  I need to work on handling my nerves when in front of an audience.  That is one of the biggest feats that I need to overcome to be successful in public speaking.  Some things that really make a speech unbearable is being monotone and adding in unnecessary “ums”and “likes”.  It makes the speech boring and the speakers doesn’t fully reach the audience.  The image below portrays how my nerves get to me once I get in front of the crowd, no matter how prepared I am.

Mark Komar

The thing that was most different in performing these two oral presentations would be the emotions involved. For the monologue, you had to try and guess what the emotions of the character were. With the personal speech, it was easier to portray because we understood where it was coming from. The personal speech also allowed for us to share with the class something we’ve dealt with that’s changed us. It also gave insight to who we really are based on that experience. Listening to my speech again I asked myself: “Is that how I really sound?” I noticed I had good eye contact with the audience, but I swayed from side to side. It’s something I do when I’m nervous, although I shouldn’t be. I’ve talked to almost all of the class and I would say, for the most part, I’m comfortable. However, it was the idea of being put on the spot that made me nervous. I should have practiced more because I looked at the cards more than I thought I would have to. Also, at certain parts I was stuck on words and it took a while to recover from the pause. I felt like I could have done more with my gestures and I didn’t need to stand in one spot. I could have paced, but no excessively. Overall I was dissatisfied with my own speech, but the class had some great speeches. They had great introductions, which quickly got my attention on what they had to say. I also wanted to listen more because of how personal some were. Although the emotions I felt were nowhere close to what they experienced, it gave me a good idea of what the experience was like. I liked the jokes that some speeches had. I felt that was a good way to keep the audience interested. Some things that didn’t work were that some speeches were too slow with too many pauses, and others were too quick to keep up with. Also too many vocal fillers broke down the central idea of what the speaker was trying to say. The picture included represents me being put on the spot in front of everyone.

I personally found that the personal speech was easier to do than the monologue. I find it very useful to have personal flash cards in front of you in order to help yourself remember all the main point you want to address during the speech. In this aspect, you can write down key ideas on the flash cards that will help you transition to the next idea during the speech. However this can be a disadvantage as well. I noticed, while watching my own personal speech video, that I sometimes overused the flashcards to my advantage. For example, my eye contact would be constantly glancing at the flash cards in my hands. In my next speech, it’s essential that I use more eye contact with the audience, as well as having a looser posture. In the video it seemed as if I was stuck in one position, so next time, I would like to see myself move around more, with the use of more hand gestures as well. I am overall happy with my loud tone of voice during the speech, but at some points my voice was trembling. This diminishes my convincing arguments if I do not have a confident voice. Therefore, I need to work on improving my confidence level during speeches. I noticed that a lot of my fellow students used questions in order to grasp the listener’s attention and get them intrigued to listen on. This is a very efficient way to begin a speech strongly. However some things that does not help contribute positively to a speech are vocal filler such as “um” or “like”, as well as speaking in a too fast manner. These things cause the listener to not want to listen on.  Lastly the image below that I have included shows that it is essential to get over any stage fright fears and to present your speech in a confident and professional manner. 

• Kevin Oberman
• My personal speech was a completely different experience than my monologue in several ways. In the monologue it was purely memorized, I did not have to deliver any of my personal ideals in a specific way, because the writer of the piece already did it for me. In the monologue, I was mainly focused on not messing up the words and delivering it in a dramatic way. In the personal speech however, I was focused on delivering my message in a way that would engage the audience and make my transitions clear, and having an overall powerful message. After watching my presentation video again, I noticed some things that I did not notice while I was presenting. For example, I noticed that I was constantly swaying back and forth throughout the duration of the speech. Also, I noticed that at some points of the speech, my voice was trembling a bit. Both of these things made my speech seem less convincing and make me seem less confident in the message I was trying to convey. For me, the thing that always engaged me in my classmates’ speech was a good introduction and emotional content. I felt more inclined to listen to the speeches that were personal and heartfelt. The speeches that were emotional felt more genuine and sincere, thus making it more engaging. The thing that made a speech less engaging was when the speaker used words such as “um” or “like”. This made the speech sound less professional and less prepared. Also, the pace of the speech is very important. When a speech is too slow or too fast, it either becomes boring or too hard to keep up with.

This picture applies to me because my main problem is being nervous. It is hard for me to keep my nerves under control even though I am confident in my material and I am confident in presenting my ideas. If i can stop my nervous fidgets and keep my voice level, I can be more successful in my speeches.