Speeches to Entertain

I thought that every one did a great job, considering that this was the first time getting up in front of a new group of people and speaking.

Korie:  I thought her topic was really funny.  I liked that she asked questions "Have any of you lost a cell phone?  Have any of you dug through the subway trash to find a cell phone."  I think it would have been great if she would have called on Andrew and asked him about his experience digging through the trash.  It would have been a great way to lead into her speech.  I know April must not have enjoyed digging through the trash! :) 

Needs to work on slowing down.  

Whitney:  I thought she had a nice topic because she was writing about a movie and place that really inspired her.  I think that her visual was nice--everyone in the room was paying attention during that time.  And it was great that she introduced her visual.  I think she could work on tone and make sure that she emphasizes important parts in her speech.  

April:  I thought she did a really good job of speaking in a story-telling voice.  She used a lot of gestures throughout her speech which helped keep her audience's attention.  I think she could work on eye-contact a bit more and hold eye-contact for a longer period of time.

Zach: Zach had a great speaking voice.  It was loud and everyone could hear him.  I love the description of his arm breaking and the school nurse.  He got some laughs from this.   Good job.  Eye-contact and gestures need some work.  Overall, the audience was engaged and liked his speech.

Jessica:  I loved Jessica's quote at the beginning of her speech.  She seemed a bit timid and shy to tell this story about her first blind date.  That's okay, it's natural to feel this way when you are performing for the first time.  I liked her pace.  I thought she went slow and was careful to follow through with the lines of her speech.  I do think she will need to work on eye contact and pausing between questions to give her audience time to answer and respond.

Kellie:

I really enjoyed hearing this story about Danielle.  Most every one knows Danielle and could picture her popping up in someone else's tube.  I like that Kellie created suspense in her speech by discussing how she was a terrible swimmer and how Danielle was a great swimmer.  The audience was engaged and waiting for the embarrassing moment.  She had great tone and fluctuation in her voice.  She can work on eye-contact and making sure she slows down at the beginning of her speech.

Christopher Robin:

I thought your speech was great.  I wished that Chris would have included a visual--like the pictures of his ruined tires.  I think he would have got more laughs from that.  Chris needs to work on looking up and holding eye-contact for a longer period of time.  I think he needs to work on tone and consider fluctuation.  He naturally speaks in a soft tone so I think some of the word activities might help him feel more comfortable changing his speech.  Show a little more enthusiasm.  SMILE! :)

Great job overall!  I think by the end of this semester you will feel a lot more comfortable about speaking in front of a large group.  Keep it up!