Self Evaluation

The purpose of my speech was to teach my audience how to shoot a basketball. Overall, I think I did a really good job at achieving what I set out to do. I demonstrate the correct way to shoot a basketball step-by-step and I really think that the audience learned from me. During the speech I was extremely nervous. I was not confident when I began but by the time I was reaching my conclusion I felt that I was confident and satisfied. I was glad that it was over but I was also not freaking out or anything.
If I had to give my speech all over again I would not change too much. When it comes to preparation I felt that I was very prepared. I practiced my speech a little over ten times in front of a few different audiences. These audiences included my roommates, friends and family members. When it comes to support I would have researched the topic a little more and gained some more support. This is one factor I definitely feel I could improve on. The organization of my speech was good I think. I thought I presented myself and my topic in an easily understandable manner. My delivery was okay I think. I thought I did okay when I presented, and when I watched the tape afterwards I still felt the same. It was nowhere near perfect but it was alright. I had some awkward pauses and I would have definitely fixed those and I also turned my back on the audience at one point and I felt that was a big mistake (even though it was only for a second).
A goal I have for improving the content of my next speech is that I would like to better incorporate my sources. During the demonstration speech I felt I did a poor job at this. Next time I would like to include my sources, so that they flow with my speech, and cite them so that my audience can hear and understand them. A goal that I have for improving the delivery of my next speech is that I plan on not pausing so much. I thought that I had a lot of awkward pauses and I know that I can improve in that area greatly.
The first thing that I noticed about the delivery of my speech was that I tripped over my words a few times, very noticeably, and that this is one thing I can really improve on for my next speech. I also noticed that I turned my back on the audience during the delivery of the speech. This is really bad in my mind. This is something I really didn’t mean to do and I would never do again. I really think that the only reason I did this was because I was extremely nervous. During all of the times I practiced my speech I never turned my back on the audience, and this is why I was so surprised that I did it during my speech.
The most distracting thing that I think I did during the speech was when I turned my back on the audience. I also was doing a few hand gestures with my note cards while I was talking. I would raise them in the air at times and that was really distracting to me so I’m sure that this was distracting to my audience as well. I would rate my eye contact level a 8. This is because while I was delivering the speech I felt that I was looking at the audience the majority of the time. I did refer to my note cards a lot but as I saw on the tape, I only glanced at them; I did not read off of them. I was looking at the audience the entire time I was demonstrating the way to correctly shoot a basketball. This is especially why I gave myself such a high score.
I only cited two sources. I had originally planned on citing four sources but I cut out two during the end because I was getting nervous that I wasn’t making the time. I saw the paper telling me that I had 4 minutes left so I rushed through my last point and conclusion, which included my last two sources.
Overall, I would give myself an A-. I thought I gave a very good speech and had a strong delivery, despite a few mishaps. As a whole, I felt that I did a good job because I really showed the audience how to shoot a basketball. I think I deserve such a good grade because I broke down the procedure to my audience and I feel that I achieved my purpose. I did not deliver my speech perfectly but I did a good job. My eye contact was good, my confidence grew throughout the speech, I presented my PowerPoint well, and I did not read off my note cards.