Mike Huggard
Professor Sharon Sheranian
COMM 1020
Self Evaluation and Critique of “The Future of The Music Industry” (Informative Speech)
After careful review of my most recent speech I am quite thoroughly convinced that I am
capable of improvement, although there were some things about my speech that were done well.
All in all it was a learning experience to watch myself speak.
I was quite pleased with my introduction. I found the use of an audio/visual aid quite
stimulating. I began by playing guitar and I think it brought some energy, excitement, and
mystery to the subject. Unfortunately, I feel like I lost that when I began speaking. The verbal
portion of my introduction wasn’t very strong after my opening lines. My volume and
presentation made me seem unsure of myself. I found that interesting, because I was quite
confident in my subject and my research. This confidence was not manifested clearly and I failed
to maintain the bold, confident atmosphere set by the guitar.
The evidence and research for my subject was abundant, but as I stated earlier, it was
poorly processed and presented. It needed to sound less like a rambling opinion and more like a
well prepared speech. It was presented more like an idea that you would discuss at a café with a
friend rather than a properly formulated presentation.
One thing that did redeem the lack of formal presentation was the roadmap in the speech.
It laid out 3 main points, a struggling industry, struggling artist, and society’s reaction to the
current state of affairs in the music industry. It was quite clear and concise, I just wish the rest of
my speech would have been of that caliber. I transitioned to each topic with some sort of quote
from someone in the music industry. Im not sure if this was an effective strategy. They could be
seen by some as merely topic sentences. I’m personally undecided on the matter, but I think I
will try something new on future speeches. I was quite pleased to notice that I scanned the crowd
fairly frequently, though I could have smiled a bit more. Also, it was noteworthy that I used my
hands while listing things. I’m not sure if that is distracting or helpful for an audience, but it is
definitely something I do naturally.
As previously mentioned, I was very well studied on the matter and it was quite clear that
I was not struggling to find knowledge, but rather words to express the subject. Unfortunately
that does not result in a good speech. As I reviewed my speech I noticed just how often I use
filler words such as Ummm. I was also a bit too quiet. Although being calm is not a bad trait, a
quiet speaker does not exude an attitude of confidence or preparedness. The tone of my voice
also suggested that I was wavering, even though that was not truly my attitude. In future
speeches I need to speak up and add some enthusiasm to my voice, as well as my face. I would
say that being animated and smiling during a speech is a good game plan. On the subject of game
plans, I failed to follow through on my entire speech outline because I ran out of time. This is
definitely an issue that requires serious attention. I will have to rehearse more for future speeches
to assure that I can give my entire speech in the allotted time. I think practicing my speeches will
help me overcome most, if not all, of the obstacles mentioned. I know that I found a lot wrong
with my speech, but watching it has motivated me to be a better speaker. I am improving day by
day. I will be a great public speaker.