As speakers, nothing gives feedback as well as video! Here I present a speech evaluation of a talk I delivered in 2013.
It was an Open House Toastmaster meeting. Several members and guests were present. I delivered a talk titled “Leadership Stomp.” All these years later I found the video, and I see what I did well, and where I could improve. I’m letting you in on my speech evaluation.
Speech Evaluation – What I Did Right
- Good topic for the audience – this is a club for leadership development.
- The speech is based on a story titled “Balloon Stomp.” Nothing influences and illustrates like a story.
- Good vocal variety
- Good use of pauses
- Good eye contact
- Little or no filler words
- A personal story further validating a point of the balloon story
- Good body language – especially demonstrating the little girl holding her balloon
- Good use of humor based on audience laughter
- No notes
- Dressed appropriately for the occasion
Speech Evaluation – What I Could Improve
- My introduction was embarrassingly long! OMG. Who was I trying to impress? An introduction should be no more than a minute – thirty seconds better.
- My voice kept dropping off at the end of important sentences. I still tend to do that when sharing something I believe important. Sometimes I’ll ask someone at the back of the room to let me know when I’m doing that so I can repeat and raise my voice.
- I kept tugging at my jacket.
- Adjusted my glasses a few times unnecessarily
- Did not keep my hands at my side when not gesturing meaningfully. That is still a challenge today
- I could have included another personal story to further validate another point of the balloon talk
- It would have been fun to include a real balloon to stomp.
- I think the two medallion necklaces could be removed before the talk. People might be distracted wonder what they mean.
Video is Valuable
When possible, have your speeches taped and hang on to them. They are not only helpful for a speech evaluation and improvement but also encouraging to see how you have developed as a speaker.
Here is the video:
