The Public Enemy 

Throughout my high school career I was always regarded as an elite public speaker. However, like everyone there are definitely strengths and weaknesses to my public speaking ability.

My strengths consist of making good eye contact, connecting with the audience, and using an effective tone. Often when giving a speech I will memorize the material in order to ensure that I will always be making eye contact with the audience instead of looking down at note cards. This plays into my next strength which is my ability to connect to the audience. I have the ability to make everyone in the audience feel like I am speaking directly to them. Additionally, my effective tones plays into this as well. By using various tones I can keep the audience interested while at the same time make each audience member feel like I am speaking directly to them.

Nevertheless, even great public speakers like the President has his flaws. One of mine is the repeated use of hand gestures. I often use the same signals over and over again, which can be effective at times, but not in all situations. Another weakness that I possess is a rigid body. Although this is not so drastic that the audience notices, I feel like I would benefit from becoming more fluid in my overall movement. I believe that having the ability to walk across the stage would be beneficial. Often I focus so much on remembering the information that I lose this ability.

Both of these weaknesses can only be fixed by repeated practice. I am now aware of them, which is the first step. Now I must make an active effort to improve these areas when preparing to deliver a speech.

Overall, I love giving public speeches. This is due to the fact that I generally deliver them well and in turn receive great praise for my ability. However, each speech is still its own little challenge. There is always room for improvement in every aspect of my life including public speaking.