It is often useful to think about your speech once you have videotaped yourself or presented the speech in front of an audience. Unfortunately, it is difficult for most of us to know where to start in thinking about how to improve presentations. This form is intended as a starting point. You may find that some of the categories don't apply to your presentation or that some of the concepts are unfamiliar to you. The most important thing is that you take the time to reflect on what went well in your presentation and what you need to improve.

Topic selection

  1. ls the purpose of the presentation clear?

  2. Is this an appropriate topic and handling of the topic for the audience?

  3. Is the presentation appropriate for the assignment? (Meets time limits, covers the appropriate material, etc.)

 

Audience adaptation

  1. What persona (role) am I portraying in relation to the audience? (peer, expert, etc.)

  2. What tone am I using in the presentation?

  3. Who is my target audience? What am I doing to target them?

 

Outline

  1. Follows correct guidelines

  2. Easy to follow

  3. Followed in speech

 

Introduction

You should generally do 4 things in any presentation introduction.

  1. Attention getter: do I really pull the audience in?

  2. Introduce topic: do I make the topic clear, give background information?

  3. Establish credibility/goodwill: do I let the audience know why I chose the topic?

  4. Central idea/Preview: do I outline the main parts of the speech in one clear sentence?

 

Body

  1. Main point statements: do I have a sentence at the beginning of each main point that clearly explains what that section of the presentation will cover?

  2. Have I limited my main points 2-5?

  3. Is my presentation clearly organized and easy to follow? Could someone easily take notes based on the presentation?

  4. Do I cite sources in my presentation (as in an essay)? Are my sources considered credible?

  5. ls the topic well explained?

  6. Do I have transitions between all of the main sections of my speech?

 

Conclusion

You should generally do 2 things in any presentation conclusion:

  1. Do I have a clear summary of the speech?

  2. Do I have a strong closer prepared?

 

Delivery

  1. Did I maintain quality eye contact with my audience?

  2. Did I have vocal variety (didn't sound monotone)?

  3. Did I have controlled and beneficial movement (legs, hand gestures, facial expressions)?

  4. Did I have too many vocal fillers ("um", "uh", "like", etc.)?

  5. Did it seem like I had practiced the speech?

  6. Did I have good posture? Appear confident?

  7. Did I pronounce words correctly? Use proper grammar?

  8. Did I have the right choices for my appearance? Will it add to my credibility?

  9. Did I seem enthusiastic?

  10. Did I sound conversational (rather than reading or just "saying my lines")?

  11. Was I within the time limits allowed for this presentation?

 

Visual Aid

  1. Did the visual aid add to speech?

  2. Did it appear to be professional?

  3. Could everyone in the audience see the aid?

  4. Was the visual aid well used?

 

What Were My 3 Main Weaknesses?

1.

2.

3.

 

What Were My 3 Main Strengths?

1 .

2.

3.

 

Have I Gone To My Mentor or The WORD Studio To Practice?

___ Yes

___ No