Christopher Betts

SPC 2023

Personal Reflection Essay

When it came to preparing for the introductory speech, I had to spend a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to share to the especially when most of them did not know me whatsoever. After long and hard thinking about the objects I wanted to bring in that would help reflect myself to the class I came up with three really good things in the end that ended up telling a lot about myself. I also have to admit I felt some anxiety before giving the speech to the class even though I feel as if I do not have much anxiety when it comes to speaking. I think the anxiety came from giving information about myself to a room full of people whom I am not familiar with. The thought of having a good first impression in front of all my classmates is where I believe most of the anxiety came from but after the first time getting through it I never found that to be the problem with the rest of my speeches. I have to admit that my public speaking skills have not gotten better as the more speeches were assigned. I am very disappointed in myself that I am currently not where I should be, especially being a senior in college. I need to prepare more thoroughly before speeches and make sure everything is not only organized on paper but in my head which involves having to practice over and over again by reciting my speech before class. I think this would help my speeches go smoother. I also need to pick topics to speak about that interest me, so that when I am up and speaking, I give off the impression to the audience that I am into the topic I am speaking about. I have failed to do this in my past speeches but I am determined to establish these qualities before my last speech being the ceremonial speech. I also have learned that I need to know my audience better and realize who I am talking about and be selective when choosing the words I use in my speech because in my past I have used words that might have been offensive even though I did not mean it in an offensive way. It is highly important that I change this because when I am in the business world next year, none of these flaws are acceptable and can make or break you and your future. I will finish strong this semester in public speaking by taking all my negatives and learning from them and making them positives in the end. I look forward to giving my last speech in this class.