Critique of a Speaker

Critique of a Speaker: In the Spotlight

Introduction

In the Spotlight is a four-minute informative video that is delivered by a teacher. The speaker discusses her fear of public speaking in her earlier years. The video is listed among other library videos on the student portal.

Video Link:

https://fod-infobase-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=49187&tScript=0#

Content

The introduction of the video captures the audience’s attention. The speaker begins by explaining her past fear of being in the spotlight. The speaker’s fear of attention in her younger years is explained thoroughly. The speaker explains the various activities that she engaged in to remain fearless while in the limelight. The topic is ideal for the audience because it addresses the likely occurrence of a similar scenario among other members of the audience. Both young and old people often encounter the fear of speaking in public (Gershman, 2019). This common occurrence makes the topic relevant for different members of the audience. The personalization of the content allows the members of the audience to relate to the speaker’s past predicament. To improve the topic’s relevance, the speaker should provide the audience with tips for reducing, overcoming, or coping with the fear of public speaking (National Social Anxiety Center, 2016). Such information would have benefitted the audience further.

Delivery

The delivery of the content was exemplary. The volume of the speaker was audible enough for the entire audience. The speaking rate was good enough because it enabled individuals to keep up with the speaker. The chosen words were simple. The speaker used different intonations while speaking to express varying emotions, such as excitement and disappointment. The gestures and movements of the speaker were in tandem with the different parts of the speech. The facial expressions matched the specific emotions that the speaker intended to communicate. The hand gestures also rhymed with the speech’s different parts. They did not distract the audience from the main message. Instead, they enhanced the delivery process. The speaker also maintained eye contact with the audience, which communicated the actual lack of fear for speaking in public. The light background illuminated the speaker’s space and enhanced visibility. This ensured that the viewers could see the speaker clearly. The consistent eye contact showed the speaker’s confidence and mastery of the topic.

However, the enhancement of the delivery process would have been further achieved through visual tools. The background image is a global map, which does not capture the audience’s interest. Such elements can cause the audience to remember the important aspects of the speech. Visual aids that could have been used include images of the speaker while younger, images of the speaker’s colleagues while rehearsing or recording, and animations that could describe the fear of public speaking. Such visual elements would have made the speech more entertaining and memorable (Department of Communication, 2021).

Conclusion

The speaker effectively delivered the message through the video. This conclusion is based on the content and delivery. The topic that the speaker chooses to discuss is relevant to the audience due to its prevalence in society. The fear of speaking in public affects the young and the old. The speaker’s decision to share the personal experience with this fear is encouraging to the audience. The speaker uses varying hand gestures and facial expressions to communicate to the audience that there is hope for each person who may be encountering the issue. However, the audience is compelled to listen to the video severally to understand the speaker’s coping strategies.

References

Department of Communication. (2021). Visual Aids. Retrieved from https://www.comm.pitt.edu/visual-aids

Gershman, S. (2019). To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking, Stop Thinking About Yourself. Harvard Business Review.

National Social Anxiety Center. (2016). Public Speaking Anxiety.

 Critique of a Speaker

For this assignment, you are going to evaluate the verbal and nonverbal aspects of a speaker’s presentation. An evaluation form is provided below to help guide this assessment of the content (what is being said) and the delivery (how it is said).

You have the option to go out and observe a live event, or you can watch one of the speeches from the Library Video Options provided below. The link will take you to a collection of student speeches. The recordings are classified as informative or persuasive; you are free to choose either type.

Library Video Options: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/rasmussen.edu?url=https%3a%2f%2ffod.infobase.com%2fPortalPlaylists.aspx%3fseriesID%3d24969%26wID%3d106986

Do the following, to complete this assignment:

• Print out the Speaker Critique Form (linked above), and familiarize yourself with the elements of the presentation that you will be assessing.
• View a presentation, a lecture, a sermon, or some sort of public speaking event. A live event would be great, but one of the Library Video Options (linked above) is acceptable.
• During the presentation, complete the Speaker Critique Form; consider including notes to help you remember specific details later.

Using proper spelling and grammar, that addresses the following:

Critique of a Speaker

• Provide an introduction describing who spoke, what they spoke about, and where you heard the presentation. If you chose to use a library video, be sure to clearly identify its title and provide a link to the specific video within the series.
• After the introduction, talk about what parts of the content were done well and what the speaker could have done better. Address at least 2 different elements of content.
• Next, talk about what parts of the delivery were done well and what the speaker could have done better. Address at least 2 different elements of delivery.
• End with a conclusive paragraph, giving your opinion about whether the speaker was effective or not. Explain your reasoning.