Task 1

Now is the time to take the first step in mastering this public speaking course. Like all training, this course starts with theory. After all, it is impossible to start practice anywhere without proper theoretical preparation. Theoretical training included studying the criteria for public speaking. The general requirements included a rather long list of criteria covering various aspects of a speech: the content of the speech, its logic, the vocal side of the speech and even the visual component. Some of these criteria were certainly familiar to me. I’d like to share with you some of the new and important things I learned.

• First of all, I realised that the introduction must be effective, that is, it must include a hook to grab the audience's attention, a transition to the thesis and the thesis itself. 
• Next, the presentation should be coherent and logical, the thought should run in a continuous line, like a sparkling and clear stream running through a field.
• In addition, only the brightest, most powerful and most recent examples should be used to back up your thoughts. 
• As for the conclusion, it should sum up the entire speech in a short but very precise and memorable way and should evoke certain emotions and motivate the listeners to action. 

All of this, of course, may seem very easy at first glance. When I looked at the criteria for the first time, I thought, "easy-peas, lemon squeezy." But when it comes to reviewing these requirements and making assessments based on them, some difficulties may arise.

I am of the opinion that people can rarely learn from their mistakes. Other people's mistakes are hardly worth talking about. Nevertheless, I tried to do the task to evaluate three 3 speeches taken from Toastmasters 2016 and tried to find things in them that I would borrow and that I would never do. I created a mini-rating of these speakers. Here it is: first place went to Darren Tay and his speech about the main buller in everyone's life. Second place went to Aaron Beverly with his speech on the importance of a few words and finally Josephine Lee came in third with a speech about friends.

With a serious air, I listened to everyone and gave my verdict. You can see the scores clearly.

Josephine Lee
1
Organisation - 18
Support - 10
Cohesion - 8
2
Vocal presentation - 17
Physical presentation - 20
3
Time - 5
Creativity - 7
Total - 85

Aaron Beverly
1
Organisation - 20
Support - 15
Cohesion - 10
2
Vocal presentation - 15
Physical presentation - 16
3
Time - 3
Creativity - 5
Total - 92

Darren Tay
1
Organisation - 19
Support - 13
Cohesion - 10
2
Vocal presentation -20
Physical presentation - 20
3
Time - 5
Creativity - 10
Total - 97

Let's look more closely at the speech I singled out as the best one.

This speech is the best and the most effective one in my opinion. And I can prove my point of view. Firstly, the beginning was quite interesting and allowed the speaker to capture the audience's attention by means of a look and an unusual action (the speaker wore an underwear over a suit! Can you imagine that? I would never do that, not for the world). Another hook followed - the words of his bully, Greg, leading up to the theme of the whole performance. This was done masterfully.

The structure of the entire speech was clear, although the speaker's remarks and reflections were visible, which fortunately did not become an obstacle for following the author's thought.

At the end of the speech there was a clear and accurate summary of the speech. The speaker even allowed the audience to finish the speech themselves and to run through the phrase in order to get to the heart of it once again.

However, the arguments in this speech did not seem quite sufficient to me. Compared to the second speaker, who presented a situation with a colleague, his own situation and proved his point with a brief experiment with the audience, this speech did not have as many strong arguments.

As for the voice, the speaker delivered the speech loudly, showed good pitch and used an acceptable speech tempo that made it understandable. The speaker's speech was clear and the intonation and emphasis were appropriate.

The appearance of the speaker was definitely memorable to the audience. Besides, he used appropriate gestures, reinforced his words with gestures and even sounds, constantly kept eye contact with the audience, and changed his postures and positions on stage to reach all the audience. His movements and postures were natural and unnoticed.The speaker managed to keep to the time limit and his speech was not prolonged. He was more creative than everyone else, and this was reflected in his appearance, his remarks and the structure of his thoughts.

In addition, I would like to respond to the ways in which he addressed the audience. He addressed them using the words: “my friends” or “dear friends”. While other speakers did not address them, or used formal addresses that did not attract the listeners. Moreover, Darren Tay spoke openly about his emotions, i.e. he was sincere with the audience and this was also an important factor in why I liked his speech more. These are the best tips I got from his speech. I hope one day it’ll help me.

To sum up, it was a small but important first step that had already incorporated both theory and practice and provided some tips and directions on the road to success. There is more to come.