Technical Speech for Non-Experts

First thing to note is the copious usage of "um"s within the first two minutes of this speech.  Also worthy of note is using "like."  It makes my credibility appear negative even though I am fully confident and knowledgeable of my topic.  These small extra words have developed into bad habits which need to be addressed for future speeches.  Another thing to pick at is how my body is oriented at a diagonal to the room.  I'm slightly faced to the left and I see the side of my head multiple times as I keep looking back.

The transition from the introduction with mentioning Stradivari to the actual presentation of how a violin produces sound was very staggered and cut.  It wasn't as smooth as I had hoped it to be when rehearsing.  I also appeared to be fascinated by the violin since I didn't make as much eye contact with the audience as Lauren mentioned.  It was difficult for me to maintain consistent eye contact since I had to hold the instrument and point out its various features. 

There were still several positive features about the presentations.  The show-and-tell aspect of the presentation was spot-on and very appropriate for a 6th grade audience.  Kids would understand the concepts and body parts of the violin more since there was an actual figure present rather than images.  I thought that describing the physics first and then talking about the parts was an effective, organized way of presenting the information.  However, I could have focused more on the body parts more than the physics.  The passage about the harmonics actually seemed extraneous relative to the presentation as a whole.  I felt it was there just for the "show" part in the show-and-tell.  Kids would probably find that harmonic concept/sound to be pretty intriguing.

Technical Speech (for Experts)

It's really incredible yet frustrating that I thought I made some eye contact during my speech when in actuality, I looked up only a handful amount.  Simply put, I need to practice more.  There were too many "umm"s spoken even when I was reading directly off the speech.  There were definitely some times when I could have moved away from the notes (maybe when describing the several parts of the violin).  

The content and structure were there.  I'm glad Mark noted the organization of my presentation because that was my intent:  to introduce the physics first and then going on describing how each part contributes to making sound.  I felt that was the best way to present the information without confusing my audience by switching around from physics to the violin and so forth.

I do think I have a strong and clear voice in my presentations.  The only things holding me back from a powerful presentation are confidence (through more practice) and less "umm"s.  Also, I talk a little too fast at times.  I noticed that other people have deliberate pauses, which are effective since it allows us  (the audience) to soak in what's being given to us.  Time in general seems way too quick during a speech.  Next time, I should utilize (only a few, of course) pauses to drive my message.  For me, it'll definitely feel like I've stopped talking for too long, but I think there is potential for this to work out.

Lauren and Haris suggested maybe that I bring my violin in to demonstrate the harmonics.  I was thinking about doing that for my non-expert speech since it would be more visual and direct.  Since this speech was for experts, I thought I could describe only using words and images to demonstrate the concepts.

The main takeaways from this presentation are to look up more and make eye contact and be less reliant on the notes themselves.  Practice, practice, practice!