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Wow! That was tough. For the opening speech, I prepared for 3 days, had multiple rehearsals, including 2 video-taped ones. I mentioned in my previous chatter, that there are specific corrective steps I wanted to focus on for this speech. Vocal tone and body language. After reviewing the video of the speech at the meeting, I think I have made some progress in these areas. I want to briefly touch on my self evaluation. (note, the link to my opening speech will be available soon)
1. Vocal Tone and Enuciation. I took care to rehearse the enuciation of the words, to the point that one of the feedback I received is that I have overpronounced some words. True. Sometimes, I even intended so, because for those 'special' words, any other lazy enunciation would be unclear. And I think it's better to over-pronounce than speak lazily for a speech on stage. Compared to my first taped performance (Only Takes a Little), I have improved. However, compared to my last rehearsal of the opening speech (when there isn't an audience), the tone and enunciation was inferior. There is only one explanation. I was too nervous, and my mind lost focus. When I was rehearsing by myself, I could clearly hear myself think "hit that consonant loudly", "emphasize the LONG vowel", and "Slow down". On stage, those voices were overcome by nerves. So, the improvements were not pronounced. In fact, it became progressively worse towards the end of the speech. And, of course, during the 'non-prepared' portion of my TM role, I relapsed back to my old habits. So, what exactly was going through my mind?2. Body language and gestures. Throughout the 5 minutes of the opening speech, the reminder that kept playing back in my head was, "Don't bounce around nervously". And I must pat myself on the back. I managed to control the crazy guy inside of me, for the most part of the speech. I consciously would use only 1 hand at a time to gesticulate, unless two hands were absolutely necessary. And remembering to alternate my gesturing hand. I consciously did not bend my knees to avoid bouncing my body. And I consciously held my head steady and high, to avoid looking like a bobbing head. Even my wife said my gestures were greatly improved. Unfortunately, beyond the prepared speech, I went into the bad habit again with my body language. But hey...remember, baby steps. Because I made this baby step, I now feel motivated to practice for my next speech delivery. The next gesture I would want to work on is the 'snapping' of my hands. You can see it throughout the speech. The hand goes out, and I draw it back in immediately, as if it touched hot water. The better gesture that conveys more confidence, would be just let my hand stay out there for a moment, and withdrawing it smoothly. Once I am able to be more comfortable with my body language--on stage, that is-- then I can start reminding myself of my vocal tone and enunciation. I am confident that I'll be able to show improvement soon. |
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