Recently in drama class, we finished our unit on infomercials. Our final task was to perform an infomercial in groups to expand our experience and practice in public speaking.
Reflecting on the unit, we were asked to answer three questions. What are my personal barriers that keep me from being a better public speaker? Sometimes I can tend to get self-conscious when I know a group of people are listening to me publicly speak. Occasionally, this causes me to look hesitant when speaking. Also, my speeches sometimes sound very robotic and scripted. This makes my speeches less interesting and less like I am speaking from the heart.
As for the second question, how could I break down these barriers? For my first barrier, I could try to overcome my stiffness by relaxing and moving around more, although not too much. I could also try making more eye contact so as not to look as awkward. Also, I think I should rely less on my cue-cards and notes and instead speak freely from the knowledge and thoughts I have. Usually, I try to memorize my written speech and try to remember it while I am speaking, but I think it would be much more beneficial for me if I could perform speeches a little more freely and less scripted. This would make me sound more natural and fluent in my speech, instead of robotic like how I usually sound.
Lastly, are they physical barriers or mental barriers? For the first point, I think fidgeting and feeling uncomfortable is part of a physical barrier. And on the other hand, for the second barrier, I think it is a bit of both. Memorizing a speech and performing it is more of a mental barrier in my opinion, because I try to remember my speech and perform it word for word in my head. However, looking at my cue-cards too much is more of the physical aspect of this barrier. Also, relying too much on my notes makes me less focused on my audience and not paying as much attention to them as I should be.
Here is the video below of me and my group presenting our infomercial, as the final project of this unit.