Chad Philip Johnson
CMST60, Marks
November 23
rd
, 2010
Self-Evaluation Paper
Giving four speeches in class and afterward observing them like an audience
member has been a helpful and interesting experience. Messages that I felt would be
delivered successfully ended up falling flat, while others that I worried over turned out
positively at times. This has benefited me by allowing an assessment of the planning
and preparation stages along with the execution and result. Entering the class, I felt
that I was already a rather strong public speaker. Now I know more clearly the many
areas on which a person can focus when honing this skill. I am also aware which of
these areas I must improve upon to become a more effective public speaker.
I have had a number of opportunities in the past to get in front of people and
speak. Usually it was related to work and involved the demonstration of a procedure or
educating people on a subject. While this class did not introduce anything immediately
unfamiliar to me (such as getting in front of a group and doing something worthwhile
with everyone’s time), the objectivity of speechmaking was very much a new idea for
me. Along with this came learning many of the tools a speaker must employ when
crafting a message that is to be received by an audience of individuals—also a new
idea. In the past, I always felt confident in my ability to deliver a speech or give a
demonstration effectively, but now I realize that I did not generally concern myself with
the many speechmaking tools that have been brought up in this class. Knowing one’s
