The Lone Wolf Speech was a great opportunity to better understand the process of revision, as well as public speaking. Brainstorming for ideas was the first step of the process, I chose the topic of personal improvement so that was my diving platform. I asked myself what I wanted my life to be like in the future and what I could do to change myself. Personal goals and support systems were my main agenda. All of this is well and good but I needed structure in my speech, to form it into a cohesive and concise argument. 

The first time I read my speech out loud to my peers it was far longer than I was hoping, almost 6:30 minutes. It was less, me giving a speech, more me reading my computer screen word for word. I wasn’t connecting with my audience physically though eye contact and I wasn’t relating to my peers in my speech. I had time to make revisions however. I took my long wordy “Dry-Dry run” draft and created a bulleted outline with topic headings. This made for a much faster read, I was repeating myself less and I didn’t have to read my computer screen to know which part of the speech was coming next.

All things considered I feel much more confident in my ability to draft a speech and form a connection with my audience. I feel less of a need to look at my computer screen, giving myself more time to look up and address the audience. I know now to be more personable, use personal experiences to make your speech more appealing to listen to. Don’t forget to use words such as “us” and “we” to show that you are one with the audience. Talk with your chest and be confident in your abilities.