Ben

OI#2 - Poetry Out Loud Assessment

In this assessment, I intend to critique and analyze the oral interpretation given on the 21st of September, 2009. I will critique the delivery of my performance, saying what I did well, and what I need to improve on. I will critique my selection, and state the impact that this performance had on me as a speaker. Regarding the performance, there were a few things I did well. I had a decent memorization of the intro, and I had a good tone. I liked the volume I put in at times, and the crescendos and decrescendos. There were slight changes in tempo, which added to the dramatic effect. But there were various things that could have been done better. At times, the volume should have been more exaggerated. Furthermore, I need to look up at the audience more, and the introduction should be better memorized. Enunciation should also be improved on and a steady volume should be worked on also. There were times when I was too soft at the end of a sentence to properly hear what I said. The selection itself was decently good. The poem, //Charge of the Light Brigade// had a good sense of rhythm, and I enjoyed the theme very well. War is something that is devastating, but war is also a force that gives us meaning. But it is disgusting to think that people can fight for such ideals – the very idea that you can kill for something so minuscule perverts the ideal itself. Nonetheless, even today, the idea of dying in war is one that is considered noble and honorable. From this performance, I have learned to truly appreciate poetry. Before, I have always enjoyed reading poetry, but I have never really tried to recite it. After this oral interpretation, I have realized that not only is writing and reading poetry an art, but reciting poetry itself is something that can be highly appreciated also. In the future, I will certainly try to recite some poetry to myself in my free time, and interpret it freely too. I still need to improve on my volume, and definitely my expression. I need to be more into the piece, more emotional, more expressive. However, I have improved a little in the control of my tempo, and more so in the control of unnecessary movements. Overall, I think I have gone one small step forward into becoming a better speaker. I think I deserve a B+ to an A range, probably in the A- range. There were things I did well, but there were also things I did badly.

**Oral Interpretation #3 Assessment** In this assessment, I will assess and critique the oral interpretation I did on the 15th of October. I will explain what I did well, what I did badly in, and other things to be improved on. This performance was, by far, the worst I have had yet. There were mistakes regarding memorization, and they were made obvious through my stumbling (0:39, 0:53, 0:58, 2:06). The text, particularly the introduction, needed to be memorized a lot more, and the poem needed to be more familiar to me. But this would not have been a problem if I did not make my mistakes obvious to the audience. Furthermore, eye contact could have been improved on, and there needs to be more work in nonverbal expression. I also sway a bit during the speech. The things I did well, however, were somewhat outshined by the things I did badly in. Nevertheless, there was a decent change in tempo/meter, as well as volume, although these weren’t made significant enough to be truly effective. After some consideration, I believe that my selection was not the best. Certain points in my poem were rather awkward and difficult to understand. I chose this piece because I believed strongly in what it emphasizes, and its message. However, because I was unable to perform it as I had envisioned it, a different piece may have been better. Nevertheless, the piece was decent, but my performance was not fitting for it. This performance had a great influence on me. It really showed me how important it was for any performer to have practice. Truly, “practice makes perfect.” If I had practiced more than I did, then my performance would have no doubt been better, my grade been higher. To me, this performance was probably the worst I have done yet, and I am determined to make my next grade much better. For my next performance I intend to work much harder towards memorization, and more importantly, on expression. Up until now, my performances have been very stone cold, and I need to make it warmer and livelier for the audience. As a performer, I have learned the importance of practice, and how vital it is that I “get out of my comfort zone,” and try my best to bring my piece to life for my audience. For my performance, I think I deserve somewhere between the C+ to B range, probably a B- or B. This performance was just horrible; I cannot see anything good about it.

Oral Interpretation #4 Assessment In this assessment, I will critique the performance of my Oral Interpretation #4 on the 22nd of October, 2009. I will assess my strengths and weaknesses in the performance, critique my selection, how I improved, and the impact of this performance on me. This performance was probably my best so far. There was a good voice variation, so it was easy to differentiate between Paul, John, and Majorie. The Majorie voice was particularly good because of the yelling. Besides that, the introduction was nicely memorized, and I was familiar enough with my piece to be able to look up for the majority of my performance. There was a decent attempt at creating hand gestures and body motions. However, there were some things that needed to be improved upon. I need to enunciate more, so my words come out more clearly. Furthermore, although I use some body language, I remain rather stiff throughout my performance, and my gestures seem unnatural. Overall, I thought my selection was a well chosen one. Although it may have been choppy at times due to the fact that it was cut from several chapters, overall, it was easy to understand and there was a flow to it. However, my introduction was flawed in that my selection was not introduced well enough. Ideally, at the end of my piece, my audience should have a sense of remorse, preferably moved to tears. But because my piece comes from the end of the novel, a lot of content needs to be covered in my introduction. My introduction does not do that, and thus, the effectiveness of my piece was greatly diminished. The performance was probably the best I have had so far. The days prior to the performance, I practiced a lot more than I did for my previous performances. Thus, this performance really taught me how important practice is. My previous performance taught me the horrors that occur when one does not practice. This performance taught me the wonders that occur when one does. Truly, practice makes perfect. For next time, I will try to loosen up my body, so that I do not appear so stiff during my future performances. Furthermore, I will try to work on my enunciation, so my words do not appear slurred. Overall, I have broken the barriers that I have had regarding voice variation, and getting in character. However, I have to improve even more before I am satisfied with my work. For this performance I think I deserve a B+ to A range, since this was my best so far, but there were still things that I needed to perfect. Hands On Speech Assessment In this assessment, I will critique and analyze the Hands On Speech presented on the 28th of October in Ms. Stewart-Ito’s period 8 Oral Communication class. I will analyze what I did well in, what I need to improve on, the quality of the selection, the impact of my performance on me, and the steps I will take to improve for the future. Overall, the speech was decent. The tone I used was very conversational, if not excessively. The hand gestures helped illustrate the task at hand. To improve things, there was humor in my speech, which helped attract and keep attention. The steps to loading and firing a musket were clearly illustrated through hand gestures and explanations, although my side comments may have muddled that up. However, there were things that I needed to improve on. Overall, it would have been better if I put more volume into my voice. In addition, although my side comments were humorous, they can be counted as distracting. In addition, there were times when I started laughing with the audience (due to the fact that I am the type of person to laugh with others), and also times in which I told them “Stop making me laugh!” This only helped to increase the distraction. I doubt anyone really remembered how to load and fire a musket over my excessive commentary on the side. Besides that, my speech went one minutes and thirteen seconds overtime – by far the longest overtime in that period, and probably the other period as well. My selection, how to load and fire a musket, was a rather interesting selection. It has no practical use in this day and age, but I attempted to make it seem important through the presentation of the zombie and time warp scenarios. Nevertheless, if I had chosen a more practical topic, my presentation may have seemed more relevant or more important. Overall, this performance had an interesting effect on me. I was happy with the amount of laughter it brought to the class, and how many people enjoyed it. However, I was worried about the overtime, and how distracting my side comments became. In the end, the audience remembered my side comments more than my presentation itself. I learned that although side comments are funny, they should be kept to a minimum so as to not distract the audience. For one thing, I definitely need to focus on staying in control of my time. My presentations so far have always been too long, so I need to work on that. On a good note, my hand gestures definitely improved in this performance, although that may be due to the fact that it was a “hands on” performance. Overall, I think I deserve between a B to a A- range, preferably a B+. Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8 English Inspirational Speech Assessment In this assessment, I will analyze and critique the Inspirational Speech given on the 9th of November, 2009. I will assess what I did well and what I did badly, as well as my selection, and the impact this performance has had on me. Overall, this speech was not the best I have given. However, there were things I did well in. For one thing, my voice remained decently strong and confident throughout the piece. I was not soft at all, anytime during the speech, so volume was a good thing. Also, the improvisation was nicely done, and there were very few areas in which I stumbled over my words. Nevertheless, there were many things that I could have done better. For one thing, I started off the speech with a decent pace. However, when I read my quotes, my speed accelerated, and thus, the clarity of my words decreased exponentially. Besides that, I could have enunciated more, so that my words were clearer. Speaking on a microphone was not easy, as there was an echo that I needed to account for. In addition, I was as stiff as always, and moved very little during my speech, and the times I did move were very awkward. My selection was a good one. However, I felt that it was not exactly the best, compared to those of my classmates. A lot of my classmates spoke of a loved one that passed away, or experienced a very dangerous affliction. This made me feel that my own topic, my transition from Ala Wai to Iolani, to be too shallow when compared to that of my classmates. However, overall, I am quite pleased with the Calvin Coolidge quote I found. The excerpt from the “We shall fight on the beaches” speech by Winston Churchill was excellent as well, but it was harder to relate. A better transition would have made it easier for the audience. Overall, this piece had a great impact on me as a performer. I realized how different microphone speaking is to regular speaking. Everything minor noise made is greatly magnified so that the audience can hear it. Furthermore, since there is a delay moment, there is a time between when you say something and when it actually projects to the audience. All this takes time getting used to. From this performance, I learned a lot about microphone speaking. For next time, I will try even harder to make myself less stiff, so that I appear more natural. In addition, I will try to enunciate more. Overall, this performance has made me more confident in my own abilities. I would give this speech around a B, since it was not my best performance.

Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8 What Makes Me Me Speech Assessment In this assessment, I plan to critique and assess the “What Makes Me Me” Culture Speech given on December 7, 2009. I will assess delivery, my selection, and discuss the overall impact this speech made on me, and how I improved as a performer. I will also note what steps I will take in order to ensure I improve for the future. This speech wasn’t exactly a very good one at all. But there were things that I did well. In terms of volume, there was quite a variation, and there was a nice variation is vocal expression as well. There was also a lot of exaggeration and use of different accents throughout the speech. The most notable thing however, is that I rarely looked down at my note card, and the majority of my speech was done without having to look down. That’s a big improvement from last time. However, this speech was overwhelmingly a disappointing one. Despite the variation in voice, there were segments, in which I started mumbling, which is absolutely horrible. Besides that, hand motions and gestures were very limited, and I was generally very stiff throughout the speech. My side comments were distracting and only served to lengthen my overall time, which, once more, was overtime. It’s quite sad. I am decently pleased with my selection. It was a pretty good one, although it needed some fixing before it could be properly presented. It may have been slightly confusing at a few times throughout the presentation, but overall, it was structured and followed a flow that was understandable to the audience. Overall, this speech had a great impact on me as a speaker. I realized that I need to stop inserting all those useless side comments that not only distract the audience, but also extend my time. Besides that, I really need to work on mumbling, as sometimes, I mumble, and the audience cannot understand me. Besides that, I still need to work on body language even more. For the next speech, I definitely want to work more on my side comments. In reducing my side comments, I can probably control my time better, so I won’t have unnecessary point deductions for overtime. Also, I will try to eliminate my mumbling. The long-term goal is to really get my body animated and not so stiff. For this speech, I would give myself a B, because it wasn’t exactly the best.

Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8 Impromptu Speech Self Assessment

In this assessment, I will critique and assess the impromptu speech given on the 14th of December, 2009. I will assess my delivery, commenting on the good things I did and the parts that I need to improve on. Furthermore, I will critique my piece, although in this circumstance, it would be more of my topic. Then, I will discuss the impact of the speech to me as a speaker, and also the steps I need to take to improve for the future. In this speech, there were numerous things I did well. For one thing, the entire speech had constant vocal strength. The volume of my voice did not decrease, but stayed at a constant, although a few times, it did go up or down. Besides that, there were some decent hand gestures, although there was a problem with them. Furthermore, I had some pretty good vocal expression near the end, although the beginning was a little bit flat. Overall, there were only a few pauses within the entire speech, which is pretty good for a first impromptu. There were also several things that I did badly in. For one thing, my vocal expression was pretty flat until near the end of the speech, leading up to my maniacal laughter. Also, my hand gestures tended to be little, and when there were hand gestures, they were crazy ones, in which my hands were waving around all over the place. That proved to be a bit distracting. Furthermore, I was a little repetitive with my points. Overall, I thought my topic was pretty good. It was pretty random, so it allowed a lot of different points to be brought up, and it was also challenging, as I had trouble recalling some information on the search for extraterrestrial life. The hardest thing for me was to remember what SETO stood for, which I never did recall. The topics other people got were really good, and I really wanted to do their topics as well. This speech/performance had a great impact on me. For one thing, I learned a lot about impromptu speeches, and it allowed me to practice my speaking skills in case I would have to speak to a group of people unrehearsed, or with very little preparation. Besides that, it was very different than the prepared speeches we have had for so long. Also, many of the topics were really random, and it was interesting to see what topic people got, and what their interpretation of the said topic was. Overall, I think I deserve a high B to a low A for this speech, because it was significantly harder, but also pretty good.

Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8 Book Talk Speech Self Assessment In this self-assessment, I will critique the Book Talk Speech given on the 13th of January, 2010. I will analyze the good and bad in my delivery, and I will critique my selection. I will also assess the impact this speech had on me as a performer, and the steps I will take to improve for the future. This speech, overall, was pretty well delivered. The volume of my voice was pretty constant throughout the speech, although it fluctuated occasionally for dramatic value. I spent a lot of time looking up, and eye contact was well maintained with the audience. Besides that, most of my words were pretty well enunciated so they came out rather clearly. There was some nice expression in my voice and body when I recited some of the quotes and reviews, although this was more so with my voice. Like all my other speeches, this speech also had its flaws. For one thing, even though I tried to stay in one place, there was still some blatant swaying. Also, some of my words came out rather unclear. Furthermore, at some points, I stumbled upon myself, so there were some unnecessary pauses here and there. Like most of my previous speeches, I went overtime, by around one minute, which is no small deal. My body expression was all rather dull, and used similar gestures each time. Overall, I think my selection was pretty good. __The Handmaid’s Tale__ was a brilliant novel, and it was definitely well written. My only problem was that it addressed some themes that were very awkward to talk about. For example, upon bringing up the topic of women’s rights and how women are treated in Gilead, most of the girls in the classroom immediately responded with disgust. However, what I had described was mild compared to the vivid descriptions in the novel. If those had been brought up, the repercussions would have been much larger. This speech has definitely been one that has impacted me. It was the first major persuasive speech we have done, based entirely off of a novel. Also, we had the question answer session, which challenged our skills in impromptu speaking. Overall, this speech was more of a double edged sword. However, I learned a lot from it. In order to improve for next time, I intend to focus more on minimizing my wordiness so that I won’t go over time. I think for this speech, I deserve a B+, as it was a pretty good speech, although there were some problems here and there that ought to be fixed.

Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8 Monologue Self Assessment In this self-assessment, I will critique and analyze the monologue performance on the 17th of February, 2010. I will note the good things I did, the bad things I did, and the things I could improve on. Also, I will reflect on the significance of this performance on me, and the steps I will take to make myself a better performer in the future. For this speech, there were many things that I did well. For one thing, I accomplished the feat of memorizing the entire speech, something of which I am rather proud of. Because of this, I did not have to look at my manuscript at all. Another thing I did well was the overall volume. My voice was almost always audible and it sounded strong. Furthermore, there was a good variation in my vocal expression. I started off sounding angry and displeased with Romeo, but in the end, I sounded comforting and kind, as I planned. As for body language, there was much more, although it was rather stiff. However, there were also many things that I did badly. There were times when my voice trailed off, so the audience could barely hear those last few words. Other times, I stumbled on my own words due to my memorization. Also, my body movements tended to be very stiff and not very realistic. However, with the Friar’s speech, there were not many hand gestures that I thought could have been done. Also, my introduction was rather choppy sometimes, probably because I made up most of it on the spot. Overall, I think my selection was pretty good. The character of the Friar fit me pretty well, I had the pope costume to go with it, and it was one that I could easily memorize. The only problem I had was that it did not allow me to go as crazy as I would have liked, for example, the Mercutio monologue. This monologue performance had a great impact on my as a performer. For one thing, this was the first time I completely memorized the manuscript, something that proved to be difficult, but rewarding. Also, this was also a performance where I put much more expression and emotion than normal. Body language also improved significantly. This performance showed me how the amount of practice had a direct relationship with the overall effectiveness of my speaking. For next time, in order to improve, I will focus on refining my expression and emotion, as well as practicing more. For this performance, I think I should get an A-, since it was pretty good, with many improvements.

Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8 Social Issues Speech Assessment In this self assessment, I will critique and assess the Social Issues Speech given on the 12th of March, 2010. I will discuss what I did well, and what I did badly. Then I will elaborate on how I can improve so that future presentations can be better. Finally, I will reflect on the impact this performance has had on me. Overall, this presentation wasn’t bad. There were numerous things that I did pretty well in. The most notable aspect that was better was the movement of my body and the body language that I had. Although overall, they were pretty simple gestures here and there, it was an improvement from by usual body language. Also, the fact that I had a partner (Nick) allowed us to use different little charades to attract the interest of the audience, and to keep them on the edges of their seats. Also, volume was good in most parts of the speech, as well as vocal expression. The evil laugh near the end, although unplanned, served a good purpose. Despite the good things that I did, there were also numerous bad things that I did. For one thing, enunciation was terrible, in that the audience probably could not hear clearly what was being said. This, I gathered, from the recording. There was also an odd background noise, although I think that was from the projector. Also, there were times when I was unsure of myself, leading to awkward pauses in the speech, although they were not for too long. For the next speech, I will do several things to ensure that I improve in terms of my speech. One of the things I will do is continue to refine my body language and hand gestures. That way, they will seem more natural. Also, I will work on maintaining a solid and strong voice at all times, so that the audience doesn’t have to struggle to hear me. This is because I tend to trail off at the end of my sentences, so the last few words are too quiet and unclear. Overall, this speech made a big impact on me. For one thing, this was the first partner speech that we’ve had this year, so it was a completely different experience from usual. The usual amount of work was distributed (almost) evenly between us, and instead of continuously speaking for four minutes, the time was distributed between us as well. Overall, though, it was a very fun experience. I think for this speech, I deserve around a B+ to an A-, as this speech went pretty well, but it wasn’t my best hit.

Ben Chao English 9 – Stewart-Ito Period 8  Call to Arms Speech Assessment  In this assessment, I will analyze and critique the Call to Arms Speech given on the 15th of April, 2010. I will assess what I did well, and what could be improved on. After, I will critique my selection for this performance, and then I will analyze the impact this performance had on me as an orator and performer, and what I will do in the future to improve my performances.  There were several things that I did well in this speech. For the majority of my speech, my voice was pretty strong and steady in the delivery. Also, there was a decent attempt at body language, as seen with my hand gestures, although that could be improved on. Furthermore, my articulation and clarity of words was also pretty well done. Overall though, there were also many things I could’ve improved on.  For one thing, I needed more variation in my voice and in my body language – my hand gestures were repetitive and dull. My voice stayed pretty constant, and it did not captivate the audience as much as I would have liked. In addition, there were numerous times that I paused, because I did not know what to say. This clearly showed that I did not practice enough, and with more practice, this would have been easily solved. That was very disappointing, because I made so many mistakes just because I did not practice as much. Also, a few times, the words I planned to say did not come out as planned, so they probably did not convey the ideas I wanted to convey.  Overall, I was decently pleased with the piece that I chose. The reason for this is because the topic of religious fundamentalism is one that is often misunderstood among people, and I would be very happy if my presentation was able to better inform my audience. This was also a topic that was rather difficult, and one that no one else tackled, besides Logan David in period 7, who did religious conflict.  This piece has greatly changed me as a performer. First, it was the only speech I recall in which we had to do a visual presentation (including all the research and pictures) by ourselves, and present by ourselves, so the workload was much higher. However, we didn’t have to rely on a partner, so you knew where everything was and how everything was going, which eliminated a lot of stress and allowed for better planning. It was an interesting experience.  On delivery though, this speech has taught me several things. Like always, it showed me how important it is to practice before the speech, as it can make the difference between a mediocre speech and a standing ovation. I will also work harder to put more emotion into my speeches (and essays), since I tend to be very unemotional and lifeless. On a random note though, I thought I looked really cool in the trench coat, undercoat, tie, and shirt.  Overall, I think I deserve a B to B+ for this speech, because of the many flaws that I had in my delivery.