Arnold

 Self-Assessment: The Obesity Epidemic

"The Obesity Epidemic" was an informative and persuasive speech which allowed me to further understand America's struggle against obesity. Prior to researching obesity, I felt that I already had sufficient knowledge about the issue. However, I wasn't educated enough of the causes, yet alone the challenges America faces with such a crisis. Because I needed to obtain the necessary information while at the same time being persuasive, I would say that this was the toughest speech so far. The delivery of the persuasive speech was generally okay besides the occasional pauses. Stance was informative yet persuasive. As mentioned before in my previous speeches, I pledged to work on memorizing my speech to my full potential. However, at the same time, I seemed to forget to concentrate on my delivery speed and enunciation. What is a well-memorized speech without enunciation and a good tempo? To combat such a problem, I will need to really focus my attention again to enunciation and delivery speed. Certain lines also faded into oblivion such as the following from the introduction, "Many experts agree with this, and I do to." I will have to really focus on bringing energy and motivation to all parts of my lines. While it is difficult to incorporate all the needed aspects of a speech, I feel that with enough dedication, it is possible. As far as selection of the topic goes, I would have to say that I chose a fairly serious topic to educate the class (as well as myself). While the topic of obesity may seem well known, many people fail to comprehend how severe the issue is in our modern day world. The fact that 1/3 of our nation is obese shocked me, and I would have to say my classmates were equally quite unaware of this piece of statistical information. Reviewing what I have learned so far about speeches, I will sum up important notes for the future of the 4th quarter. Generally, I feel as if I started the quarter all right, considering the difficulty of this speech and its five to six minute time limit. Everything about a speech needs to be addressed in practice time, and focus to the particularly weak areas is crucial for a successful speech. Looking back at each practice session and understanding the key areas for improvement will definitely help my speeches improve over the rest of this closing year. I think I deserved a low A for this speech because besides a bit of enunciation issues, I feel as if the rest of the speech was well taken care of.