TTalk Complete

A couple of days ago it was finally my turn to present my Ted Talk to my classmates and teacher and I think that I did a very good job. I am very happy with the result and think that I hit all the criteria needed to not only get a good mark...but to also spread awareness about the extinction of animals and loss of biodiversity. Throughout my entire presentation, I was able to tell that both my teacher and classmates were engaged in my topic, and that they wanted to learn more about what I had to say.

If I had to do my TTalk over again, there would be minimal changes. The main one being to present my presentation more naturally instead of reading the majority of it off of a speech. Although this is something I would fix, I still think that I spoke well for my audience to understand. I would also add a few more slides into my PowerPoint to enhance my presentation and it's engagement with my audience a little bit better.

A few weeks ago when this assignment was handed out, one of the criterion to succeed was to complete an action plan. An action plan is exactly what it sounds; a list, or a plan of points that you want to hit when presenting your TTalk. My action plan looked like the following:

What

Do all research needed to complete your Ted Talk:

• When did the loss of biodiversity and animal extinction become an issue?

• How big of an issue is animal extinction?

• What statistics do you have?

• Who impacts the animals the most?

• What species of plants and animals are most endangered?

• Where are they most endangered?

So what

• Strengths and weaknesses from my pitch- presentation skills

• Why does this issue matter?

Deadlines/When

• By November 11th I want to finish my research.

• By November 14, I want to finish writing cue cards/ a speech

• By November 25th, I want to memorize my speech so I could start practicing.

I hit every single point in my TTalk presentation from my action plan plus a little bit more except for one point; I never said where on our planet are animals most endangered*. I could have easily put this into my speech but forgot all about this one tiny detail. Although this didn't make an impact on my audience by leaving out this small amount of information, I feel that I should have put this in to help my audience's understanding of my chosen topic. Other than this small component of my TTalk, I hit all my deadlines, reflected on my pitch to see how I can improve my public speaking skills, and added lots of detail that was relevant to my topic.

In terms of my public speaking, I presented my TedTalk very well with minimal times where I either stuttered, or swallowed my words. I find that (after watching the video of my TTalk) as my presentation continued, my speaking got a little bit faster. After watching my video again, I finally came to a conclusion that this little inconsistency didn't make an impact on my audience and was only noticeable if you really payed attention to the way I was speaking. I also find that at times of my speech, I started to sway from side to side. I noticed that this could possibly be distracting for my audience and now know to be aware not to do this when speaking in front of an audience. Other than that, I think I spoke clearly for my audience to understand me, and loud enough for my audience to hear me.

I think that I've come very far in terms of public speaking and being able to research a topic and then talk about it for a long period of time. Although when writing my speech and notes for my TTalk, I had a little bit of trouble starting off, I think that I did well once I got my first paragraph to work with. I'm very happy with my result and have learned so much in the process. I want to continue to research animal extinction and the loss of biodiversity and continue to spread awareness of this reoccurring issue that falls under the large umbrella of sustaining our planet.

Keep scrolling down to find the link to my TedTalk Presentation:

*There is no specific spot as to where animals are more endangered on our planet, and yet there are still a very large variety of animals on Earth that are facing extinction which only live in certain locations. For example, polar bears live in a few regions far up north. They as well as many other animals who live in these areas are being affected at this very moment by the melting of the glaciers. There are elephants in Africa who are endangered due to over hunting. An elephant's tusk is considered to be a very valuable treasure in Africa as well as many other places in the world (this is why they are hunted). As you can see, only specific animals are endangered in specific locations around the world. I wish that I could have included this more into my TTalk presentation.

Link:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6fTQq_wa-HnLUh6UE1CVi04Nm8