Last night, I watched the video of the presentation (this one) I gave at the Joubert conference in Minneapolis six years ago.
It was my first time watching it in quite a few years and, right away, I had serious thoughts.
First thing I noticed was the sound of my voice. I've never liked hearing it! In this particular video, it sounded so nasally and, frankly, kind of whiny. I actually had to ask my mother (my parents were watching it too) if I really sounded like that.
With the self-deprecation out of the way, there were a lot more positive things I picked up on.
Watching this video, six years later, I noticed how much my speaking has improved overall. There are a lot less umms and uhs, I don't ramble as much, and I can now properly end a speech/presentation. I don't apologize when I mess something up, and I've learned to tone down the corny jokes.
I also picked up on several of my favourite topics that would feature prominently in future speeches and blog posts, like comics, college, taekwondo, and Easter Seals Camp Merrywood.
My presentation ended then it was time for questions, and there were a lot of them! In response to one about when I started speaking, I got to share what I'm now calling the platypus story for the first time, how that was my first word after being exposed to nature shows for so long, which was fun.
In the midst of questions, I was also payed a very nice compliment by a young woman with JS I had met earlier that morning when she and her mom joined my Dad and I for breakfast. I had forgotten all about that, so it was very nice to hear again!
It was interesting to watch myself, even if I was a little too critical of myself at times, and would be a fun exercise to do in the future should I ever be recorded again.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment