This artifact was taken from the Fundamentals of Public Speaking course. This speech was given as my final. The assignment was to choose one of the three types of speech we had learned over the semester (interpretive, platform, or limited preparation), and prepare a five to seven minute long speech. I chose to write a platform speech, formatting it in the one topic, three points layout. The speech I wrote focuses on Islamophobia, a topic I chose because of the (at the time) recent resurgence of the notion spreading after the Paris attacks and San Bernardino shooting of 2015. I wrote a speech with the intention of showing that Islamophobia is a misguided and potentially dangerous idea and to show that Muslims are not enemies, but rather Islamophobia is the enemy. I wrote on this topic because it is something that I feel strongly about, and because I knew that it was a topic on which I could write and give an impassioned and hopefully persuasive speech. The first line of the speech is cut off in the video, so if you wish to read the speech, you can click here.
I chose this speech as the artifact for this category because I felt that it showed credible, flowing, organized, and logical content with a suitable tone for the material. One thing I would change if I had the opportunity to do it again, would be to be more confident in my delivery. When my nervousness gets the better of me, I sounded a little robotic, particularly in the introduction. As the speech continued, I was more comfortable and my delivery was better, even incorporating hand gestures and other non-verbal stylistic choices.
Looking at the rubric, I would give myself a 4 for Organization. The format of my speech is organized with clear a clear introduction, sequenced material, and a conclusion. I believe that the way I organized my speech helps make the content cohesive in that one point leads into the next. I would give myself a 3 for the Language category. I made sure to use language and word choices that wouldn’t alienate or unintentionally target anyone on either side of the argument, but the words I chose weren’t necessarily imaginative or compelling. I would score myself with a 2 for Delivery because, although my presentation is understandable, I started off fairly nervous which affected my posture and vocal expressiveness, making me appear tentative rather than comfortable. I would give myself a 3 for the Supporting Materials category because of the analogy I used to demonstrate how extremist groups from other religions don’t define the religion they claim, and for using the examples of real-life incidents that have affected Muslim Americans to support the presentation. I would also give myself a 3 for the Central Message category because my message is clear, consistent, and supported with the material.