My 5th Speech

This evening I delivered my 5th speech at the local Toastmasters Club. The speech was all about '5 Golden Rules at your Workplace', ofcourse I couldn't have taken up the 6th rule :) I overshot the alloted time by 2:18 i.e. I took 9:48 to complete the speech. And following are the comments and suggestions that I got from the fellow toastmasters.

Very well prepared. Very good topic selection. Well-organized and humorous. The objective was very clear. Could have kept the time under wraps. There was scope to use facial expressions more effectively. Body movement and facial expressions could have been more animated.
- Arun Pujari

Great topic. Very good humor as always. Nervous body gestures - could improve. Take care of the time limit. The ending should have been more strong - this was something that I found lacking in your earlier speeches too. Good content. Well organized. Hope to see you improve further in your next speeches.
- Divya Goel

I like your use of humor (twice as dumb/dislodge the person etc). A bit too much pacing. Timing very much too long. You have a very good speaking voice.
- Janet Chawla

A very good topic. Time is something you definitely need to work with. Too much of shifting weight on your feet. Pace yourself when delivering any speech. You choose good topics and your enthusiasm is infectious.
- Vikram Mall

Very good opening. A clear road map. Great use of humor. Your eye contact was just straight ahead of you. You had your hand clasped together most of the time - you needed to use more gestures! Don't move too much - it's distracting.
- Deepak Menon

Well presented. Very confident. Good use of words and end well articulated. Good voice modulation. Avoid words like 'idiot' - doesn't look very respectful. Control your swaying and body movement. Need to look into your objectives - I could sense some gaps.
- Shailaja

Excellent visual. Peppered with humor. 5 points explained well. Things to take care - time and restricted body language.
- Manu Maudgal

I liked all the 5 golden rules you taught us. Good use of words. Drink lots of water before your speech. You were repeating some of the words/phrases. You can overcome this glitch by practising more & more. Take care of timing too.
- Tajinder

Very innovative project. Very organized speech. Body language/gestures were very appropriate. Used very effective words with innovative ideas. Overall a very good project, which met the objectives of the speech. Time management was the only problem. Congrats.
- Joseph Thomas

Very good material. It seemed that you were adding pauses deliberately. Reduce them and you will be on top.
- Atul

My observations: As I have deliberately stopped rehearsing just to improve on my spontaniety, I am impressed with the way I delivered the speech. According to me I lost out on two counts, too many pauses and flimsy time management.

Au revoir