To demonstrate my oral communication skills, I chose my informative speech from COM-231 (Public Speaking), which I took in the fall semester of 2021 over sixteen weeks. My public speaking experience prior to this speech was limited, and I had a great deal of anxiety surrounding the idea of speaking in front of an audience, but my professor, Mr. John Muir, was incredibly helpful in relieving the anxiety and giving invaluable advice throughout the entirety of the course. This particular speech helped me develop a range of public speaking skills, such as organizing my speech content in a way that was easy for an audience to comprehend, verbally citing my sources, keeping the speech flowing through mind blanks, and calming nerves prior to speaking.

The informative speech I gave was about the life of Agatha Christie, one of my favorite mystery authors, and it explored many aspects ranging from her works of mystery and romance, her efforts during WWII, her knowledge regarding pharmaceuticals and, most especially, poisons, and her disappearance later in life. I chose a less complex topic for my speech primarily to ensure I focused on building the skills I needed to gain from this class, which were building confidence, lessening anxiety, and ultimately learning how to speak in front of an audience. I had almost no struggles throughout the organizational aspects of preparing the speech or even memorizing it—the difficulties for me were primarily in presenting it before an audience without facing major mind-blanks or mess-ups. Initially, I struggled a little, with mind blanks here and there, but as the speech progressed, I grew more comfortable and figured out strategies to turn my anxiety from stress to excitement. Fortunately recording it later on was even easier than presenting it in class.

The goals I had selected previously for this assignment were to practice giving speeches until I can speak effortlessly in front of an audience, with as few flaws as possible and very little nervousness or anxiety affecting my speech, and better organize my speeches in the future and study my audiences more closely when deciding upon my speech style. Both of these are goals that I was able to accomplish during COM-231 and, more specifically, during my informative speech. Though broad, I felt they applied perfectly to this assignment, considering my lack of experience and skill and the fact that I had not given any speeches or presentations in classes prior to this one.

For the first goal, practicing speeches until I can speak effortlessly in front of an audience with as few flaws as possible and very little nervousness and anxiety affecting my speech, I decided to repeat my speech every morning for a week in front of friends and family until I felt entirely comfortable without notes and my speech flowed naturally. Initially, it was somewhat awkward practicing in front of people, but after some time, it became more fun and natural. I also put effort into finding areas of my speech that I could jump straight into if I faced a mind blank, which was incredibly helpful when I had to give it in front of an audience. After using these techniques and repeatedly practicing, I felt far more relaxed and less nervous than I would have had I not put in the extra effort.

For the second goal, better-organizing speeches with my audience in mind, I wanted to make sure that I captured my audience’s attention and used language that would keep them entertained throughout the entirety of my speech. My choice of topic was something I felt would be interesting to both readers and non-readers, as it explored a variety of aspects of Agatha Christie’s life and kept my speech simple enough to memorize and recall with feelings of anxiety. I also kept my audience in mind when choosing vocabulary and adding extra explanations regarding specific topics they may or may not have known previously. I organized my speech in a way that was clear, engaging, and informative without an overwhelming amount of information.

While my oral communication skills are not as strong as my written communication skills, I was very thankful for the opportunity to strengthen them throughout the COM-231 course, especially as there have been many other classes I have taken with presentation projects and the skills I learned in this course made succeeding in presenting significantly better. My anxiety lessened as the Public Speaking class progressed and the more speeches I gave, the more comfortable and natural speaking in front of an audience felt. I look forward to developing my oral communication skills even further, as oral communication is of great importance in so many aspects of life. I know that I will use it extensively in my future career, especially if I pursue a career in research or animal care, both of which are careers where communicating information to the public is of great importance.