I have only had a few public speaking experiences in the past, and by a few, I mean one, my public speaking class in high school. This class taught me that I can learn to do anything if I put my mind to it, so I would definitely like to capitalize on that when it comes to my TED talk. The class also taught me that I am bad at finding time to prepare for a speech and that I have a tendency to get nervous, so those are things that I will definitely need to improve on.
My public speaking teacher in high school said that I was a very good speaker, but that I was sorely lacking in one thing: emotion. This frustrated me to no end, because he had us reading articles about golf and Shel Silverstein poems and other things that I frankly don't get excited about. I had always considered my honesty to be an asset; if I'm not interested in what I'm talking about, then I won't sound interested in what I'm talking about. However, it seemed that my public speaking teacher really wanted us to learn how to BS with aplomb.
So I learned how to BS, and now I'm great at sounding interested in things that I care nothing about. I even read Bootsie Barker Bites so well that I got the opportunity to read it to kids at the local elementary school. Learning that I am able to fake it until I make it really helped me out in the realm of public speaking. Knowing this allowed me to overcome all nervousness, as well. I am now able to convince myself that I am totally prepared and confident just by thinking it, which is a great asset.
Though I can convince myself that I'm prepared, it really helps to actually be prepared. I have always had trouble managing preparation for assignments. I plan to improve my performance in this aspect by setting out specific times for speech writing, preparation, and practice. The best way to prepare is to over-prepare, in my opinion, so that's exactly what I'll do.
In conclusion, I believe that the TED talk will go well for me if I capitalize on my strengths and improve on my weaknesses. I already think I'll do well, and that's half the battle; the other half is with my schedule, but I plan to win.
