Take the following quiz to evaluate your feelings of readiness and confidence in public speaking.
1 = Strongly Disagree
2 = Moderately Disagree
3 = Neutral
4 = Moderately Agree
5 = Strongly Agree
- Do I feel relaxed and confident in my knowledge about my topic?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Have I practiced saying the information without notes?
- Could I explain the information to a 5-year-old?
- Have I spoken casually to friends about this topic?
- Do I feel confident in the organization of my speech?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Have I completed a professional-looking outline?
- Have I practiced with a key word outline on a notecard?
- Without a notecard, have I memorized cues suggesting transitions and new sections in my speech?
- Do I feel confident in the authority of my sources?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Are they primary sources? Are they directly involved in the topic?
- Do the authors of my information have relevant credentials?
- Are my sources checked and verified by other authorities?
- Do I feel that my audience will understand and believe my words?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Do I define the terms necessary for the audience’s understanding?
- Do I move from point to point with smooth transitions?
- Do I slow down and carefully explain elements of the topic that my audience might not understand?
- Do I orally cite my sources when the information I am giving is disputed, uncertain, or someone else’s opinion?
- Have I considered all the necessary ways of looking at the topic?
- Do I feel I have developed a vocal delivery style that will keep my audience engaged?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Do I emphasize the important parts of my speech by getting louder and pausing for effect?
- Do I avoid speaking in monotone?
- Do I speak in a comfortable, conversational voice?
- Am I making sure I do not talk too fast or too slowly?
- Have I reduced or eliminated nonfluencies from my speaking?
- Do I feel ready to confront my audience with poise and natural movement?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Is my posture straight and confident?
- Have I practiced making sure my eye contact reaches the whole audience and reflects the tone of my words?
- Have I practiced keeping my feet and body still while I speak, only moving when I mean to do so?
- Have I practiced keeping my hands in front of me in a relaxed position, only moving them when I mean to do so?
- Have I dressed appropriately for the speaking occasion?
- Do I feel confident that my visual aids will help my audience understand the topic?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Have I practiced with whatever technology is necessary for making my visual aids available?
- Have I selected visuals that accurately or purposefully represent the content of my speech?
- Have I chosen visuals that are simple and clear, not distracting from the topic or my own delivery as the speaker?
- Do I feel my speech is going to be interesting and relatable to my audience?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Have I considered what my audience’s background knowledge, opinions, and expectations might be?
- Will my introduction draw my audience’s attention?
- Will my conclusion leave my audience thinking about the topic?
- In organizing my speech, have I given the most time to the part of my topic that would relate most to my audience’s interests?
- Have I prepared to describe elements of my topic in a way that makes visualizing it easy?
- Am I afraid of giving a speech?
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5- Have I practiced my speech repeatedly?
- Have I visualized my speech as a conversation with friends, rather than a performance?
- Have I eliminated negative self-talk from my self-evaluation, instead focusing on constructive solutions?
- Have I determined what my specific fears are, and whether they are rational or not?
Leaving out the last question, add up your final score. Then, subtract your last question score from the total. _______
Draw a star next to the areas where you are strongest, and underline the areas where you are weakest. Finally, give this quiz to your teacher.