This is my first post. Excuse me if I am off-base and in the wrong thread— or even the wrong forum.
My public speaking professor stated that we must present an introductory speech (2.5-3 mins in duration) on either a person or a thing-- no concepts/ideas.
The person/thing has to be someone you know or something in your possession.
I wrote a speech introducing Mountain Dew.
My visual aid is random empty Mtn Dew bottles I’ve super glued to a huge picture frame.
The outline to my speech is quoted below.
Is the speech a trainwreck?
Also any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Have you tried reading your speech aloud with a stopwatch running?
Also, I get that you love Mountain Dew, but your audience might not share your passion, and, while you may complete the assignment, you may be better off if you could speak on a subject that would capture peoples’ attention. Something relevant and interesting would be a lot more beneficial at engaging the audience.
Doesn’t seem like a trainwreck to me. Not exactly compelling but given the parameters of the assignment I would say it works. I would guess it to be a solid B.
Thank you. Solid B? gleams I am aiming for a C.
My main goal is to not throw up and pass out in front of the class.
Yes, I have read it many times aloud. My stop watch clocks it between 2.5 and 3 minutes after I introduce myself to the class.
Weird thing is, I don’t even love Mountain Dew… The class is mostly 18-20 year old students, so I figured the most we could possibly have in common is probably this beverage.
Thank you for your feedback.
How can I rephrase what you’ve quoted?
Do you think “Mountain Dew is synonymous to moonshine” would suffice? It really is a point that I’d like to address. I never knew that’s what it meant.
There’s also a phenomenon known in the dentistry community called “Mountain Dew Mouth.” It refers to the problem primarily documented in Appalachia, where poor dental hygiene paired with excessive consumption of the very acidic beverage in question has led to erosion of tooth enamel so bad that kids need extensive dental work to fix it. If they’re ever able to.
I think you are doing great so far.
We need pictures of your “visual aid”. It made me chuckle.
Also, thanks for the history lesson. Ignorance fought.
BTW, welcome to the SDMB.
By the way, honest-to-god mountain dew probably is illegal in Florida, as much as moonshine/hooch is, because of the possibility it could be wood alcohol or “doctored wood.” Otherwise it wouldn’t have the name.
A phone call to the revenuers likely would reveal all and your speech wouldn’t contain that ambiguity.
Please find out if moonshine is or is not legal in Florida and update your speech accordingly. Research, is important. Especially in a world that includes Google!
Also, if you’re going to mention 6 flavours please do the research and name them.
Other than that seems okay. Pretty short, not exactly riveting or fact filled, I’m guessing a C.
Good Luck! And let us know how it works out.
Thank you for your feedback! I will certainly find out if moonshine is legal here or not.
As far as naming the flavors, I can just point to my visual aid and name them off.
Great idea.
C sounds good to me. Thanks again for your honesty. I have a 3.85 GPA as we speak, and this is the only class I have left for my AA degree. I am just trying my best to not be soaked in sweat or pass out up there. Man I hope I don’t throw up.
Given the age level (18-20), I think you may have a “B” project there. I concur with the others who say do the research on if ‘moonshine’ is legal in Florida (probably isn’t), leaving a point like that hanging would take points off your score if I was grading it.
Try to find a way to refer to your visual aid, perhaps mentioning some of the various flavors (you don’t have to recite them all) while indicating them on the aid.
Tighten up the Mountain Dew-Moonshine talk a little bit; it is a good talking point and something that can grab the interest of your classmates (some may not know where the term came from, it certainly isn’t advertised that way today), but don’t get rambling.
Don’t worry about nerves; every speaker has it. I’ve made presentations all my working life (I’m 62 now) to Military types up to General rank and I was always nervous right up until I was spearking on a topic i Knew.
Do you get to use visual aids? I didn’t know it was invented in the 40’s but the first GLASS bottles I remember in the 60’s (do your listeners know about “coke” bottles?) were VERY hillbilly and the ads were funny. Then it was rebranded similar to todays Red Bull or sports drinks. Pictures could help hold listeners attention.
