Reflection of my speaking skills:

When I think of where my communication lands on the introvert/extrovert scale, I tend to be an

ambivert. I am an introvert, but I am also an extrovert. I like going out and being around people,
but I don’t tend to go out of my way to talk to someone or build a relationship with them. If
someone asked me to speak in front of a crowd, I would be scared, but I could get by.

Ever since I was in middle school, public speaking was a big part of the curriculum in my
English and Spanish classes. I would always run out of the class crying and eventually must go
back and redo my presentation. It was not because I wasn’t prepared for the presentation. I knew
exactly what I was going to say but anxiety would overlook that.

In high school, I was student body president and spoke at my graduation with over 20,000
attendees. This was a big part of the change in my speaking skills. The more I spoke in front of a
large crowd, the better I became at public speaking.

I am a transfer student so for the first two years of my undergraduate studies I attended Collin
College. During this journey, I became an orientation leader and almost weekly had to speak in
front of a crowd. This is when public speaking became second nature.

Currently, I feel as if I am pretty good at public speaking and aim to help others down the path to
effective public speaking in business communication. Before the group presentation we were
assigned this semester, I thought everyone has reached the point where I am in their
communication as well. However, I was grouped with two boys whose native language wasn’t
English and a very timid girl. This was a challenge but during our practice presentation sessions,
I believe that my guidance and past experiences with stage freight helped us have an effective
final presentation. I also realized that my oral communication skills are still not where I want
them to be. I still stutter over certain words and use “filler words” such as umm and like.

Furthermore, this class has taught me that there is always room to grow in our communication,
especially in the business setting. There are so many different aspects of communication and as
the world continues to evolve, so does our oral communication.