As some of you might know, I've been preparing a speech for Toastmasters, a public speaking organization where you can discuss different topics. This was my first speech ever, called the Ice Breaker, and it was about accents (see prompt here: Journaly Post).

The speech went as I expected—I memorized the text and delivered it. I’m neither fully satisfied nor disappointed.

Some areas where I could improve:

• Add more context to the story (e.g., where it happened).
• Share less information, speak slower, and include more pauses.
• Avoid putting my hand in my back pocket.
• After memorizing my text, I should also create bullet points to remember, so even if I forget the exact words, I can rely on the bullet points and avoid saying “hmmm.” and so ...

I also realized that people in general aren’t very self-aware. After I finished my speech, one of the older members mentioned he doesn’t think he has an accent, despite having a noticeable Hungarian accent. I’ve always been aware of my accent, even before I began working on improving it.

For a week, I'm going to rest, write some posts here, watch videos and practice my accent, do some extra work, and start my tech blog journey. After that, I'll start preparing my next speech.