Public Speaking

[debka_notion]

I gave a dvar torah in seminar today (we each are supposed to give something like 3 over the course of the year). I was pretty nervous about it before hand- I am not a comfortable public speaker, and when I wrote the thing, I started it a good three times before it started coming out in a presentable way. But when I finished writing, it did turn into something that I liked on paper, which was a significant step- I'm rarely fond of how I write when I'm trying to write in order to present something out loud.

The actual delivery went reasonably, if not wonderfully (which I was not at all expecting it to do). I thought I was speaking slowly and with reasonable intonation, and that I wasn't letting too much nerves sneak out into my voice. The feedback I got suggested that I was a bit wooden about things, basically- that I wasn't using any body language, and that my voice was fairly flat- I think they meant as far as changes in volume and such. What was pleasing was that two of my classmates who were in mechina with me last year told me how much better I was doing with this than last year, and how much more confident I seemed. I'm not sure that I feel more confident, precisely- but it was a lovely thing to hear.

Comments

[jonahrank.livejournal.com]

yashar koach

[awful-dynne.livejournal.com]

Do you get to choose when to do the diveri Torah, or are they assigned?

Also, on a fairly non related note...if I were to want to come visit the NYC/JTS area, is December, when people have those reading days(which I am not sure I completely understand....what exactly is a reading day?) a not so good time because there are exams to be studying for and such?

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

We sign up.

Reading days are study days just before exams. They tend to be rather crazy, but depending on finals schedules- well, sometimes one has time, sometimes one has none at all. And right now, I have no way of knowing which way my schedule will go.

[awful-dynne.livejournal.com]

I understand, it was more that it occurred to me that generally it would probably not be a good time to visit people.

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry I couldn't have been there; cantorials were off in our own little corner. You probably get points for not doing that weird singsong thing that many rabbis do.

Would it be possible to get the content of your talk at some point?

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

It was in seminar, not something where tons of people were able to come anyways. But I'll email you what I said- I did some last minute editing (namely to change where I accidentally wrote year to day, which is what that would should have been), but it's pretty darn close to what I actually said.