In my class, we have been working on presenting spoken word poetry. We had to choose a poem, find music to go with the words, memorize it, and then present it with the class. As usual, all the elements of public speaking needed to be on point. My poem is part of my last blog post, so you should go check it out!
One important thing that I learned about how and when to pause when you're speaking. In a poem, it's especially important because the pauses are how the audience knows when you're starting or ending a new paragraph or topic. In other types of public speaking, the pauses are useful when the speaker wants to transition into a new subject. It helps the audience. Some of the most effective performances were the ones that had music that went well with the poem. The music really added to what the speaker was saying. For example, Jade's music was from Harry Potter, but it worked very well with his poem. The music rose and fell according to the words of the poem. It added to the emotion to the piece. When the speakers used hand gestures or facial expressions, it helped to understand the meaning of the poem. The speed of the poem, and in turn, the music was also a big factor. The faster the poem, the more risk there is for the speaker to talk too fast, making it harder for the audience to enjoy the performance. It was harder for the people were trying to convert song lyrics into a poem, because the beat of the song's music is always in your head.
My poem, was about a woman who was bringing water back to her village in Africa. I think that one of the things I did well, was finding music that would for my theme. I found some instrumental music on YouTube that was perfect. According to the feedback given by my classmates, the music added another level to the performance. Another thing that I thought I did well, was the speed. Because the music was slower, it was easier to keep speaking at a more understandable pace. The main thing that I improved on as the learning process went was the memorization of the poem itself. That was one of the most difficult parts of the process for me. It was harder for me to keep it in my head while, I was actually presenting it, because if I got distracted, I would forget the whole thing. But, I feel that the time it took for me to memorize the poem was much less than the last time. It was easier for me. The parts that I believe I need to work on are adding emotion and memorization. These two hard areas can hopefully be achieved through practice and experience.
Hope you enjoyed my poem and see you later!
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