Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It is a great honor for me to speak from this stage because I know that each of my colleagues and nominees was the same capable of winning the award.
I would like to thank the voters who decided that it is my time to stand here. I am also thankful to the award organizing committee because the contest encourages us to work hard and reach goals. After a year of working in our company, becoming the employee of the month is a valuable achievement for me.
I would never win the award without the constant support and an inspiring environment in my team. I am grateful to have colleagues who help me to deal with challenges. Moreover, I would like to thank our boss, Mr.Jones, who believed in me and gave me many chances to show my best during this month. It is a treasure to have a brilliant team and a great boss, and I am fortunate to have both in my work. Lastly, I am thankful to my family, who encouraged me to get the job at this company and have always been there for me.
The award is not the final point, it is only a milestone I reached. Standing on this stage means to me that I can achieve even more in perspective. Of course, I will face many challenges on my way, but my experience shows that nothing is impossible to overcome in this company.
After reflecting on the last month of working, I concluded that the crucial reason for my achievement was prioritizing the quality of each task I performed. Therefore, I urge each of us to remember Henry Ford’s famous quote, “Quality is the job one,” and turn it into actions!
Thank you very much!
Self-Review
The topic I selected implied that I needed to make a speech of acceptance. It requires to mention crucial points such as showing honor, thanking the voters, award givers, people who had helped in achieving, and telling why the award was important to me (Wrench, 2016). My speech included each of these items and covered the main topic – accepting the Employee of the Month award. The statements which show thankfulness are the most convenient way of handling the topic to the audience.
The target audience was the company representatives, colleagues, and seniors, therefore it was essential to reveal the importance of the award for me and show how valuable it was to be a part of the team. The tone of the speech was honorable and, for the last paragraph, encouraging to take action. I am not an expert about the audience, however, the speech had to highlight my authority as the award winner.
The outline followed the requirements, and the speech reflected each of its points. Although a speech of acceptance is not hard to compose, it was challenging to highlight the critical parts in the outline correctly. The structure also included an introduction and conclusion that had to be spoken in a short yet valuable manner to fit the required two-minutes time limit.
I used the introduction to show the honor of getting the award and mention that each team member was capable of standing on the stage with the prize. This kind of appeal to the audience was the attention-getter of my speech. The body statements were used to thank people who had helped me win the award and tell the audience about my perspectives. I used particular reasons why I was thankful to my team, boss, and family to make these thanking words more valuable. The conclusion did not include any summary as it is not necessary for an acceptance speech, whereas I tried to encourage the audience by sharing Henry Ford’s quote that inspired me to work better. The last sentence of my speech was a call to action, which was a strong closer because of its tone.
I maintained proper eye contact during the speech and pointed my attention to people I was mentioning while speaking. I had the vocal variety because my voice changed from honorable when I thanked my colleagues, boss, and family, to encourage when I urged my company to do its best. Moreover, I had a few rehearsals and the experience in giving an acceptance speech, therefore I was able to avoid most of the vocal filters. To be aware of strong and weak points, as well as to be prepared to speak, is beneficial while giving a speech in front of any audience (Spieler and Miltenberger, 2017).
The clear passages of tone with the lack of vocal filters might make it look like the speech had been practiced before. I used proper grammar and correctly pronounced everything because my statements did not include any difficult words to spell. The emotions I applied during the speech made it sound conversational, and revealed my excitement about winning the award.
I unconsciously did not use body language as the speech I gave was emotional by its words and did not require additional movements. My posture was confident, yet I nervously moved from leg to leg a couple of times in the middle of the speech. The banquet required the suit and tie dress code, which I followed, so my appearance was appropriate for the occasional speech. I was able to follow the time limits without making my statements short or pointless.
References
Spieler, C., & Miltenberger, R. (2017). Using awareness training to decrease nervous habits during public speaking. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 50(1), 38-47. Web.
Wrench J.S. (2016). Stand up, speak out: The practice and ethics of public speaking. Lulu Press.