I spent this day finishing some more research on Benton and create a simple outline to follow for my speech. While I knew memorizing an entire speech wouldn’t go well, I needed some way to keep my train of thought from scattering all over the place. I wanted to start with a small quote from Benton’s writing and talk about his early career from abstract artist to a Regionalist. Then I wanted to point out certain points in the piece that related to the progress of Benton’s career, and then I wanted to end with a note to how the piece served as a transition into Benton’s later work that he created until he passed away. I want to try to throw in a visual analysis of the piece throughout, so that I can relate it back to Benton’s career.
After actually giving this version of the speech, I received some very nice insight in how I should change it. While I was told my presence and conversational manner was adequate, my information was a bit scattered. It was suggested that I drop the quote entirely and start out with a visual analysis. This way I can drag the audience straight to the piece, and they don’t get lost in the beginning. Other than that, the info I provided for Benton’s career was deemed appropriate for the five minute presentation.
Cluttered Gecko 