The Unaware, Accurate, and Overly Critical: Video Technology Use of Improving Public Speaking Competency

Students often hold overly favorable views of their public speaking skills. In this study, students set goals prior to speaking, and then assess the presentation via video replay. Although some basic courses use video, the technology is not standard practice nor consistently utilized to aid student skill development for speechmaking. Differences between students’ self-estimated and earned grades students were categorized into five estimator groupings. Study 1 (N = 102) results indicated video self-evaluation positively influenced student ability for predictive goal-setting, improved accuracy for assessing speech quality, and diminished overestimation from the informative to persuasive speech. To further explore the findings and address the limitations of Study 1, a second study was conducted. Study 2 (N = 622) results supported Study 1 findings. We discussed how video technology use, as a pedagogical tool, enhances public speaking competency for students in the basic course