In this speech, Gambis discusses his scientific work and how it inspires him to make science fiction movies. His main intention is to convince the audience that real science can be entertaining and inspiring for the filmmakers. He uses photos and shots from his films to support his argument. Overall, despite having extensive knowledge on the topic, the speaker does not seem to be successful at conveying his message to the audience.
Gambis’ anxiety is apparent from the moment he enters the audience. Anderson (2016) states that it is crucial to make eye contact with a few people in the audience from the start. Gambis enters the auditory looking down, and while he attempts to establish direct eye contact with the listeners for a second, he fails to do so. Throughout the speech, he keeps moving his head erratically, looking to the sides and deliberately avoiding eye contact with the audience. Therefore, his performance suffers from the absence of a bond with the listeners.
Gambis opens the speech with a short introduction of his academic background. He tries to make a few jokes about finishing his Ph.D. and being a “fruit fly whisperer.” Overall, it is a good idea to make the audience laugh. Anderson (2016) argues that starting a talk with a few jokes can make it easier to establish a bond with the audience and make them pay attention to the main message. While Gambis follows this recommendation, the audience does not react to his jokes. There are two main reasons explaining the indifference of the latter. First, the initial failure to establish eye contact made the speaker less likable, and the audience pays less attention to his words. Second, he anxiously rushes through his speech, omitting important pauses, which results in the poor delivery of the jokes. According to Anderson (2016), varied pacing contributes significantly to the reception of the speech. Gambis fails to change his tone and pace during the speech, making his audience less likely to engage.
The speaker does not use the notes for his speech. Anderson (2016) states that memorizing the speech is always good, unless at the cost of the connection with the audience. The author also claims that the use of notes can be beneficial for some speakers, as it gives them confidence without affecting their interaction with the audience. In this particular case, the speaker seems to know the speech well, but the delivery is not convincing. His anxiety probably comes from the general fear of public speaking rather than inadequate preparation, so the use of notes would not enhance his performance.
The speaker tries to promote the ideas of humanitarianism through science fiction. He creates fiction movies that address critical social and environmental issues. His speech reaches its climax when he uses the comparison between the migration of butterflies and human immigration to emphasize the meaninglessness of borders. Similar to the directors of the French new wave cinema, he aims to revolutionize the science fiction world.
Gambis’ knowledge on the topic is thorough, and he seems to be enthusiastic about science and film. However, his anxiety seriously affects the delivery of the speech. He does not establish eye contact with the audience, and his tone and pacing do not change throughout the talk. As a result, the listeners do not seem to be engaged and barely react to the speakers’ message.
References
Anderson, C. (2016). TED talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Gambis, A. (2019). Why we need more (real) science in fiction [Video]. TED. Web.