Record one minute of yourself speaking on any topic. This recording is your starting point for hearing your delivery.
Try it now: record 60 seconds on What I did this weekend, then save it before playback.
Record 60 seconds of yourself speaking on any everyday topic. Keep the recording; it is your baseline.
Play it back once and count filler words (um, like, you know). Write the total down.
Play it again and note pace. Mark spots where you rushed so much that you restarted a sentence or interrupted yourself mid-thought, and mark any pause longer than three seconds.
Re-record the same topic once, aiming to lower your filler count by even one. Two takes take about ten minutes total.
Repeat this two-take loop three times a week on a new topic, for example A meal I would cook for friends.
Each playback covers vocal delivery and body-language habits, domains that public speaking assessment tools commonly measure, so the counts you track are the same qualities an evaluator would hear and see.
Here is the exercise demonstrated end to end, using the topic A skill I would teach a friend in five minutes. Start by recording 60 seconds on that topic, standing up as if to a small group, with no script. Then play the recording back twice. On the first pass, tally filler words only: suppose you count eight, um five times and like three times. Write the numbers down. On the second pass, listen for pace and note any pause longer than three seconds, such as a silent gap before you begin the second point. Keep both notes with the recording, since they become the before half of your before-and-after pair at the self-check.
Next, take one sentence you stumbled on, for example So um the first thing is like choosing something simple, and rework it aloud as The first thing is choosing something simple. Say it three times slowly, then once at normal speed, keeping volume steady so the sentence carries to the back of the room.
Now re-record the full topic and tally again. A drop from eight fillers to five is real progress, not luck. Save both recordings, because they are your before-and-after pair for this session and the raw material for the self-check that follows.
Your self-check: play the final recording once and rate it on a simple three-point scale for fillers, pace, and volume. Base the filler rating on the actual tally you made during playback, so a small number of fillers is strong and a long list is weak. Base the pace rating on what you counted while listening: no restarted sentences and no pauses longer than three seconds is strong, while frequent restarts or long silences is weak. Base the volume rating on whether your voice carries audibly from the first word to the last; if any part drops below a comfortable listening level, that is not strong. Mark each category weak, okay, or strong only after these counts. The numbers and marks give you an observable before-and-after you can compare next session.
Do not expect identical counts every take; recording conditions and topic difficulty both affect results. The trend across a week matters more than any single score.
Next adjustment: pick the lowest-rated category and make it your single micro-goal for the following session. If volume was weak, practice the next topic standing and aiming your voice at a point across the room. One target keeps the routine short and repeatable.