Speech Eval

If I were to grade myself on how well I achieved the purpose of my speech, I would give myself a 7 out of ten. My purpose was clear but I didn’t feel persuasive enough. This could be because I didn’t give that powerful of a plan of action at the end of my speech. But from practice I was able to have a tone that was persuasive and enthusiastic. Practicing took a lot of work but paid off because I fell between the 6 and 7 minute mark as well as having great eye contact with the audience. I did well, but if I had to do it over again, I would practice more so I wouldn’t have to use my note cards. I would love to give a speech that I know so well that I don’t have to worry about note cards because I feel that they help guide but are also my back up if I forget what I am talking about. I would hope to also change my speech to be more persuasive as I feel it was my only down fall in my delivery.
This speech was different from my last speech because I did better over all. My last speech had a poor attention getter which didn’t apply the majority of the audience. My intro was organized with a good structure and there was a preview of main points but it wasn’t very clear. I researched but didn’t have enough research to back up all my points. The topic related to the audience because college drinking is normal for us. Organization over all was good and the transitions were clear and effective for the information following. Throughout the speech I clearly stated my sources to help support my points. My visual aid was effective but I sent the wrong power point which threw off my speech a bit because I felt unorganized and embarrassed because of my lack of preparation. Eye contact in the second speech would have been better if I was more prepared. I felt nervous during the speech and read more from my note cards then I had wanted. This is something that I want to overcome and it comes down to just practicing more so I feel comfortable with the presentation of information.
In the persuasive speech delivery, I remember moving a bit when speaking. This may be distracting for some audience members as I know I was thinking it was distracting for myself as well. I improved from the second speech because I knew the material better and had great eye contact with the audience, but I feel my eye contact was speedy and I would look all over the room. When watching the video, it looked as if I was making eye contact but it was too brief. Over all, the persuasive speech and outline was a huge improvement from the last speech. I received a better grade on the outline which helped feed into getting a better speech grade. My introduction was more powerful with a great attention getter which was a sound clip that the audience could connect with. I loved this topic because I have credibility by being Greek for 3 years now. My main points were very clear and this was made easy by using the problem solution organization pattern. My conclusion was an improvement from the last speech, but it was not as good as I had hoped for it to be. I did review the points but did not have a solid plan of action which in turn made my speech less persuasive. Two other improvements were my tone and eye contact. I believe my tone was better because I knew the material as well as being passionate about being Greek. Eye contact simply came from being prepared and I would rate myself an 8 out of 10 because I did read a little from my cards and I would rather not have cards at all. According to the audience, my volume, voice projection and variety was an improvement from my last speech.
Based on my performance, reviewing the video and teacher evaluation, and the student evaluations, I would give myself an A. Well, I was hoping for an A, 95%. I was not perfect, but I believe I should have gotten this grade because I was well prepared, my power point was a great visual aid, and my delivery was a great improvement from the two previous speeches. I would also give myself an A because I have improved a lot from the beginning of the semester and I should be partially graded on that. Besides the positive things I have already mentioned, I had some great sources which I researched and even applied 4 of them in my speech. My persuasive speech by far was the best. I put the most effort into it to ensure I would get the best grade on it. I was more interested in this topic and put the time and energy into for a good grade as well as combating my fear of public speaking.

Concept

I liked the outlines because it has helped me write better speeches and keep my points and sub points on track. It was very helpful for me to get feedback on my outlines to see if I was correctly getting the information across. For my first speech, I had written it like an essay and had no idea that I had to format it another way. But, having my grade on the line for each outline, it made me perfect outlining an essay the third time around. I didn’t do well on the first two outlines and got bad feedback. So, on the third time around I put a lot more effort into it so I could get an A. These outlines will help me later in life when I present information to groups as well as in my career. They will organize my information clearly and get across the correct information.

I am taking away..

This semester was helpful for me because I have finally taken this class after being here in san jose for 5 semesters. I have finally faced my fear full on and have taken every opportunity to speak in public. This class has helped me to write a speech and create great outlines. For other presentations in class, I have made outlines and created speeches to be as professional as possible. In my extra curricular activites I have many opportunities where I have to speak in front of groups and present different information. Whether forced or not, I am becoming more comfortable with public speaking. I can take away the format of speeches and being able to properly present information clearly to different audiences.

favorite speech

My favorite speech was the persuasive speech because I got to write on something that is such a big part of my life. I am passionate about going Greek because it is meant to enhance your college career. Also, I got a better grade on this speech because of my passion for it. I spent a ton of time on the outline because I wanted to perfect this speech as best as I could. Using the Problem Solution format was helpful because it is very straight forward. It kept me on track with my ideas and points. My speech performance overall was better because I have become more comfortable with speaking in public. I was also prepared the most for this speech having a smooth flowing power point and using my note cards as little as possible.

Chapter 15 and 16

Chapter 15 helped but it was also very hard to implement the reasoning into my speech. Appeals were easy to use and actually helped me organize arguments and persuasion of my topic. I used logical appeals and appeals to speaker credibility in my speech. I hope the audience can pick these out because I had a hard time picking some out in the speech videos. Other reasoning like deductive, inductive, casual, and analogical were hard to label in my outline and I might not have done so properly. Chapter 16 will be helpful eventually when I have a certain speech to make. I will be able to reference this book for anything dealing with speaking. I feel that this chapter can help me take different directions in speeches and help create different speech messages. Overall, chapter 15 was most helpful because there was a lot of information that helped me identify certain items in my outline. When you start your outline, you will use this chapter a lot and make sure your properly identify your reasoning and appeals.

Personal experience

One particular incident where I had to persuade others to accept my point of view was just a few days ago when I had to persuade my chapter executive members to accept a new policy. I used an emotional appeal to persuade them to understand and accept my way of thinking. It was difficult but I finally got through to them. They understood the seriousness of the policy and how it would take a toll on all of us. Examples of an emotional appeal was bringing up friends and how we could not be a group of close friends if we could not stand for the same things. This pulled on their emotional strings and got them to agree that the policy would put us all on the same page and eventually creating a better friendship. The difficulties were when I had to defend my position as well as tell them I felt one way to keep them satisfied. I had to bite my own tongue and stand for one thing when I believed another. In the end, it all turned out ok and I can still have my opinion but keep it to myself. I used deductive reasoning and used specific events to help my argument for the new policy. I also used a syllogism becuase my argument had a major premise, minor premise and a conclusion. And last, I did use inductive reasoning by stating my claim and supporting it with specific examples of why we could have prevented certain sitautions in the past by having this policy.

Speech videos

15.1
Making a good argument helps you to persuade your audience. They have four basic points. The first is your thesis which is supported with claims, evidence and reasoning. You try to get your audience to believe your claim and use reasoning to back up her claim. 15.1 use it shows how you can apply the parts of a good argument and thesis. These two videos have shown me how to properly use arguments in my speech and how to use the a thesis. The last vide on sugar was put together well. He had great post boards which were clear, concise, and simple. Schooling Pro video was a very effective speech. She did a great job getting her points across as well as using her note cards effectively. Watching her makes this look easy! Her conclusion was good because she properly stated her points again and had a great closing statement. She used a logical appeal because she used facts to support her argument that people could be home schooled. This example is also an emotional appeal because she used columbine's shooting to appeal to your emotions to try and persuade towards home schooling. She connected with the audience by using examples that we all know about. Columbine was a huge deal and it effected many schools and lives of many students. Schooling con was also a good speach. His intro was strong with a great thesis and preview of points. He uses inductive reasoning by using certain instances to support his position. I also feel he used appeal to emotion by connecting the audience by thinking about their parents teaching them at home. He also had great transitions between his main points.

How are you immersed in a sea of persuasion? Give some examples of persuasive messages you’ve received in interpersonal, public speaking, and mass media contexts. What can you do to become a more critical consumer of persuasive messages?
Persuasive messages are all around me in my daily life. Recently, I was persuaded by Presidnet Barack Obama to vote for him in the election. His whole campaign was set up to persuade the masses on different topics to vote for him in hopes that he will make changes. There are certain things that he will support over the next for years that run paralell with what I see fit for him to do. Everywhere there are ads trying to persuade us to buy products or other add or marketing to persuade us to vote for propositions or governmental officials. Chances are every decision we make should give some credit to persuasive messages from friends, family, media, or other pyublic speaking events. Interpersonal persuasive messages are received in my everday life. My friends try to persuade me to play sports with them or grab food with them at a certian restaurant. there are other messages that are verbal but take a different tone to persuade me to do something with out actually asking me to. In my chapter meetings I also hear persuasive messages when people stand up and try to get the chapter to support thier ideas and programs they want to start. I can become a better critical consumer of persuasive messages by learning what the messages purpose is and what they are tyring to persuade or convince me to do. People can also become more critical consumers by analyzing the messages that media, peers, and public perform.

Chapter 14

I enjoyed the reading this week because it will help me to effectivley persuade the audience of my speech topic and my plan of action. I hope to persuade the audience to change their attitued and beliefs about Greek letter organizations. I think I will use a question of value to find my topic's condition or worth. I am not sure if this is the right speech pattern but i will look into that further. I will take the position that the audience is uninformed because they only know stereotypes about Greeks. There are also myths about greeks which I hope to combat with hard evidence, facts, and my personal experience. The audience will need to be persuaded to change thier outlook on greeks and I will try to motivate them to learn about greeks before stereotyping. The chapter also gives great examples of how to organize the outline. The outline requires a topic, purpose, thesis and main points. Each example shows specific topics, purposes and main points covering each topic. Last, this chapter has helped me choose the pattern to organize my topic and which pattern fits best.

Speech Update

For my speech I am researching Greek letter organizations, the history and what Greek letter organizations are today. My main points touch upon benefits of going Greek, myths and stereotypes, and why and how to go Greek. I plan to start my speech off by telling a story of a stereotypical Greek organization that fits into the stereotype which media has persuaded us to believe. Then I will go into persuading my audience by using facts and evidence about Greeks and try to paint a positive picture of Greeks. I already have a ton of facts and I am also gathering information about Greeks on our campus. A power point will be effective as a visual to help aid me in my speech. I will have pictures of familiar “Greeks” as well as statistics to change the audience’s perception. Once I paint that picture of what Greeks do besides the stereotypical activities, I will suggest a plan of action and why I am Pro Greek. The chart 4.3 in the chapter shows what strategies to use to persuade when being Pro Greek. Suggesting a plan of action will require me to provide information of when and how to join an organization. The plan is to first look into what Greek organizations there are on campus and what their purpose is. Researching an organization is one of the most important things to do as you don’t want to join an organization who’s letters you wouldn’t be proud to wear. I will end my speech with previewing positive points and the suggested plan of action.

website evaluation

Our history is built off a male dominated world. Even words and phrases resemble words that are more masculine and geared towards men. Also using labels can give more importance to the first word in the phrase. Our culture has judged women differently than men and that this is changing slowly. This blog talks about using labels as being offensive and discriminatory against certain people, groups, races, and appearances. I agree to what a few said about using words in different contexts. There is not need to ban a word in all contexts because if could be properly used in one sentence compared to another. They also bring up gender programming and how our society is programmed to discriminate against women and that men are superior to women. Words may have offensive and non offensive meanings. Not all words need to be up for the criticism of the public. You cant always satisfy everyone! These words that are up for discussion may have some negative meanings and may offend some people. But, others simply don’t care to ban words such as chick, girl, boy, asian, short, tall or any word that describes people. If people go on a witch hunt to ban all words that describe a person, we will no longer be able to describe someone or something. You could ban the word girl, and use woman, but that would also offend someone. Use words effectively in context and never in derogatory ways. I understand that people may be upset at certain language usage, but keep it to yourself as not everyone is offended by every word someone says. Overwhelmed by this blog, I just have to say, use your words wisely and try not to offend anyone. Thanks!

Chapter 10/12

Chapter 10 explains that using language can be effective in the success of your speech. Speakers should be careful with their words because they could have different meanings to the audience. Knowing your audience is key because you could offend them by using words that may have denotative or connotative meanings. I would refrain from using slang in my speech as words meaning may be interpreted differently. With students, it is ok to use jargon because we are all associated with school and how the university runs. We would all know the meaning or interpret some words the same. This chapter helps to explain how the way you say things could have a different meaning. For example, saying something in a way that is narrative as opposed to factual, rhythmic opposed to image. Each way you say a phrase could be interpreted differently. I hope I use inclusive language to pull the audience in and not neglect certain groups. Just like the videos, they say to use similes, metaphors, parallelism, rhymes, alliteration, and antithesis to help the audience visualize.
Chapter 12 helps to pick a proper delivery method. Impromptu speech is something that I have always wanted to give because it would put me on the spot and really force me to search through my head to delivery a great speech. Extemporaneous speaking is what I am used to, but now I feel that it doesn’t help me except for becoming more comfortable speaking in front of people. This chapter also explains what one of the videos went over. Using pitch, volume, rate and vocal variety will help me in my next speech. I think I need to improve my volume and rate so I can have a better delivery. I feel that I am too fidgety when speaking. I will combat this by knowing my speech so I am confident to deliver it. Last, using note cards more effectively will help me because I tend to use too many words. I have caught myself reading instead of actually delivering a speech. My next speech, I plan to have key words and phrase on my cards and practice a lot more so I can get an A!

speech videos

In 10.1 you can use current events or use pro nouns to make the audience feel like they are part of the speech. You can also use inclusive language to help people feel like part of the group. Audience centered language also uses metaphors, similes, antithesis, rhyme and alliteration. You can also use humor which is great to link yourself with the audience. 10.2 goes into using correct language. It tells you to stay away from certain words that may offend as well as your language could help you bring the audience into the speech. The speaker uses humor to connect to the audience. I don’t think I will use humor because I cannot play anything off to be funny. I also feel that I would offend someone because my humor is a bit off the wall. The third speaker seemed to be talking to his friends instead of giving a speech. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to use humor but his speech was very informal.
12.1 explains how rate, pitch, volume, tone, vocal variety, articulation and pronunciation. I feel that I usually have a rate that is too fast for my speech. My volume is ok but would need to be louder for a larger audience. My tone does change but I could be more effective when using tone. Overall, I would like to have a better variety of all these factors to be successful in my next speech. The videos showed how people could speak well and even mess up their good speeches by having a poor delivery.
12.2 These videos explain how delivery is the most important thing. Using eye contact shows the audience that you know your topic. Facial expressions can help you express your points. Audiences also like gestures that may be more formal than everyday gestures. Appearance is key you need to pay attention to your audience and surroundings as well as occasion. Looking your best will help with your confidence.
12.3 explains how to properly practice your speech. Their ideas are using your preparation outline and to use words and phrases to help cue your ideas. The goal should be to give an excellent presentation of the same ideas. The speech does not have to be exactly the same. Start with the outline, then use note cards, and even practice in front of friends. I think I could use my note cards better by using key words and phrases. I try too hard to give the exact speech. If I speak more naturally and practice a ton, I will do great!

chapter

I found the chapter helpful with different types of presentation media. It tells you that you can use transparencies, flip charts, white boards, chalk boards, handouts, videos, models and power points. Each of these has benefits as well as being detrimental to your speech. Chalk boards? Who uses those these days? Most schools have white boards and even the electric boards now. Using technology can help your speech but it can also be detrimental. If you were to use a white board, you could improvise while writing on the board but also take time away from speaking and ending eye contact with the audience. Handouts may be effective but I would rather use some slides or power point because hand outs take away from my speech. The audience would be looking at the hand out instead of me. Breaking eye contact would disengage them from the speech. Out of all the forms of media, I will use power point because I am most comfortable with it. I can clearly put together slides that will help enhance the points in my speech. I might use a video or two, but will first have to figure out how to do so.
All of this can be helpful but it also needs to be smoothly implemented into the speech. The speech needs to flow with all of you media and visual aids to prevent any distractions.

One event that I recently attended and even planned was a speech on sex, drugs, and HIV/Aids. The speaker was a HIV survivor and a comedian who spoke about his personal experiences in order to help others. Being a comedian, he was relaxed and even brought humor to the real facts about drugs and sex. He used slides on facts about drugs and sex as well as slides to show the percentages of people who encounter unsafe sex while being under the influence. The media helped to add credibility to the speech as well as enhancing the speech by have clear and concise slides. The media did distract from the speech because his comedy didn’t go hand in hand with the slides. I think that the topic is a serious one and being humorous about such topics is entertaining but not educational. I think if he stepped away from the humor for the end of the speech and talked about the cold hard facts about unsafe sex, drugs and diseases, it would be very effective. He would already have the audiences attention and concluding with seriousness of the issues would really hit home with the audience. The media would come into use because he could have shown the facts during the serious part and not just bring humor to it.

Speech Videos

Watch it 11.1. This will help me in my next speech because I plan on having at least 5 slides. The speaker talks about the slides being simple, use only key ideas, show what you cannot say, use close ups, limit number of images, variety and coherence and large lettering. When using power point, keep the slides simple and do not use too much animation and sounds effects. If the slide has too much information or poor images, it can distract from the information in the speech.
Use it 11.1. To start off, she asked if any one knew the “frat boy”. I take offense to that! The first slide was up for a long time and it had very small print. She had great facts about suicide rates in the nation and comparing it to other forms of death. There were a lot of sources that she used to gain credibility. She covered a lot of information but not much on causes of suicide. Her story and Mike’s story helped bring some emotion from the audience as well as provide credibility.
Watch it 11.2 This video helped to enhance the speech as well as showing when visuals can distract. I can use this information to properly prepare my slides for the persuasive speech. I will have to be careful with keeping the slides simple because I do not want to audience to pay attention to visually distracting slides instead of my speech.
Use it 11.2 I liked these videos because I could see what proper visuals should look like. But, I will use a power point instead of computer paper. All of them spoke very quickly which made it hard to catch all the information.

The overall purpose of the speech was to inform the class that drinking can lead to excessive weight gain as well as freshmen 15. The point of my speech would have been a bit more clear if my preview of points was introduced better in my introduction. According to the evaluation form from class, the preview could have been more clear and definitive. I feel I tried to have a narrative speech but failed because I couldn’t implement a lot of information while still telling a story. During my speech I did feel more comfortable than last time. I think this comes from the overall culture and environment of the class. We all have a slight fear of speaking but I get the feeling that no one us judging me and I can become a better speaker in the positive environment of the class. I wasn’t too confident because I had a lot of last minute changes to the speech. I had sent the incomplete power point presentation and right off the bat that made me feel a bit uncomfortable because I didn’t have all the visuals I needed. During the speech, I felt as if I was in a daze because I just stood there and gave my speech with out actually acknowledging that I was nervous. I also felt that the speech was very short, but I ended up being with in the time slot.
In doing this over again, I would have chosen a different speech pattern because narrative was difficult to implement all the information in the speech while still being able to tell a story. My power point was great, but I could have explained the slides a bit more. The charts were effective but just pictures with out the proper explanation. All of these problems need to be addressed in the organization of the whole speech. I found myself a bit shot for time during the end of the week. I will plan accordingly next time to ensure that I will have time to prepare all parts of the speech. The delivery was not to great. I didn’t have enough eye contact and I also used my note cards too much. Practicing more would allow me to take my attention off the cards and allow me to deliver with more eye contact and holding the audiences gaze longer. The content of my speech will be better because I will have plenty of time to plan and prepare my speech. My number one goal for my next speech will be to practice it 4 times a day for a week. After doing so 28 times, I should have no problem delivering it. I am shooting for an A!
The difference between this speech and my last was that I was less prepared for this one. In my last speech, I had prepared more because I hadn’t given a speech for over 3 years. I had a better delivery but was more nervous before, during, and after the speech. One good thing is that I am more comfortable of speaking in public! My fear is diminishing and I eventually will be a great public speaker. My power point was an effective visual but I feel that actually demonstrating something like the first speech is more effective. Power points help because I didn’t have anything in my hands to distract. My note cards distracted me a lot and it gave me an excuse to look at something other than the audience. My last speech was better because I couldn’t use my note cards because my demonstration was hands on. I also caught myself swaying back and forth a bit too much and it distracted me from the delivery of the speech. This speech was also better because my fear wasn’t distracting me as much and I felt more natural up there because of it. It may not have been a better delivery, but I did feel less nervous. Because of not being as prepared as I could have been, I rate myself as a 4 out of 10 on eye contact. Having eye contact with the audience is important so they know you are talking to them and not just reciting your speech. My next speech I will be prepared enough that I will not need to hold note cards. My eye contact will be 10 out of 10 by maintaining a better gaze with audience. Over all, I feel that I do deserve the grade I got. I deserve a B because I had a functional intro and conclusion but the body of the speech was a bit unorganized and the purpose was unclear. The introduction had a good attention getter, the credibility was weak as well as the preview. But, the conclusion was good because I did review the points well. The closing phrase was weak because I didn’t go out with a bang. I feel that I had all the right things for a proper speech but I couldn’t put them together in the best way possible. The delivery wasn’t as I had hoped and it is due to lack of being as prepared as needed. I had four source citations in my speech which was good but I feel that they were too close together. Overall, I had a better organized outline and most of the required information. But, the delivery was weaker due to practice and organization of the body and its information. I had a great idea for this speech but it fell apart because I tried to have a narrative speech pattern.

videos

Speech Buddy: Review the following interactive videos - - - 9.1, 9.2, 13.1A, 13.1B and "USE IT" 13.1 on the Interactive Video website. What did you learn that could be helpful in your speech?

9.1 goes into introductions. It says that you need to have a very important attention getter with humor or a fun fact. You also need to establish the purpose and thesis as well as preview your main points. The intro is a great foundation for a great speech. 9.2 talks about conclusions and to review your main points because most people will hear your points at the end instead of during the body. 13.1 A talks about techno music and how it started. The speaker does a great job explaining what techno music is and why people like it. He also gives a brief back ground on the Bellevill 3 who started "detroit techno". I will have an in dept backgroud for my next speech since my last speech wasnt that strong. It was great watching him because he seemed to be so fluid in his speech and didnt choke up at all. His power points gave good visual effects but I feel that his hand were distracting. His conclusion didnt seem that great because it ended so quickly. Overall, it was a great informative speech. 13.1B Her intro was great because it applies to almost everyone. She has a great history on cameras and photography. her flash cards didnt seem to help because she read from them too much. I will try to use them only for citing my sources correctly. I like this topic because she relates it to the audience and kept my attention.
13.1 Use it. Great speech but I feel that she was very rushed. It will be hard to remember her points until she reaches the conclusion. she looks down a little too much in her speech. For my informative speech, I will practice 15 times and really memorize the points so I could improvise if I need to. I loved the visuals and how she flipped the poster board over so the audience wouldnt be distracted. Her conclusion was strong and brief but overall a great speech. From all of these videos, I have learned what to put into the intro, conclusion, and how to properly put them all together in an informative speech.

intro and conclusion

Introductions are very important for the speech. I will start with an attention getter to capture to audience’s interest in my topic. This attention getter should be directly related to the topic and should create a desire to hear more about the topic. I feel that a joke for my speech would prove more effective as well as efficient for myself. This would create a very relaxed environment and help me to feel less anxiety. Next would be a preview of my main points so the audience could see the structure of my speech and what points I will talk about. My thesis, will be my main point and should be a solid thesis to clearly get my message across.
For informative speeches the point is to “deepen understanding, raise awareness, or increase knowledge about a topic”. The book says to ask yourself what you want your audience to learn and what they need to know about the topic.
The conclusion is very powerful because most people remember what is said at the end instead of in the body of the speech. Here I will conclude with reviewing the main points and reiterating the message of the speech.
I have a few topics for my speech but haven’t chosen the most appropriate one yet. I hope to start with a joke but I am not much of a comedian. Then I will brief the class on my main points and then the thesis to clearly state why I am informing the class on the topic. My conclusion will be stronger than my last because I know how to properly conclude. I will sum up the main points and leave the audience with an ever lasting message.

chapters 9 and 13

Chapter 9 and 13

I noticed that many students had a preview of their main points in the beginning of the speech. At first it seemed weird, but it gave structure to the speech and kept the audience on track with the speaker. This technique is described in chapter 9. I will try to use this in my next speech so I can stay on track and specifically state my purpose. My conclusion wasn’t very strong in my last speech but I chapter 9 has shown me that I should have a memorable message to reiterate my thesis and make it unforgettable. Chapter 13 has been a great help in my upcoming informative speech. I found out that there are 5 types of informative speeches. My topic can fall under 3 of the 5 types of speeches. But I will need to choose one type and run with it. My speech will either be in spatial pattern which would help me describe a relationship between physical objects or I could use a narrative pattern and tell a short story while describing the object. Chapter 13 has also provided information on how to keep the attention of the audience as well as keeping the message informative. Both of these chapters have given me useful information and I will try to apply all these techniques for a successful informative speech.

chapter 7/8

Chapter 7 helped me with supporting ideas. A few ideas from Aristotle are pathos, appeal to emotion, logos, appeal to logic, and mythos which is the appeal to cultural beliefs and values. I got some ideas about narrative speech and how it can help me get the point across by using a personal story. Testimonies help when they relate the person to the topic. I don’t plan to use this, but definitely will try to use narrative speech format. The last thing in chapter 7 was media credibility and how to use certain sources to strengthen your speech. Along with media, I will use my own knowledge to help prove certain points. Chapter 8 really helped me because I can improve my outline organization. The last speech I had a horrible outline and need improvements for this next one. My ideas were all over the place but after this chapter I should have an easier time organizing. The writing part is smooth, but when it comes down to the technicalities of the outline, I cannot do it to save my life. I hope both of these chapters help me in the next speech.

facts and stats

Statistics and facts seem to be appropriate for speeches where the speaker needs to prove a point of back up an opinion. Statistics can give his opinions credibility and help make stronger arguments. One of the videos from chapter 5 had a lot of statistics but I felt that it almost over powered the speaker and his ability to portray the important information. Sometimes statistics can be distracting because I tend to pay attention to the stats instead of the speaker. In speeches that are meant to inform about a certain subject, like alcohol awareness, stats can be great. I think that I will use statistics to help back my opinions instead of just listing off statistics. Using them for credibility is what I hope to do. I think using statistics on a personal experience might not help credibility because you had the experiences and then you try to justify or back up your experience with further knowledge. I will use sparingly and appropriately to have full effect of statistics instead of just confusing the audience. Facts and statistics are great when used throughout the speech and not just listed. They need to be used in certain points in a speech to bring out the full effect.

videos

I think I could take in a few things from the videos. Theses videos showed me that there are many different organizational patters and transitions that I could potentially implement into my next speech. When reviewing the transitions, I found it very awkward because when stating your points, it felt like listing instead of a speech. I would like to have a more natural rhythm to my speech. Transitions are great and I will use them in my speech but definitely need to do it the way I feel comfortable. They suggested to use slides or power point to show statistics and facts. I live power point and hope I can use it in my next speech. My only worry is that it might distract me and the audience so I might have to tone down the slides. In using facts and statistics, it might take away from the speech. The speech on chapter 5 for alcohol had a lot of facts. I felt that these facts helped the speech but also took away from the speaker because majority of the information was facts. I would have liked to see a more talented speech from the speaker. I look forward to the rest of the semester. I gave a brief speech in front of about 200 people on Monday! Yay for me. It is getting easier to speak publicly, but I still have a long way to go. Good luck to you all!

Speech evaluation

Speech One Evaluation

I felt like a complete mess when I delivered my speech. My overall purpose was to show a different aspect of cooking and marinating steaks. I felt that I did deliver the message but my speech was shaky. My nervousness took over me but I did know my speech which helped me because I didn’t have to fumble around with my note cards. After the speech I felt confident because I received a B. If I got another chance, I would practice another 7 time. The only way I can improve my public speaking is to practice and do it so much that I become comfortable. The outline was very technical and I should have followed it a bit more. For the next speech, I will have the outline done earlier and fix all the small things before my speech instead of improvising during the speech. My one goal overall, is to lower my anxiety so I can have a better delivery. I feel that I fumble with my words, gestures, and demonstration when I am nervous. It is hard to look at the audience because I feel that they are judging me. It is a lot easier for me to just read my speech but I know I will never grow by doing that. After watching my video, I felt embarrassed to see myself because I looked like a mess. It is embarrassing enough to give the speech and to watch was even worse. But it does help to see myself because I can pick at all the small stuff. At first, I looked down at the table too much trying to avoid everyone’s eyes. I was also playing with the props because I was nervous and needed to do something with my hands. This actually took away from my speech because it made it seem that I didn’t know what I was doing. Towards the middle, my speech enthusiasm slowed down a bit as my nervousness took the best of me. I finished strong in the end but I cannot be satisfied with my speech until I earn and A. I think the most distracting thing was the time cards. They are very helpful but for myself and others, it seemed to distract and sometimes cause them to lose train of thought. When the 5 minute mark was held up, it completely threw me off and I even said out loud that it distracted me. This I will definitely not do again. Many people mentioned that it was a bad point in my speech. My eye contact wasn’t great but I would give myself a 6 because I did have a good amount of eye contact. The beginning of my speech was afraid to look at the audience but soon got a bit more comfortable as the speech went on. Next time I hope to give myself an honest 10 out of 10 for eye contact. I have improved because the last speech I gave was 2 years ago and I read straight from my note cards. Not prepared at all! This next speech will be longer and I will prevent myself from having visual aids that could potentially distract me. I mentioned 3 source citations in the speech which helped me gain credibility with the information I was giving. It seemed weird at first when writing the speech to add citations, but it proved helpful in the end. I would give myself a B based on the video. My introduction was odd and not too strong because it didn’t catch the attention of the audience as I had hoped. My points were not clear and I just dove into the speech. My conclusion wasn’t strong either because I didn’t clearly sum up the ideas of my speech. During my speech, I could improve distracting movements and gestures. The visual aids proved to be great but also distracting for myself. When finished, I was 19 seconds over the 5 minute mark. My grade was deserved and I have a lot to improve on for my next speech. Looking forward to it!

-Nick W

Chapter

The chapter had tips on how to adapt to an audience and the importance of connecting with them. The chapter had info about adapting to a diverse audience and where you can successfully formulate your speech to connect with them. Most of the problems you might run into are diversity of backgrounds and cultures. But keeping aware of these differences you can still have a great speech and a clear message. Another part of the chapter that I might find helpful is an audience research questionnaire. I have never used one or filled one out but it sounds like it could be of some use. Questionnaires have both open ended and closed ended questions. I have experience in making questions for a class survey, but not for an audience. Open ended questions come in handy for interviews because you receive in depth answers. I hope to use some of this audience adaptation during my speech to connect with the audience and keep them intrigued with my speech.

videos

Being someone who loves to practice the intake of alcoholic beverages, as well as enjoy nice wine and beer, I found his speech to be very informative about the effects of drinking. He had great statistics about driving drunk and the death ration for a 160 pound person if they were to drink 2,4,6 and 8 beers. His transparencies had great information. He goes into statistics about college students. This is great to grab the audiences attention because most likely the speech is given to college students. It is amazing how your potential for death exponentially increases as you drink more. It scares me to know how many alcohol related deaths there are even when the victims or drivers are under the legal limit. When he spoke about unconscious drinkers it may me realize that either I or friends have been in that position. Granted, I have never had any bad experiences, but it is good to know how to handle it if it occurs. I felt that parts of his speech were read from his note cards, but to be honest, I become a wreck when I speak and would do the same. His slides were great, but to have more persuasion and feeling portrayed, he could have used pictures to show what could happen in accidents. He didn’t seem to have too much emotion or enthusiasm in his speech. It was monotone and didn’t catch my attention until he referred to important facts.
The speech by the girl was short but I believe it was just an into to her whole speech. Or, it was her whole speech that should have been 8 minutes long. I didn’t learn much because it was very brief. The only information I received was what she was going to touch on if she were to complete the whole speech. She was energetic and didn’t read too much and would have a great speech if she had more content. I learned that you need to be prepared and have a full speech in your head so you can properly give your speech to the class.

Audience analysis and adaptatio

First off, I would like to adapt to the audience to find how they could be interested in my chosen topic. Adapting to the audience in class might be difficult because I have not met any one before. But I will make assumptions that they enjoy food as much as I do. Generally, most students are between the ages 18-21 who take this course and directing a speech geared toward this age group would be wise to gain their interest. I will read the into blogs of classmates to get a general idea of the individuals in the class. During my speech, I hope to get positive responses to help build my confidence. But, I can get this reaction by preparing an amazing speech and visuals to grab the audiences attention. I hope to create a relaxed speech environment to help myself during the speech and allow the audience to listen to the information on a casual basis. It is very important to my success as a speaker to research my audience. In the end, I could give a great speech, but if no one listens, who will know it is great? My visual aids, maybe some humor, and enthusiasm will assist me in gaining interest in my speech. Good luck! See you all on the 30th.

Speech Update

The topic I chose for my demonstration speech was “how to prepare a rib eye steak”. First off, I love Steak!!!! Absolutely in love with tender and juicy cow meat. I have been researching steak marinades, ways to prepare it, different ways to cook it and how to apply physics to cooking it. I also poked my nose into a few books that specialize in steak and beef cuts and ways to prepare them. Each source had break downs of each step and different ways to prepare meat for different cultures. But, with this new information of specific cooking techniques, I still found that my previous technique to be more interesting. The main point of my speech is to share how to properly prepare a steak with applied physics by using water vapor to flavor a steak instead if marinating for a day or two. I hope I can find a good way to demonstrate without it taking up to much time. Ingredients, steak, and proper directions will be mixed in with the actual visuals. Preparation of a raw steak before, a steak during marinating, and then the steak after being cooked should be efficient visuals.



-Nickw

Research interviews

What experience do you have conducting research interviews? What went well? Share experience

In high school I did a research interview on a person who was born outside the U.S. This was the only one I have ever done. I believe it went well for being my first interview but there is need of much improvement. First off, I wasn’t that prepared because I didn’t know how to ask the right questions or how to get the right answers. Because of this I had to have a second interview to straighten up the information. What I learned was that you need to be thoroughly prepared to interview someone. Have some questions set out with follow up questions. Ask open ended questions as it can keep a conversation going. Remember that you need to have a purpose to the interview and need for some specific information. When I conducted the interview, I had lots of primary questions, but very few secondary questions. But what saved me was the leading questions I asked in the second interview after I had basic information from the first interview. Next time I have an interview I will set out an interview guide as suggested in the reading. This will help me stay on topic as well as asking the right questions. It is basically a play by play of how the interview will end up. Also, I will do a better job of applying the information. This will be easier as I will have more appropriate information to use for my speech or presentation.

Week one post

What I found helpful in the reading:

I found all of chapter 2 very helpful because I have tons of things to work on. The information in chapter 2 will come in handy becuase a lot of the techniques are in preparation of the speech. This will help me be prepared and in the end be able to successfully give my speech with out thinking about the fumbliing of words. I also liked the part about keeping a positive attitude. I have always had negative feelings about public speaking. If i make it a positive experience then i might enjoy speaking and in turn take more time to speak publicly. I hope to apply this asap because i usually get nervous just thinking about speaking. If i put positive words and phrases to speaking then i will eventually view it as a good experience and hopefully look forward to it.

-NickW

Chapter 6

I found all of chapter 6 useful because it clearly lays out how you can research for you topic. On this upcoming speech, I plan to use a few things from chapter 6. Of course, I will use all kinds of sources like the Internet, books, and possibly an interview or two. This chapter really goes into depth of what kinds of Internet sites to use and different ways to research your topic. For my topic, I will use different key words and phrases to get the most up to date information. It also explains how to ask the right questions which will decrease the interview time as well as getting the answers you are looking for. After gathering all the information, it takes time to evaluate the research materials. In my upcoming speech, I hope to have gathered enough information that I need to cut back in order to still get the point across. Proper documentation is important as you do not want to plagiarize. With lots of preparation, research and planning I hope to have a successful speech.

-Nickw

videos

In the breathing video I became aware that we could use breathing to help calm down and promote the speech delivery. I have personally had times where I would be short of breath or even breathe very heavily during a speech. It was very distracting when I had to focus on breathing normally instead of giving the speech. I plan to try and use these techniques for my first speech and make it habit.

Public speaking as a whole is one of my fears. I wish I could better identify my weaknesses because I would then be able to fight those things that hold me back from being a great speaker. In the video I learned that finding your weaknesses and then addressing them could really help with becoming an overall better speaker.
One thing I can definitely work on is practice. If I know the content well enough then I can focus on the delivery of the speech. Some of the advice in this video was to practice the intro and conclusion as well as being comfortable in your speech environment. I feel that overall public speaking is a sour subject and if I am ever to succeed in it I will have to put more time and energy into perfection.
Jessica’s speech was amazing. It drew me in because it was appealing as well as interesting. This was a great overall example because her delivery was perfect and intriguing. A great speaker could get the attention and keep the audience engaged even with a subject the audience doesn’t care about. Her speech took a lot of effort, practice and preparation to get her to delivery so smoothly. I hope to pick up on these techniques and make them a normal part of my public speaking.

What makes me feel apprehensive about public speaking?

Public speaking… one of my greatest fears. Stage freight absolutely destroys any public speaking success that could have come my way. When I speak in front of audiences of more than ten, I end up feeling tense, nervous and even forget what I am talking about. Practice makes perfect… right? Well, not in my case. I have tried to overcome my fear of speaking but seem to always shy away from speaking. Every time I speak I seem to jumble up my words and even forget to say words that connect two parts of a sentence. I even get nervous thinking about a speech that is 3 weeks away. My throat knots up and my hands get clammy. I would love to find a fix for my fear as it has haunted me my whole life. My goal is to become a stronger public speaker as I speak publicly about 4 times a week with the different organizations I am a part of. I hope to take the first steps to conquering my fear of public speaking.

NickW

Hey!

just getting ready for the school year. Summer was great, busy but needed to stay entertained. I am looking forward to this class because I have put it off for the last 3 semesters. Being prepared for school and the busy year to come, I anxiously await my first round of assignments and midterms. Good luck to you all!

-Nick Wright