What I will take from this class

There are so many different things that I will take from this class! Probably one of the most helpful things will be how to deal with speech anxiety. I get so nervous before any form of public speaking and these techniques really helped me during this class. Also just knowing the proper ways to write a speech will be very helpful. I know for whatever may be ahead, if I am asked to give a speech or presentation I will know how to be prepared for it and give a speech the write way, instead of possibly just rambling. I hope to become a registered nurse, and I know that there are many times, especially if I become a manager, that I will have to give a speech. I know that I can always look back on the techniques that I learned in this class and be able to give a good speech.

Favorite Speech

My favorite speech was probably the demonstration speech. I liked being able to do something with my hands. For some reason this helped a lot with my nerves, I wasn’t nearly as nervous while giving this speech as I was during the others. It was much easier to incorporate a demonstration into my speech than I thought it would be; this speech was also probably the most fun one to write because I got to base everything else off of my demonstration. This speech probably went so well for me because I choose a topic that I was really interested in, and it was something that I do every day. So I wasn’t very nervous about messing up at all! Even though I hate giving speeches, having something to do in the middle that takes the focus off of the talking actually make it somewhat bearable. When I give speeches in the future, I hope that I can incorporate a demonstration into it somehow!

Helpful Concepts

I think the most helpful concepts in preparing my speeches were the ones on how to handle your nerves before a speech. I liked the idea of trying to feel excited for a speech instead of nervous. This helped when I was about to give my speech. I also liked the different breathing techniques to help calm you down before giving a speech. These really helped me to control my nerves right before I got up to speak. Another concept that I found helpful in this class was that you should start planning your speech early. Before this class I never realized how much time and preparation is actually needed to give a good speech. Starting early will give you time to brainstorm, research and really plan out your speech, and it also gives you time to practice it! All in all I think that I learned many great concepts in this class that will help me with many speeches to come.

Speech Buddy Videos Ch 15

Speech Buddy video 15.1 was very helpful in clarifying the 4 main points in a good argument. These 4 main points are the thesis, claim, evidence and reasoning. You must have all 4 of these to make a good argument during a persuasive speech.

In the video Schooling Pro, the speaker is arguing that home schooling is what is best for kids. I feel that her claims, of schools being to violent or kids being afraid is a little outrageous. Maybe its because I am from a small town but the kids I know don't go to school "and wonder if they will come out alive." I feel that this makes her speech less believable and there is no evidence to support these claims that she is presenting. But I did like how well she stated her main points and and had a clear argument. She appealed to her audiences emotions by starting about a narrative about a kid coming home from school and bursting into tears. I also liked how she stated points from an opposite point of view.

In the Schooling Con video I feel that he also did a very good job presenting his speech. He used sources and evidence in each of his main points. I feel that he appealed to logic more that anything. Because most people realize that it would be very hard for parents to teach their kids everything they need to know, especially if that parent needs to work to support the household.

One Concept: Avoinding Fallacies in Arguments

This week I decided to write about fallacies in an argument. I think it is very important to know and understand what a fallacy is because not only do you want to avoid using them in your own speech or argument, but you also want to be able to detect them in other peoples arguments so that you don't succumb to false information. A fallacy is an error in making an argument. It could be a faulty assertion, flawed evidence, defective reasoning or an erroneous response. Both speakers and listeners should be aware of fallacies. They can appear valid and reasonable but upon closer inspection, would not hold up. Including fallacies in a speech, even if it is unintentional, reflects poorly on the speaker and is unethical. If you are unaware of your error in the argument you are trying to make, that means you probably did not do thorough research. And if you are aware of your fallacy, but include it anyways, that means you are trying to get your audience to believe and support something that is untrue. As an audience member, you have to listen to what your speaker says, but maybe not believe everything they say until they can truly back it up, or even until you do some research on your own.

One Concept: Persuading different types of audiences

I know that when doing a persuasive speech, you are going to have to try and persuade many different types of people. But I never really thought about all the different audiences you could have, and also how you would tailor your speech in order to meet the needs of these different types of people you could be talking in front of. The different types of audiences you could have are the negative audience, he positive audience, the divided audience, the uninformed audience, and the apathetic audience. A negative audience is one that is informed about your topic, but has an unfavorable view of the topic. For this audience I think that it is really important to help the audience see your topic in a positive way and also to be prepared for negative reactions. The positive audience has a favorable view of your topic. For them you should reinforce the positive view and rally tem to take action. The divided audience is also informed but half of them favor your topic and the other half doesn’t. For this audience you have to recognize both sides and establish common ground. Then you have to integrate strategies for both negative and positive audiences. The uninformed audience is unfamiliar with your topic. For them you have to inform them and keep your persuasion subtly. And finally the apathetic audience is one that is not interested in your topic. For this audience you should try to gain their interest and try to show them how the topic may affect them. This should all be kept in mind when preparing your speech because you may have an audience that includes many of these different types.

Monroe's Motivated Sequence and the Problem/Solution organizational patterns

  
According to our book, Monroe's Motivated Sequence is a 5 step pattern of organization that requires speakers to identify and respond to what will motivate an audience to pay attention. For the first step the speaker must relate the topic to listeners in order to gain their attention. then the speaker must establish the need for something or existence of a problem. for the third step the speaker must provide the audience with the solution to the problem. Next the speaker is to help the audience visualize an outcome. And finally for the fifth step the speaker tell the audience how to implement he solution.

The problem solution pattern, also according to our book, is a pattern that organizes a speech by describing a problem and providing solutions. The speaker first establishes a problem and then provides the foundation for persuading the audience of the solution that should be implemented.
I think for my speech, the problem solution patten would be easiest.