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.

Self Evaluation

I think that I achieved the purpose of my speech very well. I felt somewhat confident during the speech, more that I thought I would. If I had to do it over again I would probably give my self more time to practice the speech. I would have liked to have practiced it a few more times before I delivered it. I also would have incorporated the slides into the speech a little more. To improve the content of my next speech I will research my topic more. My goal to improve the delivery of my next speech is to practice it more and try to make myself more comfortable when delivering my speech. I feel that I have gotten more comfortable and that I read less from my cards now. I still do distracting things like pay with my hair and move my feet, but I am more aware of them now and I try t to do them during my speech. I would rate my eye contact at about a 5 or 6, which could still use a lot more improvement. I would probably give my self a B for this speech, I feel that I fulfilled all of the required tasks, but that there were still some things I could have improved on, such as eye contact and preparedness. I think I only counted one source in my speech, but only because I was not aware that they needed to be cited in the speech. I feel that this speech was better than my last speech, because every time I talk in front of an audience, it gets a little bit easier each time.

Public speaking event

I recently got a new job at a large company. At the orientation for the new job there were about seventy five new hires like me and also many different speakers. Most of the speakers ecorporated a PowerPoint slide show into their speeches and other used other types of media such as videos. I would say that most of the speakers used the power point slides very well. They kept them simple with a few words or bullet points and maybe a picture. These slides were very easy to read and added to instead distracted from what the speaker was saying. Some of the speakers however tried to make their slide show more interesting by using those silly transitions from one slide to the next. These I feel were very distracting because I was focusing more on what the slide was doing rather than what the speaker was saying. Also one of the speakers put a lot of information on each slide so it was hard to listen to the speaker and read the slides at the same time. When creating a slide show I feel that it is best to keep the slides simple, with few bullet points or key words and maybe an impactful picture or two.

Ethical Responsibilities

When used correctly, digital files can greatly enhance your speech. They can draw attention to your topic, illustrate an idea, stimulate emotional reactions, clarify key points, and so much more. But if they are used incorrectly or if they are misused, it could have a very negative effect on the outcome of the speech. A speaker’s ethical responsibility when developing media presentation for a speech is to thoroughly check their sources, making sure that the media that they are going to use is coming from a credible and reliable source. They should make sure that the media that they are going to use has not been altered in any way. If a speaker does not do this then they could lose their credibility and the audience may not believe or trust anything that the speaker says for the rest of the speech. I think that some other ethical responsibly include making sure that the media being presented in the speech is appropriate for the topic, and also that the speaker doesn’t let the media being used do the talking for them. Meaning that the media is only being used to enhance what the speaker is saying, not delivering the information for them.

Components of Intro & Conclusion

According to our book there are four components of an introduction and three components of a conclusion. The components of an introduction are first an attention getter, second a purpose and thesis, third credibility and the fourth component is a preview of the main points. The components of a conclusion are first review of the main points, second reinforcing the purpose, and third providing closure for your audience. For my speech I am doing Heart Disease, so for an attention getter I can use a story of a family member that has died from heart disease or maybe a surprising statistic or fact. For my purpose and thesis I will explain that I am going to talk about heart disease and why, to establish credibility I will state how and why I am informed enough to talk about it and for the main points I will go over what main points of heart disease will be talking about. For my conclusion I will restate the main points that I wanted to get across. I will reinforce the purpose and I will provide closure by having an ending statement.

One Concept: Make Yor Speech Topic Come Alive

The topic of making your speech topic come alive really stood out to me in this week’s reading. If you don’t do this your speech may be very boring and your audience won’t be very engaged in your speech. The book says a speaker can make their speech topic come alive by demonstrating a positive attitude and connecting to the audience in meaningful ways. This can be accomplished by establishing a context for your topic that excites your audience's imagination and also by using vivid language to describe your main points. Having an awesome topic can mean nothing if you don’t speak about it in a positive and exciting manner. You can also make a not so great topic come alive by using vivid language and connecting it to your audience. Making your topic come alive will help you to keep your audience interested in your speech, in turn helping you to be more confident while giving your speech helping you portray a positive attitude about your topic.

Facts and Statistics

According to the book, a speaker should use facts and statistics when making a "logical appeal". They are best used in persuasive speeches when statistics and facts can make an impact, because they appeal to logic. I feel that they would not be very effective when trying to make an impact with your audience during a demonstration speech, because the facts and especially statistics probably don’t relate to your topic or get the point across like they would in other types of speeches. In persuasive speeches, they can help you to make an emotionally or logical impact on your audience persuading them to do whatever it is you want them to do, or see things your way. Also in informative speeches facts would be especially important because information is what you would base your speech on, and the information you give to your audience would be based on facts. You should probably use facts in every speech you give in order to show credibility and to know you are giving the correct information to your audience, but I think that statistics should only be used when you want to make an impact.

Speech Buddy Videos 7.1, 7.2, 8.1, and 8.2

I learned a few things in watching this week’s speech buddy videos. Video 7.1 was on the use of supporting material. I found this useful because I learned that you should use different types of supporting materials for different types of speeches and what you want to accomplish with them and you should use multiple types in each speech. In video 7.2 Evan discusses how important it is to choose media sources, and he listed some of the types of media that can be used. He also stated that books are generally more reliable because of the multiple authors that work on them and the review that they go over before the books are published. Video 8.1 goes over the different patterns of organizations for a speech. I did not know that there were so many! This helped me because when Carol stated that we should use the topical pattern for our speech, I wasn’t really sure what this meant. This video, along with the book helped clarify that for me, and also showed the different types of patterns that I could use for other speeches. Video 8.2 described the ways to link your main points in a speech. I always seem to have a problem doing this smoothly in my speeches and this video showed me different words or phrases that I could use. All of these videos are helpful because they give you something to think about while writing your speech, which you may have missed otherwise.

Using Audience Research in Your speech

One concept that really stood out to me this week was the one about using the audience research in your speech. I understood how to analyze your audience, giving a questionnaire, and get information such as demographics and values, but I really wasn't sure what to do with this information. How would I incorporate this information into my speech? Well first you have to get the right type of audience data for your speech. There is summary statistics, and there are direct quotes. Summary statistics reflect trends and comparisons in your audience, while direct quotes are comments written in response to open ended questions. Referring to this information in your speech seems like the hard part to me, But you can use them as an attention getter at the beginning of your speech, or use it to back up a main point throughout your speech. It can be very important to use this information in some of your speeches in order to have a positive outcome with your speech.

Audience Analysis and adaptation

Audience analysis and adaptation are very important to consider when writing and giving your speech. According to our textbook, audience analysis is obtaining and evaluating information about your audience in order to anticipate their needs and interests and design a strategy and respond to them. You can do this by finding out the information such as demographics, interests, and values of your audience before you write or give your speech, and then tailoring your speech to fit your audience. You should use this information to adapt your speech in order to make it more meaningful or interesting to you audience. This is very important because if you don’t consider your audience while making your speech then your audience may become very bored, or for some subjects, you might offend them in some way while giving your speech. You do not want to do this because you want yourself and your audience to have a positive outcome from your speech. I plan to use audience analysis while writing my speech by using the information that I have already receive from attending previous classes, such as the interests that some classmates have portrayed to me, and also knowing what time the class is at and judging the moods of my peers when I get there to adapt my speech to fit the needs of my audience.

Ch 5 Speech Buddy Videos

I can honestly say that I somewhat enjoy watching these speech buddy videos. They show me what I need work on with my own speeches and I learn something from each and every one of them. I feel that the speeches that we watched this week were not as exceptional as the videos in previous weeks, but I also feel that this makes them more relatable to myself and how I feel when speaking in front of the class. The speech about alcohol was very interesting because I feel that students in colleges can really relate to what the speaker was talking about. I do feel however that the speaker did not seem very confident in either his topic or his speaking abilities. This shows me that the audience can really pick up on whether or not you are confident in your speech. The speaker for the light pollution speech also did not seem as confident as she could be, I feel that she was speaking very rapidly, and also somewhat quietly (which may have just been my computer, I'm not sure). This shows me that I really need to practice my speech multiple times and feel very confident in my material and ability to present it, in order to keep the audience fully engaged.

One Concept: Research Guidelines

I think that the "Research Guidelines" section on pg 119 of chapter 6 serves as a good starting point when you start to research a speech, or even a paper. I feel that starting with a set of guidelines at the beginning of your research can really help to keep you on track and get all the information that you need. Starting early and scheduling time to do research will ensure that you won't have to rush to do it all the day before your speech is due. Asking questions, such as at the library and asking your instructor can help insure that you get the accurate and reliable information that you need. Keeping accurate records of the sources you find will help you come back to them later and will help when citing them in your speech and outline. Taking notes on each source will help ensure you that the information is relevant to your topic. Revising your research as you go will help you make sure that you are staying on topic and not going off in a different direction. Knowing when to move on and when to go back will ensure that you get enough research time in while still having time to contribute to other key parts of your speech. If you need to go back and find more information, the revisions that you made earlier will make it faster and easier to find a missing piece. These are all guidelines to follow when researching your speech to ensure that you have a good researching experience.

Ch 6 Speech Buddy Videos

Video 6.1 Managing the Research Process, was very short and to the point, but it had helpful information for when researching your speech.  When researching my speeches in this class, I will definitely start with what I know and don't know, and then go from there. I will also determine the validity of the sources that I use in my speeches. Another great tool for researching a speech is the library. I don't go to the library often, but maybe I will if I cant find enough sources from home, or don't have enough information for my speech. 

The two speeches that we watched this week were also helpful. Dory's speech was very interesting, the speech about slugs was about as interesting as it could be, being about slugs. It is very helpful to watch these people give speeches because I hope to be able to deliver a speech as well as they do, in this class. Another thing that I find very helpful while watching these videos is to click on the outline tab next to the video box and click on note cards. Looking at these really shows me how much information should be written on a note card, because I tend to want to write my whole speech down, just in case I forget a part. I will have to work on that for this class. 

Research Interviews

I have done many research papers in past classes, and even a couple of speeches that I needed to conduct  extensive research on, but I can't recall ever doing a research interview for any of them. Which means I really don't have much experience to share with everyone and it also probably means that I need much improvement on the topic. However I have seen interviews conducted on TV, which I can go from. I would say that probably the best advice to give would be scheduling enough time, not only for the interview, but after the interview in order to be able to incorporate the information given to you, into your speech or paper accordingly. Also come prepared to the interview, figure out your questions ahead of time so you know what to ask the person when you get there. You can always adjust your questions to the information the interviewee gives you if need be. I feel that there it probably takes some practice to conduct a good interview, and I hope to possibly conduct one my self when researching a speech for this class.

One concept: Building Confidence Before the Day of the Speech

One topic that really stood out to me from this week’s reading was the concept on “Building Your Confidence Before the Day of Your Speech.” There are many aspects that fall under this topic, but they are all very important in delivering a great speech on the day of. Building your confidence before the day of your presentation can reduce some speech anxiety that you may have, and will show the audience that you are prepared for it. Planning and preparing your speech early gives you much needed time to practice it many times. Choosing a topic that you are interested in will help you to “focus more on it and less on yourself” and will help you enjoy researching your topic . Researching your topic will help you to become an expert on it, and increase your confidence when giving your speech and answering questions about it. Researching your audience will help you learn how they feel about your topic and help you to make any necessary changes to make them respond positively to your presentation. Practicing your speech many times before the presentation day will help you in delivering it. It will increase your confidence on the delivery of your speech and it will help you too use your notes and visual aids the best you can. Knowing your introduction and conclusion well can boost your confidence and help reduce your anxiety while giving the speech. All of these tasks are very important in building your confidence before the day of the speech, which in turn will help you give a confident and well thought out presentation.

Speech Buddy Videos

Watching these videos, I learned that many people get anxiety before giving a speech, but there are many different ways to cope and deal with this anxiety, thus allowing you to come off as a confident public speaker.  I think that using the three different breathing techniques from the first video will help me to reduce my anxiety and stress right before I give my speech. Also preparing my self before the day of the speech will help with my anxiety as well. Practicing my speech in front of  people, and saying it aloud a few times can definitely help me to become more confident in the delivery of my speech. Really researching my speech topic can help me to feel confident in the content of my speech, and answering any questions the audience may have about it. I hope that using these methods will help me to not feel as much anxiety when giving a speech in front of people, and that with time, and practice I will become a confident and comfortable speech giver.

Public Speaking Apprehension

There are many things that make me very apprehensive about public speaking. It is one aspect of school, and life, that I have never enjoyed. Before a speech, and even as I am writing it, I get very bad speech anxiety, which is as stated in chapter 2 fear of public speaking. The book describes some of the symptoms of speech anxiety being quavering voice, shaky hands, dry mouth, mind going blank, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, increased rate of speech, and sweaty palms. This is pretty much how I will feel right before and during a speech. I am also worried that what I say, think and write will be judged, which I shouldn't even have to worry about in this class, or in life anymore, but its only human to worry about what others will think of you. I think it is kind of strange that I have speech anxiety because I feel that I am a confident person, and I don't mind being around groups of people. Its only when I have to get up and talk in front of people in a formal manner that my nerves go through the roof. I really hope that this class will help me get over my speech anxiety and I will no longer be scared to talk in front of a group of people in other classes as well as in other aspects of my life. 

Hi everyone!
I have never don't a blog before, so this is all new for me! It seems very strange to blog under a fake name, so here goes nothing! This is my 3rd semester at sierra college, and I plan to apply for nursing school this fall. I just completed my last prerequisite over the summer. I have definitely procrastinated in taking this class, because talking in front of people gives me a lot of anxiety, and pretty much scares the crap out of me, which i have a feeling it does for a few others in this class so at least I'm not alone! Through this class I hope to overcome my fear of public speaking, because I believe it can help in my career as a nurse.

I look forward to getting to know all of you in this class, and I hope we have an awesome semester together!