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.