Week 17, Discussion 3

I can honestly say that this class has helped me improve greatly with my public speaking skills. I learned so much in this class and I am definitely going to take all the information with me in the future. I could pinpoint so many little things that we learned that I am going to take with me in the future but I could go on for days. One topic that I will definitely take with me is the speaking for different occasions. I found it interesting that there are different ways to prepare a speech for different occasions. I know that in the future I will have to give speeches for awards, or at weddings, so knowing how to correctly prepare for the speeches and present them is extremely beneficial to me.

Week 17 Disucssion 2

This class has taught me so much about public speaking; I don’t even know where to begin. A lot of concepts were used throughout the semester but one that stuck out the most to me was memorizing the introduction and conclusion when preparing to give a speech. I think we learned this before the first speech, I can’t quite remember, but I used the method for my speeches. I found it the most useful because it really helped calm my nerves while I was presenting. I usually get really bad anxiety but knowing that I had my introduction and my conclusion memorized help relieve the stress quite a bit.

Week 17, Discussion 1

Out of the three speeches that we gave, the speech that was my favorite would have to be the informative speech. I didn’t mind doing research on this topic or writing my speech for it because I thought my topic was interesting. It was by far the easiest speech for me to write. I have taken psychology before so I recognized a lot of the words and I was able to connect all of the different concepts together without thinking extremely hard about them. I also enjoyed listening to the other students give their speeches because it isn’t every day that you learn so much about the most, I guess you could say random, things.

Self-Evaluation 3

As the third speech was approaching, I felt confident. The last two speeches that I have given have gone over extremely well so I was not worried about this last speech. The topic that I chose was genocide and I think that I achieved the purpose well. I informed my audience about genocide, told them about what happens to those who genocide is being inflicted upon, and then gave solutions. Out of the fifteen feedback sheets I received, twelve said that my speech was highly persuasive.

During the speech, I feel like I was confident but not confident enough. There were some parts of my speech that I could not remember for the life of me so I was nervous about them but when it came down to it, I ended up being able to complete those parts without fumbling my words. I noticed that the time was winding down quickly so when it came to my conclusion I missed a sentence or two and stumbled a few times.

If I had to do this speech all over again, I would explain more ways for everyone to get involved. I could have done more research on it but it was hard to find solutions because it is mostly something that the government has to get involved with. In preparation, I would have studied my speech a lot more. I wanted to be able to memorize my whole speech and not use my note cards but I was unsuccessful at doing so. I think that the organization of my speech was good as well as my support, but for the delivery I think that if I had practiced more, I wouldn’t have stumbled.

Something that was different from my last speech that was good was that I didn’t say any “ums” or “likes.” This was something that I wanted to focus on with this last speech so I am glad that I accomplished it. Something that was different from my last speech that is considered bad was that I didn’t practice it as much, so I used my note cards a lot more. Like I stated before, I wanted to be able to accomplish this last speech without using any note cards but I ended up using them way more than I actually had the last two speeches.

I didn’t do anything distracting in this last speech. I stood still, made eye contact, and refrained from all of the “ums” and “likes.” I am happy to say that this was definitely an improvement from my last speech! I thought that my last speech went well but after watch the tapes again I realize how annoying filler-words are.

On a scale of 1-10, I would rate my eye contact an 8. I used my note cards but the only time I read directly off of them was from quotes. On a scale of A-F, I would give myself a “b.” If I had more of my speech memorized and I did not stumble on my words, I would have given myself an "A." I know that I can do better; I just needed to practice my speech more. However, I did accomplish the purpose of my speech and I did successfully persuade my audience to get involved!

This speech was not better than my last speech. I felt a lot more confident in my last speech because I knew every single detail and I practiced a lot more. I also didn’t use my note cards as much last time, because I had most of my quotes memorized. In my speech, I mentioned my sources six times. Based on my review of all three of my speeches, I think that I performed my second speech the best. It was the speech that I spent a lot of time on and practiced the most. I knew it better than I knew my first and third speech and I felt really confident while giving it.

Week 15, Discussion 3

In Chapter 16, I learned how to correctly create speeches of occasions. There are speeches of nomination, award presentations, acceptance speeches, after-dinner speeches, tributes and eulogies, and mediated speaking. During speeches of nomination, one must "identify the nominee, cite the best reasons for selecting the person, personalize the candidate without being too informal, express confidence in how the nominee will perform, ask for the group's support, and thank the group" (428). During award presentations, "a spotlight should be shined on the award, the recipient, and the occasion" (429). For acceptance speeches, one should be thankful and humble, succinct, and contextualize the award. After-Dinner speeches are usually part of an organizational event. One should be entertaining and lighthearted but also focus on the theme. Tributes and eulogies should emphasize emotion appropriately and provide inspiration. When giving a mediated speech, one should "dress appropriately, try to learn as much as possible about the structure and format of the event, write a brief presentation outline with keywords and phrases that can quickly be glanced at, limit physical movement, be assertive and confident, and avoid acronyms or jargon that only those who are knowledgeable of the topic would understand" (435).

Week 15, Discussion 2

Every day at work I have to persuade customers into my opinion. I work for a company that provides home furnishings and our customers rely on our knowledge of the furniture and design. Persuading them to buy our products can be extremely complicated. In order to persuade them into, I guess you could say, buying my "opinion," I tell them the benefits of the product by backing it up with evidence. For example, I refer to the kind of material the product is made out of and talk about our competitive prices that we offer. In order to persuade customers into buying something you must state your claim and then back it up with evidence.

Week 15, Discussion 1

Video 15.1 taught me about the elements of arguments. They are thesis, claims, evidence, and reasoning. A thesis is very important because it states the central idea of your speech. In order to support your thesis, you use claims, evidence, and reasoning. It is very important to link your evidence to your claims. I am going to use this in my speech by making sure I make the claim that genocide is a serious issue that should be taken control of and then give evidence as to why I am making this claim. In Schooling: pro I noticed that Dixie had very good eye contact and spoke at a constant rate. She sounds very confident about her topic as she walks around and looks towards the audience but I think that she could have talked a little louder. While watching Schooling: Con I noticed that Robert used a lot of gestures, which, to me, was really annoying. He sounds excited about the topic and spoke at a good rate with a good pitch. I think that Dixie connected to the audience better than Robert because she gave a lot of eye contact, seemed very confident, used hand gestures but not too many to be annoying, and walked around while she gave her speech. Although I have never had a problem with the rate or pitch of my voice during a speech, I am going to focus on that for my third speech.

Week 14, Discussion 3

I think that each and every person is immersed in a sea of persuasion. Day after day we see billboards, magazines, television commercials, Internet ads, etc. that try to persuade us to buy certain objects or dress, talk, and look a certain way. During high school there were a lot of speakers who came from different companies or schools such as FIDM. The whole goal of the speaker from FIDM was to persuade students to go to that particular school and join its programs. The lady went over all of the different eras of fashion in the past hundred years and then gave all of the student’s information on the school. Persuasion like this is easy to avoid but media persuasion is not. In order to be a more critical consumer, it is best for a person to think hard about the item. On the Internet it is easy to hit add to cart, and while watching infomercials it is easy to dial a phone. In order to be a critical consumer, one must really sit back and think about how much they need the item, if it is really going to work, and why they need or want it.

Week 14, Discussion 2

One concept that I found useful and interesting from Chapter 14 was persuading different types of audiences. The five different types of audiences are negative, positive, divided, uninformed, and apathetic. The negative audience is an audience that is informed about the presenter's topic but holds an unfavorable view of the presenter's position. This type of audience is also called a hostile audience. They may seem intimidating but if you establish credibility, take a common-ground approach, help your audience visualize the topic in positive ways, and prepare for your audience's negative reaction to your position, you can successfully persuade them to favor your position. A positive audience is an audience that is informed about the presenter's topic and favors the presenter's views. They are also called a sympathetic audience. In order to persuade them to still favor your position, you must rely on narratives to elaborate on your points, incorporate engaging evidence that further reinforced the audience's commitment to the topic, use vivid language and images to heighten your audiences enthusiasm, and last but not least, rally them to take action. A divided audience is an audience that is informed about the presenter's topic but is equally split between those who favor and oppose the presenter's position. In order to persuade them to favor your position, you must demonstrate that you recognize the legitimacy of the arguments that are for and against the issue, establish credibility, establish common ground, address the objection, and reinforced the position of those who agree with you. The uninformed audience is an audience that is unfamiliar about the presenter's topic and has no opinion about it. In order to persuade them to favor your position, you must motivate your audience to want to learn more about the topic, demonstrate expertise on the topic, use repetition and redundancy to reinforce points, and keep persuasion subtle. Last but not least, the apathetic audience is an audience that is informed about the presenter's topic but is not interested in it. In order to get this type of audience to favor your views and become interested, you must gain the audiences attention and show how the topic impacts them. You must also show the audience how much you care about the topic and take a one-sided approach on the particular topic.

Week 14, Discussion 1

For my third and final speech I will be talking about genocide. The three main points that I am going to use are information about genocide and refer to the eight stages, describe the solutions to the stages, and persuade the audience to get involved. To begin my speech, I plan on telling some sort of a story. As for ending my speech, I am going to tell my audience all the ways to get involved. Although it is mostly something that the government deals with, every one can help by doing simple things. Yes, they may take some time out of the day, but in the end every person who helps out is potentially saving a persons life. In order to persuade my audience towards my point of view, I am going to tell them the advantages of getting involved. I am also going to refer to my PowerPoint pictures and hope that my audience sees the importance of being involved.

Week 13, Discussion 3

One concept that I learned from chapter 12 was managing your voice during your speech.  "Good voice volume, variations in vocal qualities, minimal pauses, and clear articulation, and pronunciation, are essential for effective public speaking" (305).  Voice volume is important because the audience members should be able to hear you without straining to do so.  Rate and higher pitch are important because it shows that you are excited about your speech. Pronunciation and articulation are important because while giving a speech you don't want to leave off the endings to words and you want to know how to say them right.   

Week 13, Discussion 2

The people on Flickr seem to be concerned with the way that language can be sexist. I don’t really see a problem with this because in the end calling someone girl when they clearly are a woman should not be seen as offensive. In my eyes, this is not sexist, it is just language. However, I guess it just depends on the person. The book talks about how genders can look at certain words and phrases differently than those of the opposite sex do. Certain words that are used can be seen as women self-doubting themselves when really they aren’t. All in all, it is just language and it can be taken many ways.

Week 13, Discussion 1

In video 10.1, I learned about audience centered language. The five ways to create an audience centered language are: refer to current events, use pronouns (we, you, us, and I), use inclusive language, help visualize ideas, and spark the audience’s imagination. In video 10.2, I learned how to make language choices. You must choose meaningful words, have a balance between clarity and ambiguity, be concise, avoid offensive language, build in repetition, and don't get too attached to words. Video 12.1 taught me the five aspects of vocal delivery. They are: volume, pitch, rate, variety, articulation and pronunciation. Volume is the most important aspect of vocal delivery. Video 12.2 taught me about the physical delivery of a speech; eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, body movements, and appearance.


In my third and final speech I am planning on focusing on audience centered language and the give aspects of physical delivery. I noticed in my last two videos that I use a lot of gestures and I don't stand still which can be very distracting! Eye contact is also something that I want to focus on. In my last two speeches, I used my note cards for guidance, but I am hoping that this time around I can focus on my audience and only use my note cards for direct quotes!

Week 12, Discussion 3 (Self Evaluation)

Speeches have always made me nervous to the point where I have felt like I was going to pass out. I get such great anxiety because I psyche myself out and think that I am going to do horrible. Going into this past speech, I thought of it as not a big task and tried to set low goals so I knew that I could meet them. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel nervous going into this speech because I felt so confident and I knew that within a matter of seconds, it would be done with.

In this past speech, I think that I achieved the purpose well. I informed my audience about the mind of a serial killer and went into great detail about each and every subject that I brought up. This speech seemed a whole lot easier for me to accomplish. I had practiced this speech more than I had practiced the first one which made me feel a lot more confident as soon as I stepped in front of the class. Secondly, the lack of people who were in the class made it easier for me. I tend to give better speeches when there are less people watching my every move.

Although I felt more confident with this speech, I would make some changes if I had to do it again. I know that I would have memorized my speech, so I wouldn’t have to use my note cards. Although I rarely used them, I would still like to accomplish one of my speeches without having to use something to help me along the way. Even though I did use my note cards for help, I feel like I gave much more eye contact to my audience which is a big accomplishment for me.

I don’t really have a specific goal for improving the content of my next speech. I feel like I have been writing my speeches well and including all the information that I have needed for each speech. One goal that I have for improving the delivery of my next speech would be to have it completely memorized or have everything but my direct quotes memorized. I think that the third speech will be the easiest one for me because I have done a lot of research on it before and I know a lot about my topic. Memorizing my speech should not be that hard so I will be trying to focus on giving the audience my fullest attention. Specifically, my confidence was different from my first to second speech. In the first speech I was so nervous and just wanted to get it over with and before my second speech I didn’t seem to care when I was presenting as long as I did a good job. I don’t feel like I did anything bad during my second speech but something that I could have improved on from my first to last speech was my eye contact. I did improve, but I know that I could have done a lot better. I also noticed that I move around a lot while giving my speech so I definitely want to focus on that for my third speech because I know how distracting it can be. This was not an improvement from my last speech because during my last speech I didn’t stand still as well.

On a scale of 1-10, I would rate my eye contact a 7. On a scale from A to F, I would give my speech an A. I felt really confident when I was finished presenting and I know that I had included all of the information that was asked of me. I also spoke loud and clear, and my eye contact also improved. I also noticed that during this speech I did not look at my slides and point to the images on the screen, I focused on my audience. During my speech, I used ten source citations. I had a lot of direct quotes and they came from the four sources that I had used to write my outline.

All in all, this speech was overall better than my last speech. I am happy with the way that this it turned out and now I know what I need to improve on for my third and final speech. I hope that my next speech turns out ten times better and I reach my goals that I have set for it!

Week 12, Discussion 2

One concept that I learned from chapter 11 was the different kinds of presentation media and design tips for digital slides. There are different types of presentation media, such as overhead transparencies, flip charts, white boards and chalkboards, document cameras, video, handouts, models, and sound recordings. There is also computer technology such as digital slides. Chapter 11 taught me digital slide design tips. The tips include limiting the number of words for each bullet point, making the font large and clean, avoid relying on text or numbers, choose transitions that fit the tone of your topic and visual material, and avoid special effects. The design tip that I found most helpful was to avoid special effects. I usually use these in my presentations because I have always thought they added "a little something" and it made it look like I actually spent time putting together my PowerPoint. However, now that I know that audiences see these effects as annoying and distracting, I will refrain from using them in the future.

Week 12, Discussion 1

The five people that I chose to re-present my speech in front of were two of my friends Amber and Danielle as well as my mom, dad, and brother. Before giving this speech, I really took the time to read my note cards well and I tried my best to memorize what I had written. While giving the speech I looked at my note cards a few times but not as much as I did while I presented in front of the class. My feedback from Friday was very positive however I had noticed that it mentioned a lot about not focusing on my audience. I took that information into consideration and really focused on looking at my audience while I was presenting my speech for the second time. Like I mentioned earlier, I used my note cards for some help along the way but I do feel like I improved. If I had to do my speech again, I know that I would feel much more confident because of the amount of times I would have practiced it, however, I would want to have the whole speech memorized, including the quotes. I know that it would be difficult but it is not something that is impossible. It would just take a lot of practice. After receiving feedback, I realized that I was able to improve my speech and found that this exercise was very helpful.

Week 9, DIscussion 3

From chapter 13, I learned about the different types of organizational patterns for informational speeches. The topical pattern is the pattern that we have been using throughout the semester. When you create a topical outline, you divide the topic into sub points. You then address the aspects of the topic. This type of organizational pattern is best used when you want your audience to understand a process. From chapter 9, I learned how to create an effective introduction. In an introduction, you must include an attention getter, the purpose of your speech, thesis, establish credibility, and preview your main points. If you include all of these points, you will have a strong introduction that will grab your audiences attention and inform your audience of the topic you will be talking about.

Week 9 Discussion 2

According to the book, the components that go into an introduction are an attention getter, purpose, thesis, credibility, and a preview of the main points you are going to talk about. At the moment, I do not know what my attention getter is going to be but for the informative speech I plan on coming up with a creative attention getter that will make my audience want to listen to what I plan on saying. The components that go into a conclusion, according to the book, are a review of the main points, reinforce my purpose, and then provide closure. In the conclusion, I will be sure to review my main points and the purpose of my speech.

Week 9 Discussion 1

In video 9.1, I learned how to make a good introduction. There are three things that you need to do while giving your introduction. They are to get the audience's attention, establish the purpose and thesis, and preview your main points. From this video I learned how to write a successful attention getter. You can use stories, humor, or even surprising facts and statistics. In video 9.2, I learned how to write a successful conclusion. You must review your main points, state the reinforcement of purpose, and provide closure. I have always had problems writing conclusions so I found the tips on what to include in a conclusion very helpful. By Watching video 13.1A, I noticed that although Evan had notecards, he did speak loud and clear, and he also had good eye contact. In Video 13.1B, Jeanine seemed very confident. She had good eye contact (looked all over the room and didn't use notecards) and it looked like she had done the speech a few times. I also liked her attention getter. In the Use It video, I think that Katherine talked too fast. I also think that she used her notecards way too much and she didn't seem confident at all.

Week 8 Discussion 3

The one concept from Chapter 8, that has not already been discussed, I found useful was the discussion of analogy. The definition of an analogy is “a type of comparison that describes something by comparing it to something else that is resembles”. It can be useful for me because it will help my audience to understand something that is new. There are many types of analogies such as figurative and literal. Something else I found useful was metaphors. It can be useful towards the audience during a speech because the figure of speech can create feelings and connection. Hopefully I can use these concepts for my next speech to capture my audience’s attention from beginning to end!

Week 8 Discussion 2

You tend to find facts most effective in a speech when you are trying to persuade others to do something. However, sometimes people over do the amount of facts that they use and the audience begins to "tune out" which makes the facts not effective. Statistics are used to "quantify the magnitude of a problem and make comparisons across groups and time periods." Having too many statistics also overwhelms an audience and makes them not effective. Also, if you include too many, you can be misinterpreted. In order for your facts and statistics to be effective, they must be from reliable sources and you must keep your audience in mind when you plan on using them.

Week 8 discussion 1

I learned a lot of helpful things while watching videos 7.1, 7.2, 8.1 and 8.2. While watching 7.1, I learned about the different types of supporting materials that you can use. The supporting materials that you should use are narratives, definitions, testimony, facts and statistics, and examples. In 7.2, Evan taught me that books are the best kind of media sources to use because they are written by many, edited, and take a long time to write. In video 8.1, Anthony taught me how to correctly organize a speech. There are seven basic patterns and they are called chronological, spatial, topical, narrative, cause-and-effect, problem-solution, and Monroe's motivated sequence. He also taught me what each outline was used for. In 8.2, I learned about the different types of transitions that you can use to make your speech effective. There are six types of transitions and they are ordering, reinforcing, contrasting, chronology, casuality, and summarizing. The video also taught me example phrases that are used in each type of transition so I know how to use each transition correctly.

Self-Evaluation: Cultural Artifact

Sitting in class waiting to find out when I was presenting was the most nerve-racking feeling ever. When we pulled our numbers, I was relieved to see that I was going fourth because I wanted to get the speech over with as soon as possible. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the class giving my speech. It seemed like it all happened in the matter of seconds and looking back on it, there are many things that I know that I need to improve on for the next speech.

I think that I achieved the purpose of my speech. I stated my main points and went into full detail about each of them and I related my topic to why it is considered a cultural artifact. However, while giving my speech I didn’t feel all that confident. Going into it I knew that I had memorized my speech by heart but once I stood up in front of the class, I froze and it seemed as if everything I had memorized left my brain. I know that I didn’t seem very confident and I thought everyone could tell that I was shaking and my voice was trembling.

If I had to do the speech all over again, I would definitely prepare more. Instead of practicing in front of one person, I would practice in front of a group of friends or in front of my whole family. I think I did well supporting why it was a cultural artifact but I know that I could have cut more from the types of surfboards and put more information into my support. I think my speech was organized well but for delivery I would definitely have practiced more so I could be more confident and not rely on my note cards to help me through.

One goal that I have for improving the content in my next speech is to do more research and apply it to the topic. With this last speech, I did say why it was a cultural artifact but I could have expanded on that. For the next speech, I am planning on focusing more on informing people about my topic. One goal that I have for improving the delivery of my next speech is to have more eye contact. I did look around but I noticed that I also looked at my note cards a lot as well.

After I watched the video I noticed that I tend to talk with an upward tone and I sound like I’m asking a question when I’m really making a statement. Someone on the note cards had said this as well. I think that the only distracting thing that I did was that I moved around a lot and didn’t stand very still.

On a scale of 1-10, with “1” being the worst and “10” being the best, I would rate my eye contact a “4.” I knew my information but you could not tell that I did in the video. I had a lot of quotes so that might be a reason why a lot of people said that I did read off my note cards too much, but I definitely could have looked around and scanned the audience a little more.

During the speech, I mentioned six source citations. On a scale from A to F, I would give myself a B+. I had an organized speech that included three main points that in the end, related to why surfboards were a cultural artifact. I also cited sources in my speech. I spoke loud and clear which is what many said on the comments from other classmates. They also noted that I had a good attention getter and had good transitions between my topics. The reason I am not giving myself an A is because of my lack of eye contact and confidence that I had in myself.

All in all, I think that I did a pretty good job for my first speech. I now know what needs to be improved on for my next speech but I also know what I did well. I hope that on my next speech I give better eye contact to the audience and am much more confident!

Week 5 Discussion 3

One concept that I found interesting and useful from Chapter 5 is everything related to audience adaption. I think that it is important because in order to give a successful speech, you must know how the audience is feeling towards your topic. If they seem bored, you must find ways to get them to pay attention and make them interested in your topic again. Observing the audience's facial expressions and adapting to the ways they are feeling is the key to a good speech. I tend to not look at the audience's reactions because it makes me nervous when I see them dozing off. I hope that while I am giving my speeches I can adapt to the audience on a personal level.

week 5 discussion 2

Chapter 5 discusses the importance of audience analysis and audience adaption in the speech development process. Audience analysis means that you pay attention to audience's feedbacks through facial expressions. Adapting to the audience's feedbacks is called audience adaption. Audience analysis and adaption is important because in order to have a favorable outcome with your speech. You, as the speaker, are responsible for keeping the audience interested in your speech. The importance of audience adaption is that you adapt to the audience's needs. If they are falling asleep on you, you must come up with a strategic way to wake them up and make them interested in your project!

I plan on using audience analysis in my speech by making sure I am watching the audience as I am giving my speech. If they seem like they are bored, or not listening, I will try to use some sort of stragety to get them interested again!

week 5 discussion 1

While watching Courtney's Light Pollution speech, I noticed that in her introduction she summarized the main points that she was going to talk about and also discussed how she was going to give solutions to her main points. However, she seemed really nervous and it didn't seem like she knew what she was talking about because she kept looking down at her note cards.

I like the way that Matthew started his speech off and it was a good attention grabber. He spoke at a steady pace but it began to become a little boring. To me it seemed like he was a little nervous because he wasn't standing still and he kept looking at the note cards.


From watching these videos, I learned that I need to start my speech off in a way that will get the audiences attention. I also learned that I need to incorporate my main points while introducing my topic. The one thing that I learned that I should not do is stare at my note cards. I need to know my speech and look at the class, not the podium.

Week 4 Discussion 3

Chapter 6 gave plenty of useful information. After reading the chapter, I learned many ways to identify multiple perspectives and sources. While researching your topic, it is important to learn others viewpoint's because not only does it help with the diversity of your research, it also allows you to search more sources for information. The main questions that you need to ask yourself when you are researching a topic are:
1. Who might be knowledgeable about this topic?
2. What organizations address the topic you are researching?
3. What events are hapening related to your topic?
4. How can I find the information I need?

I find these questions to be important because when I begin to research my topic, I never know where to begin or what questions to ask. In the past I have just gone to Google or Yahoo! and used keywords but I have found that many times I get information that I am not looking for. I know that in future reference I will be asking myself these questions in order to research my topics more efficiently.

Speech Buddy Videos Chapter 6

The speech buddy videos for chapter six taught me how to make my research solid. "In order to make sure that your research is solid you must determine what you know and do not know about the topic, gather information that covers multiple perspectives, and evaluate the sources you use for validity." It also referred to the library as the place to go to find sources. I find that making my research solid is important because it means that I am feeding the correct information to my audience. Also, knowing that I have the right information will make me feel more comfortable while I am giving my speeches. I don't exactly enjoy going to the library but it is useful because there are newspapers, journals, books, articles, encyclopedias, etc. that I can use to help write my speeches. In the preparation process I will be going to the library to find sources that make my speeches successful. I will also be reviewing my sources to make sure that they cover multiple perspectives (in order to get all sides of the story) and I try to evaluate the validity of the websites or books I am using.

In the 6.1 use it video, I noticed that although she stumbled on her words, she kept talking like nothing was wrong. This is definitely something that I plan on doing. I am not expecting the perfect speech but I know that in order to have a strong finish to my speech, I must not get nervous. The best thing that I can do is continue talking like I had made an error.

Research Interviews

I haven't had much experience in research interviews besides the ones that I had to do my sophomore year of high school. We had to interview people who were working in the field that we were interested in at the time. I went to my dad's work and interviewed four of his co-workers. It was easy for me to interview them considering I had known them for many years so I wasn't really nervous and overall the interviews went well. The thing that i could have improved on was knowing the subject in which I was asking questions. I was interested in Marketing but because I didn't know much about it, I found asking questions to be difficult. The best advice that I can give it to research your topic. It makes the whole interviewing process easier and it makes you feel more comfortable when you know what you are actually talking about. Also, its best to pretend like you have met the interviewee before. I find that it makes me less nervous and it helps me open up and really be myself during the interviewing process.

Week 3 Discussion 3

While reading chapter two I came across strageties to build confidence before the day of your speech. In this section I learned that you should know your introduction and conclusion well. I find this useful because it seems like it will make me more confident in myself while I am giving my speech. It states that by knowing my introduction I will start off smooth which will calm my nerves and by knowing that I have memorized my conclusion, it will increase my positive attitude. I have tried this once before and it seemed to work well so I will definitely be using this technique while I am preparing for my speeches. I hope it works!

Week 3 Discussion 2

Video 2.1: Jeanine taught me ways to manage anxiety while public speaking. I learned that in order to be calm you must use your senses and focus on what will go right and not wrong. This is useful because before and during speeches I tend to think of all of the possible ways I can mess up. In order to over come this, I can use breathing techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing and meditation breathing.

Video 2.2: Anthony and Jeanine taught me ways to manage my anxiety. From Anthony I learned to practice the introduction and the conclusion because it makes you more confident. While practicing my speeches, I will learn to memorize my introductions and conclusions in order for my speeches to run smoothly.

Video "Intro: Jessica": By watching Jessica's speech, I noticed that she had a strong introduction and conclusion in order to keep the audience interested.

Overall, these videos taught me what to do and what not to do and I will definitely be keeping Anthony and Jeanine's tips in mind.


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Week 3 Discussion 1

When I think of speaking infront of an audience I become very nervous. It is not the fact that I think I am going to forget what I am supposed to say, it is that I do not like the fact that all eyes are on me. In the past I have preferred doing group presentations because I know that the audience is focused on more than one person. During my senior year of highschool I had to present a lot of projects. The biggest presentation I had to give that year was my speech that went along with my senior research paper. It was ten minutes long and I remember dreading the day of speeches when the project first got assigned. I was psyching mysef out and setting myself up for failure. The day of speeches came quickly and when it was my turn, I began to feel sick to my stomach. I knew my topic well which eased my nerves and before I knew it, the speech was over. I had accomplished it without any mistakes and I left the class feeling really good about the grade I would recieve.

In chapter 2, it mentions uncertainty about the audience's response. I feel that this is significant to the way I feel because when giving a speech I am constantly questioning what the audience is going to think. I am always afraid of messing up and I start to wonder what the audience will say if I do so. Even if I personally know every person in the room, I feel that the audience's response is what makes me so nervous to give speeches.

Introduction

My name is Colie and I am a freshman at SJSU. I live at home and commute to school. I have been juggling my time with school and work and it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. In my free time I like to shop and drive around town with friends. I played soccer for seven years and danced for five. I enjoy all types of music and I am always looking for a good time. I love coffee and getting my nails done. I am interested in interior design but I am majoring in Business Administration/Marketing. I love to scrapbook. I am addicted to my iphone. It's my baby and it doesn't leave my sight!

Ever since I can remember I have dreaded presentations where I have to speak in front of the class by myself but I have always felt comfortable with group presentations. In my government class my senior year, I learned to conquer some of my fears of public speaking simply because we were always debating. Speaking infront of others in the debates helped me for my final presentation in English, where I had to give a ten minute speech on the term paper I wrote. Going into the speech, I was shaking and I was afaid of messing up and skipping my slides. However, I ended up completing my speech with few errors. Even though everyone in my class was a friend who I had known for multiple years, I still didn't feel comfortable speaking infront of them. My goals for this class are to learn how to speak loudly and at a steady pace while giving my presentations. I also want to accomplish making consistent eye contact with my audience. I am looking forward to overcoming the fear of speaking infront of others.