#1Chapter 1: The big takeaways for me from chapter one were that you need to try to connect with the audience and some different ways to prepare for delivering the speech. As far as how to connect with the audience, you should try to understand what the audience is interested in before conveying your speech to them. In order to be an effective public speaker you should try to use words that are more easily understood for the listeners. Also, I took away that the speaker should really try to emphasize the ideas they want the audience to pick up on. In order to keep the audience more interactive the speaker must try to include them and have a reason for speaking. The speaker should have a prepared speech that keeps the audience involved and included. Which leads me into the other takeaway I had from chapter one. For the preparation portion, what I took away was that you should set up your speech much like an essay. Including a thesis, supporting ideas, and a conclusion. Again trying to use easy to comprehend sentences and lots of repetition. Overall you should try to be prepared, with a well written speech that will keep the audience interested, but also one they will be able to understand.
#2For me rehearsal was always just called practice. I wasn’t a kid who had a rehearsal for a play or a performance, but rather I had a “rehearsal” for a basketball game. Often times, my dad would tell me “you need to practice like you play”. I took his advice and would usually put forward my best effort in practice, so I was able and ready for the games. I believe practicing has a big impact on the overall performance. For example, during basketball I would practice shooting more which always had intimidated me. When I started practicing to shoot more in game like situations during my practices senior year, I found myself shooting (and yes even scoring) more in games. When I began to rehearse what I wanted to have happen in the “big show”, it actually ended up happening. It was a great feeling, until the opportunity to rehearse got taken away from me and the rest was downhill.
Finally making it to the playoffs for the first time in years was a really exciting thing for my program. Unfortunately, during the first playoff game I hurt my shoulder and it almost took away my second round playoff opportunity. luckily, I was able to sit out of practice for two days before one of the biggest performances in my career. This had to happen so my shoulder could at least stand to play. When it came to be game time, I looked to shoot and score. Sadly, since I hadn’t been able to practice…my shot was way off. This relates directly to how rehersal impacts delivery because just not rehearsing those two days, really compromised my ability to deliver for that very important game in particular.
#3Looking through the feedback from my peers I noticed a trend. Areas to improve on based on feedback, 11/14 said that I needed to speak up. This didn’t surprise me, I know I can improve on how loud I am when I talk. People tell me all the time, just in my everyday life conversations that. Even when I’m with people I know, I often get “what?” or “I can’t hear you.” as a response. I don’t know why I come off as so soft spoken, because I truly believe that I am talking way louder than I apperhantly actually am. Maybe it’s my ears make me sound louder in my own head, or maybe it was my dad always saying “buddy I’m right next to you, you don’t need to yell”. I’ll just blame it on him rather than thinking I’m hard at hearing.
Two people said I need to work on moving around less, which I agree, but that is how I cope with how nervous I actually am to be standing up in front of the class giving an impromptu speech. What surprised me was the people that said I didn’t seem nervous, I can assure you I was so nervous I actually contemplated just skipping class. They said I seemed comfortable (3/14), with a clear, smooth, not too fast speech (6/14), with good hand gestures (4/14). That confused me a little because some thought I was moving too much (2/14). Of my peers 6/14 thought my speech was relatable and organized, which I was proud of since I felt like when I got up there I forgot everything I had planned to say. Lastly, 5/14 said I had good eye contact, which made me happy because I really struggle with making eye contact with people and not smiling or losing focus. I was glad to have the feedback from the class, although by the time they got to me (who went last) they were probably ready to be done.
#4 Chapter 11: Chapter eleven was focused on the main points of your speech and the best ways to make the message understood by the audience. It states, “Research indicates that audiences can comfortably take in only between two and seven main points.”, which I can see how an audience would get bored after listening to more than seven main points and start to zone out. The fewer the main points you have in your speech, the better you will be able to keep your listeners attention. Within the main points you must have a smooth transition because unlike a writing piece, your listeners cannot go back and reread what you said, so you want to make it easy for them to follow along and understand the points. Another point I thought was a good tip in the chapter was to use your best point first, or save it for last. This is so your main concern in the speech sticks with the listeners and it’s easier for them to remember what you said.
Chapter 12: Chapter twelve was mostly focused on the different types of ways you can organize your speech. It listed many examples of ways to organize the speech including; chronologically, spatial, causal (cause and effect), problem-solution pattern,topically, and narrative. The chapter explains that, the idea of organizational arrangements may seem the most confusing of the different aspects of speechmaking. It explains that the way you organize your speech is crucial in the understanding of the topic from your audience. I would say the big takeaway from chapter twelve would have to be the way you organize your speech has an impact on the way your audience interprets your message. Due to the fact that the whole chapter was about speech organization. As a speaker you need to make sure the organization of your speech flows well, therefore your audience will be able to take in the message. You need to make sure your speech isn’t all over the place, or else they will not be able to recollect much of what you said.
#5 The next steps involving speech number two for me is one huge thing, practice! I need to practice now that I’ve finally decided what I want to stick with. I need to make sure I can flow smoothly in between my prop and my dialog. I need to practice talking with juggling or demonstration, talking, demonstration, talking, etc. within the three to five minute time frame. I also need to practice an efficient way to transfer to my video, almost seamlessly. I want to end my speech with how that once you learn to juggle you can pretty much juggle anything, and I’d like to have at least one video of me juggling a random thing. I’d like to narrow down my outline so the topic just flows and I know everything I want to say like the back of my hand. If I were able to almost memorize what I wanted to say then It’d be easier for me to focus on juggling and not embarrass myself during the live demonstration, like completely forgetting how to juggle. I’d like to focus less on being nervous for this speech, sine were all in this together and I’ll be focusing on no messing up I think I will be less nervous about the speech, but maybe more nervous for that actual juggling. I also need to work on speaking up, that is pretty much the only feedback I got on my first speech, so hopefully I do better this time!
#6Chapter 13: The big takeaways from chapter thirteen were all about preparing an outline for your speech. It explains how hopeful outlines are for delivering a successful speech. One example I found really interesting was a key-word outline. You use this outline format so you can have the maximum eyecont during the speech. This format is based mostly on memorization. Hence the title “key-word”, the point is to only write down a key-word, or phrase on your outline. This will hopefully spark the rest of the phrase or statement you want to say along with this big idea. If you use this format you will be able to have more eye contact due to the fact that you aren’t sitting there reading directly off the outline so you are able to focus on making that direct eye contact and not worried about missing a word or losing your spot on the paper. This was the biggest take away for me because this is the outline setup I’d like to use for my second speech. I’d like to be able to remember most of what I want to say so I can focus on my prop and making good eye contact with the audience.
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#8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrZ5DUIlv1A&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4keCmbabHo&feature=youtu.be
Self feedback letter; the thoughts on my dry run. The thoughts on my dry runs are that I wasn’t very prepared to use my prop and talk at the same time. So I did one using the prop and one not. When I wasn’t using the prop I realized I had forgotten what I wanted to say. I was so focused on my juggling I wasn’t able to think about all the steps to the process to teach. This made my dry runs at about 2 minutes, but I’m not very worried about that because I think when I say everything I want to say, with the demonstration, and my short video at the end I’ll be at about four minutes which will be perfect.
Another thing I noticed was that I am still very quiet, I think that’s just who I am as a person. I am definitely going to try to almost yell during my speech and be clear with my words. I’m going to also try to keep eye contact at points in my speech where I am not juggling, which I hope won’t be too difficult while I am juggling since I need to keep my eyes on the balls. Lastly, I hope to have a smooth transition from my speech to my short video since I didn’t get to practice that on the classroom computer, so I am hoping for no technical difficulties.
#9 After delivering my second speech, I think I was definitely more comfortable being up there than I was for the first. Although, I do wish I got to present on Wednesday. I felt like I didn’t get to say everything I had planned on saying because I was too focused on not dropping the ball (literally) and embarrassing myself. I’m worried my speech wasn’t three minutes long since I did forget some things I wanted to say. It was difficult to maintain eye contact while juggling, but a lot of people actually said I had good eye contact which was good to hear. I still need to work on speaking up, but I really tried not to be so quiet this time. I guess that’s just me. My video went alright although it didn’t play at first, which stressed me out. A lot of people said I had a good, interesting topic and that I knew my stuff which made me feel good. I didn’t really think that many people would be fascinated with juggling, but maybe they had nothing else good to say. I felt like I was well prepared for this speech, but was so focused on my demonstration that forgot some important things to say. Which is something I can work on for the next one since I don’t imagine us having to use a prop again. So yet again my big think to work on is speaking up and I truly think that will get better as I get even more comfortable speaking in front of the class, but still not great because I am just an overall quiet person.
X The person I chose was my mom. I decided to reflect not only over the weekend, but some prior events that she’s spoken at. For instance at my graduation party and just recently at my Nana and Gampie’s wedding anniversary party. One thing I really admire about my mom when she speaks is her confidence. She does not come across as nervous at all although I’m sure she is, and often to cope with that she tries to make the audience laugh. I wish I was able to not act nervous like her. Her body language during this time is usually open, with good eye contact and hand gestures. She has a meaningful and heartfelt way to pull the audience in with what she is trying to say. Although like the best of us she sometimes loses her place in the speech she is able to get past it strongly and keep a good clear pace. I hope to one day, as some would say, to not care about others judgement and just go out there and give it the best I can. Another thing she does that is impressive is her preparation, she will stay up countless hours, preparing to deliver the speech and I hope I can practice and rehearse as much as she does so I can also become a strong public speaker, like her.
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1 The overall takeaway from chapter twenty-five was how to appropriately address a special occasion speech. The chapter talked alot about the different steps to take for this type of speech, how to prepare and deliver mostly. It explained the main point of these types of speeches is to entertain, celebrate, commemorate, or inspire. It explains that it is important to make sure you understand the purpose of the speech, before delivering it. Depending on the type and purpose of the speech it tells you how you have to prepare and plan for that type of occasion. More importantly the content of the speech. I thought a big one about the type of content would be for when presenting a eulogy speech, it explained to focus on celebrating that person’s life rather than the sadness that comes along with a death. I think this was an important chapter, I believe at some point in my life I will most likely be presented with the task of giving one of these types of speeches. So, it is good for me to understand the expectations, and the necessary steps to plan for a speech of this level. Therefore, I will be prepared if given the opportunity.
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2 My speech is taking the form of a toast. I wanted to do this because the speech is titled “what you mean to me” and one person I think of is my cousin Jade. She is a huge role model for me and has had a big impact in my life. I want to do a toast, since she actually just got married less than a month ago! The ideas that seem good to me are what I want to say about her. Thats easy for me to brag about Jade, since she is such a big person in my life. I could go on about how great she is for hours. Where I am challenged is how to put this in the correct form of a toast. Toasts are usually pretty short, but this speech has to be between three and five minutes. Which can end up being a little overbearing I believe. This speech will probably be awkward for me since Jade won’t actually be there, it’s in front of a bunch of people who don’t know her, and it’s not actually at her wedding. This speech would’ve been perfect a few weeks ago so I could have given a perfect toast at the wedding…had I actually been asked to.
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3 My strengths as I approach the dry runs are as follows. I can talk about Jade all day so it will not be hard for me to run out of words. Also, I have a good idea of what the toasts looked like at her wedding, because it just happened and I was there. My weaknesses are definitely the delivery. I have to paint a picture about jade so that the audience feels like they know here. While if I was at her wedding, obviously everyone their would know who I’m talking about since they would literally be there. I feel like it will be awkward talking about someone nobody knows besides me, but I guess we’re all in the same boat, so it will be fine. I am also feeling like the “toast” will be weird since, no one is actually drinking unless I bring in like glasses of water. I know I’ll have a picture of her, I just feel like the actual speech will be hard for the audience to connect with since literally none of them have any idea about eho Jade is and what’s she’s been through and done as a person. I just hope not to get emotional during the speech.
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4 The things I need to work on are as follows. Time; this is a big one for me since both my dry runs were only a little over two minutes. I think I will definitely be able to reach the time mark if I slow down a little and go into a little more detail about our stories. If I focus on sharing a little bit more of one of our memories I will definitely be able to hit the time when its live. This will also give me a time cushion for if I talk too fast or forget a few things I want to say.
I’d also like to work on speaking up. Just like I was hoping for in speech one and speech two. This is something I’ve really been trying to get better at. I am definitely going to try to raise my voice more than normal and work on projecting my voice to the crowd. I also want to work on making sure that what I say is clear and easily understood. I hope I don’t get tripped on what I want to say since I have so much I want to say, I need to make sure I don’t drag it on for too long since it is a toast, and I’m just hoping everything makes sense in context, since its not her actual wedding and she’s not there to hear it.
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5 I think that my delivery could’ve went better, It was hard for my to follow my outline but also remember what I wanted to say. I thought this was a very important and meaningful speech, so the thoughts running through my head were kind of distracting me. Although I think I did convey the message I was hoping to to the audience, a lot of the feedback said things like-we needs more people like your cousin in this world, that I showed her good qualities about her, and that I had good content/stories. This was a big win for me because leading up to the live presentation I thought that this would be a very difficult speech considering that nobody besides myself knew Jade. Something else that I am proud of is my voice being louder. A lot of my feedback that was what I’ve improved on through the speeches was that my voice has gotten more clear and confident. More importantly the whole entire class didn’t say I had to improve on my volume, like they did in my last two speeches. I am not exactly happy with the delivery, but I am very happy with my tone of voice, finally.
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6 As a group we’ve been working on a rough outline of the questions we want to ask during our talk show style speech. We really thi-ough about what story we wanted to tell during the speech and who would take up each role. As of right now I am the host, I will be asking questions to a pharmacy student and a researcher in the pharmacy industry. The overall idea is the pharmacist is working with the student and they discovered some groundbreaking new cure for something, we haven’t decided what yet. We want to potentially come up with a fun game during the talk show like they sometimes have, or like Ellen usually does give something to the guests. Like a fake check or like a trip to further their research somewhere else. We need to get together as a group to go over the fine details, and we will also need to find a time that works for all of us to go to the green room. I hope this isn’t a challenge with our different schedules. I think overall this will be a very creative fun speech, and I am excited to work with my group to create something.
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7 I think overall for the (dry) dry run we had a pretty solid plan, but not a complete one. We needed to continue working on our outline to slidify a few things. We had a lot of good ideas, but we just needed to decide on as a group, which fit in with our tone, while being conscious of our overall time of the presentation. I think we have a pretty solid structure of what we want to do, but we also want to leave a little room for improvement, and no heavily scripted context. So our presentation will flow more naturally and not be so robotic. We hope to give off the feeling of a real talk show and as I’ve seen they’re not perfect, they stumble on a few words and make mistakes…it’s not a movie. I think as a group we work very well together, and we are able to pick up where eachother lack. We all have been working equally hard to bring the vision to life. We will continue to meet as a group to discuss things and how we want things to go. I feel like we are right on track to getting this done how we want, to the requirements.
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8 More pre-recording notes: I think we did alright for our dry run, it was the first time running it through in front of other people. I think as a group we have finalized our plan and are ready to film. Of course we need to meet again just to make sure everything is almost flawless. I am worried that when this video gets put together it may be choppy, due to the green screen room vs if we were just presenting live. I hope that other groups will also be in the same boat as us. I am not worried about the overall editing skills because kevin has done stuff like this before, but I am just a little concerned for the final product, if that makes sense. I know we have good ideas and good content, I just hope it comes across with a smooth delivery. I need to work on my responses as the show host, I can’t just say yeah and cool to everything the guests say, I need to provide a little insight. So I’ll see what I can come up with for that. I think I have a really good group for this project and we will be fine, just hoping everything will come together alright with this technology portion involved.
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9 Overall, I really enjoyed making speech four. I thought it was really cool to go through the process and then see the final product with the green screen video it was amazing to see the technology aspect. I think we had a good idea for our speech and we were also able to improvise some parts making it seem more realistic and natural. I think where we could have improved was speaking up a little bit more, I often need to but it’s difficult to know how your voice projection is going to sound on the video, while you’re filming it. I though the delivery, content, and organization of our speech was all pretty well put together. The audience seemed to have a good reaction and things to comment on justifying that for us. The editing was pretty good, but I think it could’ve been better if we didn’t have to keep switching off with the other group. I think my group meshed together very well, and we were able to all benefit to the group and pick up where eachother lacked. I think we all worked hard to put out the best speech we could, with what we were given.
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0 https://bclooney.uneportfolio.org/final-speech-page/
My thank you letter: Thank you Zainab. Thank you for all the encouraging words in and outside of this class. I was very glad to have you in my speech 4 group, you were very organized and very hard worker. I remember when I let you use my pen. You talked about how great of a pen it was, I know it was something small to you but I knew I had to give you one. It was amazing to me to see how impressed you were by the simple things in life, I knew I needed to be more like you. To appreciate what we have in life. I remember when it was my birthday, you brought me in cupcakes and brownies, that was incredibly sweet. We only have classes together and you went above and beyond being classmates. You reminded me to be a kind and genuine person and to do things to make other people happy. I know this is kind of out of the prompt, but I knew when I had to write a thank you note to someone in the class I had to write mine to you. So, thank you for going above and beyond just being a classmate, and being a friend to me.
