Pick one concept from Chapter 11 that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Because my next speech includes the need to motivate my audience to take action I wanted to find out what the best method would be. Chapter 11 explores some good uses for power point and visual aides. One issue mentioned was the use of whiteboards and chalkboards. If I have to relay any kind of information for the audience to use to take a step further, than writing the information on the board would not be an option, as stated by Coopman & Lull the use for that would be unprofessional. The use of paper handouts would be the best for me. I want to give information so that the audience can write to there congressmen and even the president. I want to give them resources to get their voices heard. I am glad that the topic of handouts was discusses because I will be utilizing them in my next speech.

Post your self-evaluation to your blog in essay format.

I presented my speech on Human Trafficking. I really enjoyed the subject and noticed that the more I studied about it the more it was visible in TV shows, movies, and multiple books. I guess it is always there but because I was focusing on the subject I was more aware. I was still really nervous leading up to my speech, I’d hoped to get a low number so I could finish early but I ended up with number twenty-one again. So I had the job of getting more nervous as out class went on
Last time I was so nervous I forgot to use any of my slides. This time though I tried to stay more aware of what was going on around me and made sure to keep the laptop in my peripheral vision so that I would remember to show the class my slides and change them at the appropriate time. I was really glad though that the time card this time displayed minutes and seconds rather than a number or interval. It was hard for me to keep track last time with just seeing a number three or four pop up, so I greatly appreciate the minutes and seconds Mrs. Perez!!!!
During my speech I scan the audience but this time I made the mistake of focusing on one of my classmates faces and the student was laughing, It kind of through me off. I don’t think they were laughing at me but I had made a mistake with my verbiage, I know it wasn’t intentional but that was kind of scary and nerve racking.
I looked over a lot of my classmates’ evaluations and I was happy with their critiques. It’s hard for me to read them but everyone is really gracious and encouraging. One good critique that I received from a few of my classmates was that I do a lot of hand gestures. I know I talk with my hands a lot but during the speech I don’t think I realized that I am also doing so, to me is seems like my hands are glued to my note cards. One critique said that it could be distracting which is probably true. I’m not sure if the book lists hand gestures but I will look that up. I do know though that when I am watching other speeches fidgety body movements are distracting so I think I am going to lean with my classmate and try to cut down the hand gestures. Although I do it subconsciously I am going to try and keep my hands still.
Another good critique that I received was implement better transitions in my speeches. I try to have everything memorized but my nervousness tends to wipe my memory clean. Thus I tend to look down at my note cards a lot. Overall I think that because I knew what to expect I was more relaxed during this speech. I am looking forward to improving but am equally nervous to give my speech in front of another group. But I think it will be good practice and will benefit my speech presenting abilities.

What components, according to your book, go into an introduction and conclusion? How are you going to use these ideas in your Informative Speech?

According to Coopman & Lull there are four main ideas that go into your speech; the first being an idea that gets your audience’s attention, the second a good indication of your purpose and thesis statement for your topic, thirdly an establishment of credibility on your part and fourthly the preview of your main points. This is the attention getter that I am using for my speech about human trafficking, (“An estimated 27 million people are held in slavery worldwide, meaning there are more slaves in the world than were taken from Africa during 300 years of trans-Atlantic slave trade.”) Tell me as a reader what you think about my attention getter? As for the conclusion of a good speech it must also contain a review of your main points a reinforcement of your main points and provide closure to your audience as stated in Coopman & Lull. I look forward to hearing what the class thinks of my attention getter and look forward to hearing all of the speeches.

Pick on concepts from either Chapter 9 or Chapter 13 that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

In chapter thirteen there is a paragraph about informative speeches, “Inform to Educate,” and why they are successful. Coopman & Lull state that to be successful ones speech needs to educate your audience in some way, “that after hearing the speech, they should understand the nature and the importance of the topic.” Previously when I thought of informing an audience I basically thought about telling them about something new and hoping that it would catch their interest and that was the end of it, but then after reading this paragraph I realized that I could educate the audience and then they might be compelled to learn more on their own. I know this kind of leans towards the persuasive type of speech, but in a persuasive speech I would think the audience would have to agree with you to take action. That’s why the informative speech is so powerful because I don’t need the audience to agree, I simply need to provide a good amount of education on the subject to peak their interest in the right direction.

Respond to the ideas in the videos/ What did you learn that could be helpful in your speech?

As I prepare my outline the more information I receive about introductions and conclusions the more its helping me to broaden my thought process. In videos; 9.1 and 9.2, I learned that my introduction must have a solid attention getter and preview my main points in a clean and concise manner. A solid introduction is the foundation of my speech, if I can start of well I can finish well. Also that a solid conclusion will leave my audience feeling positive about my speech and they will recognize my close. It is also necessary to reinforce the purpose of my speech to leave a lasting effect. I enjoyed watching the speech about techno music, I noticed that the speaker really new his material and only looked at this note cards once. He also reviewed his speech during his conclusion. I liked Janine’s use of her camera as a prop. It reminded the audience easily about the basis of her speech. Overall I am looking forward to using theses speech tips and examples to better present my next speech.

Pick one concept from the reading, that has not already been discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

I wanted to discuss the different uses of Aristotle’s argument styles; pathos, logos, and mythos. Pathos means that you your speech to appeal to your audiences emotions. Logos involves logical appeals as stated by Coopman & Lull. The third is called Mythos and that is an appeal to cultural values and beliefs. I was familiar with pathos and logos but had never heard of mythos. Ingredients for a good speech would involve the use of at least two of these types of argumentative styles. I think that without intentionally knowing the class uses all three of these styles in our first round of speeches. Because we are now learning more about these styles in details they will be easier to identify in the next speeches that the class presents. I have never read a speech by Aristotle but I am interested in researching one and getting to know his personal style to make my knowledge of him broader.

What did you learn that could be helpful in preparing a speech?

I’m learning that the supporting materials that I use in my speech are just as important as practicing the deliver. Because there are advantages and disadvantages, a fact that has been received many times by Coopman & Lull I need to make sure and choose the right narratives, definitions, testimonies, and facts/statistics. I have been thinking a lot about my next speech so these tips are helping me choose the right materials to use. Because my speech will rely on media credibility I will aim towards using credible internet sources for my cited material that my audience can identify with. I don’t know if I had fully understood the uses of the seven basic patters of speech but the 8.1 allowed me to choose which pattern I will use next. In my last speech I wasn’t sure what types of words I should be using in my transitions now I have a better idea of what words to use and when to use them.

When do you find facts and statistics most effective in a speech? When are facts and statistics not as effective?

Statistics are most effective in a speech when as stated by Coopman & Lull, “to support you main points and make transitions from one point to another.” I find statistics to be also effective when you are trying to move an audience or get there attentions. Statistics about loss of life and events that effect many people allow an audience to feel the impact of that event because the magnitude is brought to life with numbers. It also as stated by Coopman & Lull, “Provide good support for a claim and that this problem affects many Americans.” Facts are good to use because they show that you went beyond your personal knowledge of any given subject and are providing concrete evidence that your audience will find credible. Facts are not effective when also stated by Coopman & Lull, “Audiences do not always interpret facts the same way speakers do.” If you are trying to persuade an audience a statistic might be more effective in leading the audience your way. Either way your facts and statistics if used correctly can be effective.

Self Evaluation #1 World Trade Center Memorial

My first speech was about the World Trade Center Memorial. I enjoyed researching the topic and felt it was relevant to speak about especially since the eighth anniversary of the attacks had just passed. I enjoyed hearing the speeches presented by my classmates but since I had picked number twenty-one as my slot the nervousness I was feeling grew by the minute. Watching my video tape was even harder than giving my speech I think. It is not easy to look straight at yourself and evaluate the good and bad points of the speech. Overall this was a good experience and I will be highlighting more of the speech in this evaluation.
The purpose I was trying to achieve with my speech was to bring remembrance to the 9/11 attacks and highlight the memorial that is being created in hopes that some students would be inspired to research the memorial on their own or possibly visit. I believe that my “attention getting” opening allowed me to grab the audience from the beginning. As I continued on I noticed the time keepers cards at the back of the room, I couldn’t remember how many cards I was supposed to let pass before I ended, so I began to get nervous. Because of that I think the body of my speech and presentation of my slides suffered, and took attention away from the purpose of my speech but overall the speech went well. Again my nervousness had a big impact on speech day. During the delivery of the speech I kind of blanked out and forgot about my slides I knew I was speaking but wasn’t sure what I was saying. I felt confident with my material and note cards but was not comfortable being in the spotlight; I also had evaluated many of my classmates’ speeches before hand and felt nervous knowing that they were now evaluating me. Realizing now how nervous, and out of place, I felt I will visualize my next speech going well and the experience being good. Applying the concept of relabeling will allow me to look forward to my speech because it will be exciting if I just flow and let go of my emotions. I know that I had a difficult subject matter to present and I noticed that my classmates had fun with their speeches because they had chosen lighthearted subjects. My next speech is about human trafficking which is another heavy subject to present but I think it will be good. I am going to look for more detailed sources, I have already read one book pertaining to the subject of human trafficking and would like to read one more. Because my delivery was good but not excellent I decided that I will be more confident knowing that everyone is also trying to do their best, and that staying calm and positive is the best course of action. For a few days before my speech the nervousness that I references before hand was rising and I just fed into it instead of changing my attitude about my delivery. I will definitely prepare more to achieve these goals in the area of delivery.
I know I keep talking about nervousness but that is the main factor I noticed with my video. I never speak that slow even in formal settings and the swaying back and forth that I did I think was because I didn’t make good use of my hands. A lot of my classmates were very animated but I was so worried about pointing to my visual aids that I cemented my hands to my note cards, which I looked at a lot even though I hadn’t planned to. I had incorporated a lot of statistical numbers in my speech and I wasn’t confident in my memorization of them, so I kept looking at my cards to make sure that I was not citing the wrong information, but this hindered me some. I know my classmates noticed that I had been speaking for a long time and that may have become distracting to them and I could have lost some of their focus and attention. I cited two sources during my speech one from the New York Port Authority but it sounded kind of vague because I didn’t reference them as a source I just said that they were working on the memorial. I also cited “9/11 By the Numbers” which is a statistical website about the world trade center attack. Even though I mentioned two I think that technically because of the delivery I only cited one. Based on my video tape I would grade myself with a letter grade of “B”, it felt like my content and purpose was “A” material but I know that the time lapse and nervousness were a factor.
I am definitely looking ahead to my next speech and am confident that with the first speech behind me I can now look more closely at content, preparation, and delivery. This will allow me to put together a well researched speech and top it off with a smooth delivery.