Response to Hannah

Hannah's speech was a lot of fun to listen to, and extremely witty in the way that it was commemorative. The purpose of the speech was commemorating the "high-5" and all of it's glory. It related very well, as the high-5 is something that every audience member has done at some point. What stood out in the speech was how Hannah had each audience member do some sort of high-5 to their neighbors. I think that was a great idea, as it was an interactive way to keep the audience engaged. What I'm interested in now is figuring out how many types of high-5's actually exist. I wonder if that collaboration of techniques has already been made. A wonderfully executed speech by Hannah. She used great tone, portrayed a smile on her face, and clearly demonstrated to all why the high-5 is a great thing.

We Made It!

This speech was a lot different for me personally. At first it wasn’t different, and then Sunday occurred, where I crashed my bike in my cycling race. Not only was it a tremendous let down, but I was pretty beat up, and took it easy for the two day gap leading up to the speech. But I did not want that to hinder my speech. I was aiming to physically overcome the visible issues with my face, relax, and present the speech effectively. I wanted a smile on my face when discussing how the Celtics captured the Championship. Emotionally, I wanted to portray a sense of happiness as the Celtics made their quest to be the best team in the world. I wanted the audience to know that it wasn’t easy, and the whole team needed to commit to their goals.

            I think this speech round turned out to be my best. I felt very relaxed, physically and emotionally. The fact that I had a little extra time to prepare was very helpful, as I could better plan out my speaking strategy. I felt like my speech was far more fluent than my more recent speeches, and the format was more clear. Emotionally, I think I connected pretty well with the audience. You could see the smiles in some of their faces when talking about specific players or events that occurred. I also think the questions that followed assured me that I garnered their attention in the speech, and that, if nothing else, they were paying attention.

            I learned that a little preparation combined with relaxation goes a long way. I tend to be very uptight when it comes to public speaking. I have that anxious, stressful feeling, not only in public speaking, but in a lot of things in life. My goal, for future speeches outside the classroom, is to continue to take all of the strategies I’ve learned in this class to make speeches that will be an effective use of my time and the audience’s time. I’m also going to look to better use speaking cards. I either write too little on them when I need them more or too much on them when I use them less. With better preparation, I will be able to effectively use them and thus, continue to efficiently make speeches.

Peer Evaluation for Rob

Rob's speech was about something that is very relevant to me, music. His point was that instruments help your mental development as you grow up. He related it well, as he discussed musical instruments that people grew up with. Also, music is a very relevant topic to most students, so it wasn't hard to relate to. I found it interesting that it's been shown that music actually enlarges the brain, which affects reading, learning and listening. What I'd like to know more about is if certain instruments affect the brain in certain ways. Rob discussed how piano helps you learn different instruments, but I wonder if piano can be correlated to overall intelligence as well. Overall Rob did a great job. He is very fluent when he speaks, and is prepared, as he doesn't simply read off of notecards.

Peer Evaluation for Christina

Christina chose a very interesting and relevant topic; Social Networking. Her argument was that social networking causes sadness amongst viewers who see pictures and status updates that are happy. The speech topic itself relates to the audience because it's all stuff everyone does; posting statuses, pictures, videos, and notes to Facebook. One thing that stood out was how pictures were actually shown to cause sadness. What's interesting is that I find that point to be true; if certain people are having a good time, and I'm unable to experience that, I can feel sadness as well. I'm curious to know if Social networking can be linked to any kinds of depression or anxiety that affects people's daily lives. Christina did a good job, and had lots of evidence. One thing to look for in the future is formatting the speech. I was never really clear on what the topic was, or the supporting points that came with it. Overall, a job well done.

Peer Evaluation for Lee

Lee's speeches are always fluent, as she is always sure of her claims, and clear of her topic. The purpose of this speech was to warn the audience of the issues with donating to Invisible Children, and the deceptive nature of the KONY 2012 video. Not much from this speech needed to relate to the audience other than the topic itself, as it's been so overly shown to the general public. One thing that stood out was that 35,000 people out of 40,000 in Uganda who were viewing the KONY 2012 film left the theater they were watching it in because they were upset about it. That's a significant number, and I think Invisible Children really needs to examine the way they go about things. I'm curious to know how Invisible Children plans to handle this. Additionally, what groups would be the best to donate to currently to help the Ugandans. This was a great speech that was well prepared. One thing that I tend to say for everyone (but I think is crucial) for the next speech is to not read straight from the note cards. For me, it's obvious because the language of a speaker tends to change, and sometimes it is easier to stutter over your words or lose your place. Otherwise, a very good job!

Reflective Essay for "Got [Chocolate] Milk?"

I was very excited to discuss this topic. It’s actually something that I’ve discussed with a significant amount of people, after knowing the facts for about a year or so. I was aiming to clearly present this topic, because it’s something I’m so comfortable with. Physically, I wanted to have everyone feel that I knew what I was discussing through my body language and tone. Emotionally, I wanted everyone to be convinced that this snack that most people consider to be junk food was actually the best way to refuel the body after a workout. I had the facts to back up my claims, and I had the proof, through my own recovery period, that chocolate milk helped the most when recovering.

I did not feel as comfortable as I anticipated, but I didn’t do too badly of a job. I had all the research, facts, and claims that I wanted, as well as the knowledge from discussing it so much with people. I think I got my point across fairly well, and related it well with the audience, using real-life examples from the “Got Milk?” commercials. I still am not as fluent when speaking as I would like to be. It’s hard, because I don’t write down my speech completely on the note cards as many people do because I want to learn not to stutter. But then I hear all these people go up and speak without a stutter in their speech. I am happy with my progression otherwise, and regardless, I still believe I connected well with the audience. Additionally, these 4 years of college are probably the time where people do athletic activity the most, so it’s a wise tip that I think many of my classmates listened to.

This speech round, I learned that, as comfortable as you are with a subject, it’s important to be very sure about what you are going to say, or else you’ll probably stutter. I knew what I was going to say, but I don’t think I practiced enough in order to fluently express my thoughts to the audience. For my next and last speech, my hope is to have a speech nearly free of stuttering. I think that otherwise, my purpose and claims come across cleanly, and my tone and delivery are generally good. The fluency of my speaking will be the key to success for my next speech and for the real world.

Peer Evaluation for Christina

Christina's speech was planned very well. The intent of her speech was to illustrate the impact the media has on female teens. She used good examples that related the topic well, including magazines, commercials, and the mention of movies. What stood out to me were the facts about sexual activity, which shouldn't be surprising but was rather alarming to hear. I would be curious to know if there were different influences on males by the media as well, or if it's generally something that doesn't affect adolescent males. One thing for the future would be to not read straight from the note cards. It tends to be distracting, and when people stutter on the note cards, it's makes the speech choppy, when you want it to be fluent. Nonetheless, good job.

Peer Evaluation for Cameron

Cameron's topic was very well done, and part of that probably stems from the fact that it relates to him extremely well. The purpose of his speech was to explain to everyone how introverts work. He related the topic well, discussing social situations where introverts don't necessarily strive, like prom or a job interview. Something that stood out were the examples of introverts that he presented, like Eleanor Roosevelt. The point was that there are plenty of successful introverts in the world. I'm curious to know if there are certain jobs that introverts tend to have as opposed to extroverts. Overall a good job by Cameron. One thing for the next speech would be to try to get connected with the entire audience, as you tend to focus on one part of it rather than looking around at everyone. But a fine job overall.

Peer Evaluation for Evan

Evan's topic was regarding something that everyone on campus has been trying to do since they've arrived in Durham; involvement on campus. The purpose was how his involvement with campus life has required him to have good time management, and has led to him being less stressed. He related the topic very well to our daily lives. He discussed things on campus, talked about student life, and mentioned how 3/4 of the students are involved in some manner on campus. What stood out from his speech was a statistic he gave us, as he said how 90 hours of our week can be devoted to involvement on campus, hanging with friends, and any other kind of social activity. After hearing the speech, I'm more curious to know if there is actually a correlation between stress level and level of involvement. One would think that the more you are involved, the more stressed you might be. But on the contrary, like Evan, it could lead you to better time management skill. Overall, a good job by Evan presenting the speech. The one thing I had for advice was to try to be more fluent. That can be a general comment for many people's speeches as well.

Reflective Essay for Persuasive Speech #1

This speech had more of a challenge then just to persuade my audience of my thoughts. I also had to counter the ideas of a previous speaker, as Jared argued on the other side of the social networking argument. Physically, I was aiming to portray subtle confidence, while connecting with them on a relatable level as well, since social networking is so prominent in today’s society. Emotionally, I was aiming to grasp their attention by demonstrating my fondness for social networking, like Facebook, but arguing that it needs to be altered in certain ways. Knowing that many of my audience members enjoyed social networking as well, I could relate with them on that fact, and then direct the audience’s attention to my argument.

I felt significantly better about this speech than I did about my previous speeches. I felt more prepared, most likely because we’ve had a lot of practice with all of the speeches. I think my point got across as well, as the audience, although time constraint cut them short, seemed to have many intriguing questions about the subject matter. Thus I felt a good connection on that level with them. Additionally, my speech appeared to intrigue them as well, as they reacted as anticipated to certain remarks that I made during the speech, whether it was a laugh, smile, or head nod. My volume appears to be good, and my tone is better than previous speeches as well.

After this speech round, I learned that preparation is crucial to a successful speech. I used my note cards far more effectively than I did with the previous speeches, and thus, conveyed my point clearly. One thing I would like to work on is my transitions. I had them prepared, but I don’t think I used them word for word. I also think that they could be created better and develop the next point more clearly. Overall, though, I am pleased with the outcome of this speech, and look forward to my continued growth in my public speaking ability.

Informative Speech Reflection

Going into the speech, I was really excited to be speaking about drugs in baseball. It’s a prevalent issue that still has lingering effects from the “Steroid Era”. To start, I looked to get the audience interested on the topic by humor. I talked about the “Mac Attack Bat”, which was an old childhood toy that used to crush the cover off of a wiffleball. Then, I wanted to transition into the speech with a more serious tone. Physically, I looked to continue scanning the room, making eye contact with people in the classroom to make sure I had their attention. I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t leaning on the table, or having my hands in my pockets. Something that I’ve learned is that it seems easier to maintain attention when the speaker is using their hands, making gestures, as opposed to standing with their hands in their pockets.

Generally, I think I did a good job completing my goals for this speech. I sort of lucked out after having the battery of the recording device fill up because I was able to joke around a little bit prior to the speech. I like to do this because I think it loosens me up a little bit, and since the beginning of a speech can be a little nerve-racking, it’s good to feel a little looser. Listening back to the tape, I think my tone could be a little clearer. Additionally, I use a lot of “umm” and “uhh” in my speech, and I tend to stutter over my words a little bit. Those are some things I should look to improve upon. But overall, I felt okay about this speech. In regards to the audience, I think I was able to connect very well with them. They had several questions at the closure of my speech, and seemed attentive while I gave it.

I think what I learned the most came from the recordings. I feel my speech can be smoother, so maybe what I can do to correct that is prepare my transitions better. Additionally, I was about 10 seconds over the time limit, so I should also plan the timing of my speech better. I think I made better use of my notecards this time around since I actually used them, so I never really struggled to remember what I was saying. Because it was a longer timeframe to work with, I think I assumed that I could take my time at the beginning, which ultimately was why I went over the time limit. Thus, I believe that after this speech, two things I need to focus on are time management and the fluency of my speeches.

Response to Elise

I really enjoyed the somewhat different approach that Elise took to the informative speeches. While many of us chose to do more specific topics, Elise elected to talk about sales, which relates to what she's interested in, but is a more broad topic. Elise did a good job outlining the topic, and clearly demonstrated key points she found to be important. Additionally, the speech helps clear up how I view sales; I'm used to watching Michael Scott at Dunder Mifflin (on "The Office"). Very well done, Elise.

Response to Rob

Over the past few months, I've heard a lot regarding the Semester at Sea, but I never really understood what it was. I was pretty interested when I realized that Rob was talking about this. The information that he delivered to the audience was both informative and opinionated, which is good. Additionally, he talked about how it's more than just a typical semester abroad, as it also includes academia and culture learning. This speech was very well done.

Physically, for this speech, I was looking to appear a little more relaxed than the first speech. Although I do feel I did well being able to appear calm, I was definitely nervous during the first speech. For this one, however, since it was an extra credit speech, I was more relaxed knowing there wasn’t anything to lose by making this speech. Additionally, I was talking about a subject matter that I’m very knowledgeable about, which is cycling. This relates to my emotional goals for this speech. The athlete I spoke of, Alberto Contador, was one of my longtime favorite cyclists as I gained interest in the sport. To see his demise occur this way is rather saddening and disappointing for the sport, and I looked to illustrate that in the way I spoke.

Making the speech, like I previously stated, was easier this time than the first speech because I’ve had experience and the event occurred last week rather than 14 years ago (as in my introductory speech). I felt very positive about my speech; I knew exactly what I wanted to say, I knew the order I wanted to speak of the events leading up to it, and I knew the background information I wanted to give out at the beginning of the speech. Additionally, I felt a strong connection with several audience members. I saw many smiles when I mentioned Contador’s excuse that contaminated meat was the reason for his failed drug test. A few students laughed when I mentioned that I always wanted to be “like Mike” (Michael Jordan) on the basketball court. So I definitely felt that a strong connection has been made and is being formed in general with the audience that I’ve been speaking to.

I think one thing I’ve learned and continue to learn is that you can never over-prepare when planning a speech. I knew exactly what I needed to say, but I still found myself saying “umm” or “like”, filler words which should really be avoided. One thing I do notice is that I make note cards, and never end up using them. One thing to maybe consider is constructing and writing a note card that has trigger words that I know I’ll use instead of filler words. Another thing I would personally like to focus on is my conclusions. I struggle to clearly get my point across at the end of the speech. In this case, I think there was so many important things about eh outcome of this case that I simply didn’t know how to summarize them into one. I definitely want to be more prepared when I think about what to say for future conclusions.

Reflective Essay for Loss Speech

Going into the speech, I did not really have any concrete expectations. I think one thing I do very well is entertain people, so I knew garnering a class’ attention would not be terribly difficult. Additionally, I knew my subject matter was rather light-hearted and, with proper delivery, I figured my speech would go fairly well. Physically, I was hoping to be able to move around, and attempt to make eye contact with everyone in the classroom. I wanted everyone to have a feeling of involvement and truly relate to the speech I was giving. In another emotional perspective, I wanted the audience to not have a sense of sorrow for my “loss”, but a sense of joy in recollecting the fun times of their childhood.

Being able to go third, in my opinion, was advantageous. Although I was interested in going first, going early on still allowed me the opportunity to speak early while the topic was on my mind. Furthermore, I did not have to wait around and dwell on ways to improve, or on ways my speech could have gone awry. I think the speech itself went tremendously well. I was able to get some sort of smile or chuckle out of most of the students. Additionally, I think the audience’s questions pertaining to my speech truly showed the relation that they felt to their own childhoods. For instance, one student asked if I had attempted anything drastic, like tying my tooth by a string and a door. I think this also showed the lightheartedness the audience felt, which is something I was aiming for. Additionally, I finished within the time limit, which I am pleased with.

There were several things I think I could have done better for the speech. I wasn’t able to move around as much as I anticipated. Frankly, I didn’t move at all. I think that my thinking was, since it was a short speech, a lot of movement might take away from the overall message of the story. Another thing I could have done better was reduce the number of filler words that I used, like “umm” and “like”. While I didn’t speed up too much during the speech, there wasn’t always a flow to it, as I struggled to remember exactly what I wanted to say to the audience. I did not even use the note card that I brought up, which I actually was pleased with, because it demonstrates that I remembered enough to get through the speech.

For the next speech, I think the most important thing for me to focus on is to have a better flow to the speech. I think the more fluent a speech is, the better an audience understands and pays attention to the speech. Another thing that will be something to consider is that not all of my speeches will be fun like that one, so I’ll need the ability to take on more serious subject matters.

Speaker #15

This story was very frustrating, having to rid yourself of two pets for ultimately doing something that wasn't there fault. But it was very well told, as I was intrigued the whole time. To discover that the animal causing the mess the whole time was actually the dog must have been extremely upsetting. Hopefully in the near future you'll be able to get some more cats. Ultimately, this was a very well-told story.

Speaker #5

I think the best part of Hannah's speech, for me, was how it was a topic that everyone can relate to. Everyone has had time's where they have lost some sort of work. I also enjoyed the visuals she gave, talking about "eye fluttering" in class (which happens to everyone), and the illustrative depictions of the library, with soda bottles and coffee cups. Overall, very well done.

Hope

In passing, you wouldn't think public speaking would be a challenge to me. I'm a fairly outgoing individual, seeking to meet new people and try new things. Public speaking, however, isn't all that easy. I struggle with eye contact, largely due to an eye condition I was born with, and I don't always speak clearly either.

With this class, I'm hoping some of those habits can change. I'm a sports studies major, hoping to deal with player personnel in the future. With this, I know that press conferences are definitely in the near future, so public speaking is something that will be crucial when I take on the real world. I look forward to each new speech we will have to encounter this spring, and hope that by the end, I'm comfortable speaking with anyone I want to in a pleasant and convincing manner.