Week 14 Post 3

I believe I will benefit from this public speaking class more than the average. We have weekly meetings in our office and have to report to a large group. I have to present information such as how much business we are getting, or what we can do to improve it, and listen to many comments and questions. I have dreaded the thought of going, especially since I am somewhat new in this field. When I first started, I was told I would eventually have to attend them by myself to represent our company location. Just the thought of being in front of a large group freaked me out. Now that I have taken this class, I’m less worried about the crowd and more worried about the information I will be presenting and the questions to come along with them. This class was my most dreaded, but I am glad it is over with! It really was not as bad as I thought it would be, and I am very glad to be taking half of it online. I have never taken a class half on campus and half online, in fact nothing online.

Week 14 Post 2

My favorite speech was my tribute speech. I enjoyed the fact that it was about someone close and who we wanted to pay tribute to. It seemed more natural to me, and I actually enjoyed writing it which made it easier to speak about. There are other speeches that I have little interest for, like for example our informative speech, I didn’t enjoy writing. Often times I second guessed myself, or had to rewrite many parts to get what I wanted. With the tribute speech, there were many things I wanted to say, but couldn’t fit them all in. I had many directions I could go with, and lots of options. Research papers, like our informative, can be hard especially when developing body paragraphs. You have to find the correct information to go in them, and if it’s slightly off it may not work for the subject or under the thesis. Even though it was short and simple, our tribute speech was by far the most genuine and my favorite.

Week 14 Post 1

I believe the most helpful concept I learned from this class were the techniques used to calm down while giving your speech. For example, channeling your nervous or anxious energy into something positive, such as excitement. Every time I would go up in front of the class, I would tell myself it would be alright and how excited I was to give this speech. Even though it was never true, it helped feeling that way instead of me thinking how nervous and terrible my speech would be. Another technique I found useful was relaxation breathing. When I start to feel nervous I take a couple deep breaths, especially before I go up in front of the audience. To me, these two techniques were the most helpful out of everything we learned. We learned many helpful writing tools to help develop our outline, but my main concern going into this class was my nerves.

Week 13 Post 3

In the speech buddy video 15.1, it covered the four parts in arguments which are the thesis, claim, evidence and  reasoning. Your thesis is always supposed to support your claim, evidence and reasoning. All of this information is review to me, and been the guidelines for speeches and essays for many years. It was nice to see it pinpointed directly in the introduction of a speech though. The speakers in the video had all of those main four points and were all clear. In the schooling pro video, the speaker was very relaxed. She seemed to have been practicing, only looking down at her note cards when needed. She gave many examples, and referenced them properly. Her voice is soft, but seemed like her tone and volume was on key. In the last video, schooling con, the first thing I noticed was his voice. It was very lively, and did not come off boring. His volume was nice and loud as well. He looked at his note cards more than the last speaker, but still made good eye contact with the audience. One thing to me that was distracting was his hand movement, but it wasn't over dramatic.

Week 13 Post 2

From chapter 15, I found the using reasoning effectively interesting. As I mentioned in my first post, mine did not work! There are four different types which I will break down by definition, strengths, and weaknesses. The first type is deductive, which is when the speaker argues from a general or precise case. Its strengths rely on logical reasoning, and weaknesses and invalid premises leading to false conditions. The next type I would like to explain is inductive reasoning. For that you use specific example to general principal. Its strengths are that is visualizes and personalizes the argument. On the other hand its weaknesses and that it might lack representation sufficiency or relevance. Another type of reasoning is casual, which is when you explain how one event causes another. Its strengths are that its useful for explanation and prediction, and weaknesses are it may be incorrect cause and an effective link. The last form of reasoning is analogical. Its strengths are that it draws similarities between two distinct cases, and weaknesses are it might be ignoring key differences.

Week 13 Post 1

Just recently I tried to discuss politics with my friend Shelby. I didn't know she could be so hostile! I am not an Obama fan, and she is. I tried to persuade her into voting for someone else. To try and do that, I continuously asked her what contributions Obama has made to our country, and she couldn't answer. I then later proceeded to tell her how much debt he has put America in, more than all of the presidents combined. That still didn't faze her! On top of that I told her how his last four years in office, unemployment rates have been the highest in the past ten years. After I told her all of this, she only got more defensive. She has a very bias opinion and is too stubborn to change it. Even though I only gave facts, from very credible databases online, I couldn't even at the least open her mind about it. Now I have learned my lesson to never talk politics with her!

Week 12 Post 3

Every day we are being persuaded. Whether it’s our parents telling us which route to take in life, or someone trying to get you to go somewhere when you really can’t, we are all persuaded and persuade others. The biggest form of persuasion however, I think is media. Magazines, internet, TV and bulletin boards all persuade people where to go, what to buy or how to look. In an English class I took here at Sierra College, my professor spent a good amount of time teaching us how we are all persuaded by media. If you see an ad for drinking or smoking, you usually buy into it by the images. The background is usually filled with models surrounded by wealthy people or places, when in reality advertisers use those to bring people in. Or another example would be those Carl’s Jr commercials. Come on, who really rides a bull, eats a cheeseburger, and looks that good all at the same time? I could go on about the various ways that sex sells, but that’s only one technique the media uses to persuade. To become a deeper thinker about these things, examine the background, colors, language, values, and actions and asses why they use them.

Week 12 Post 2

In the chapter 14 reading this week I found persuading different types of audiences interesting. The types are, the negative, also called the hostile, and the positive, also called the sympathetic, divided, uninformed, and apathetic audiences. The negative audience is informed about your topic but unfavorable towards it. Even though they may have their minds made up there are a few things you can do to help your speech. You should always establish credibility, take a common ground, help your audience visualize your topic in a positive way, prepare for your audiences unenthusiastic reaction, and keep your persuasive objectives within reason. For the positive audiences you must also have strategies which are to incorporate engaging evidence that reinforces the audience’s commitment, use both vivid images and language, rely on narratives to elaborate your points, and reinforce them to take action if they already agree. For the divided audience you need to demonstrate that you recognize the legitimacy of the arguments for and against the issue, establish credibility and common ground among all audience members, and integrate strategies for both the negative and positive audience members. To meet apathetic audiences’ needs you need to gain their attention and attract their interest, show how the topic affects them specifically, shows your commitment to the topic through energy and enthusiasm, take a one-sided approach, and use presentation media.  

Week 12 Post 1

The San Juan School District defines the Monroe’s Motivated Sequence (MMS) as an “organizational pattern used to develop a sense of want or need in the audience, satisfy that want or need, and to help the audience get enthused about the advantages of that solution”.  One example they later showed was a speech about becoming an organ donor. Personally, the thought of people cutting me up after I’m dead and taking my organs, creeps me out. After reading the outline, my mind changed. It made me changed my mind about donating my organs, made me understand, and made me want to do it. Obviously not right now. That is what the MMS is all about, getting your audience to understand, want it, and see the benefits.

On the other hand, the Problem Solution Pattern is when you give a problem and explain thoroughly where, what, and why it exists. You need to show how to problems effects us or how we are connected to the issue, and then give a specific way to solve the problem. Even though it’s overused, one example would be global warming.

Out of the two strategies, it’s hard for me to pick one. It really just all depends of what topic is, but if I had to go with one it would be Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.

Week 11 Post 3

Both the text and speech buddy videos for chapters 10 and 12 were very similar. In speech buddy video 10.1 the discussion was about audience centered language. To use this language you are supposed to refer to current events, use words like we, us, you and I, use inclusive language and spark imagination. The 10.2 video is about effectively using spoken language in your speech. This means to use meaningful words, balance between clarity and ambiguity, be concise, avoid offensive language, build in repetition, and don't get attached to the words. In the 12.1 video it was all about reviewing vocal delivery. The five main concerns were volume, pitch, rate, variety, and articulation and pronunciation. The 12.2 video was about physical delivery of your speech. To do that accurately you must have good eye contact, facial expression, appearance, movement and gestures. The last video 12.3 was about practicing for your speech. There were many helpful tips given in order to prepare for it. The most useful was to practice your speech in sections. Out of both of the chapters, I found 12 the most helpful because it pointed out a lot of stuff that I am doing incorrectly in my speeches.

Week 11 Post 2

In chapter 12, I found the “selecting a delivery” section both helpful and interesting. It seems by the way my last speech went; I used impromptu speaking which is defined as little of no preparation for a speech. I didn’t think I would need that much practice, since it was written down word for word. When you write your speech word for word that is called manuscript speaking. When I read off my cards I am way more comfortable. I cannot seem to even memorize my speech, which is called memorized speaking. There were a few people in class who didn’t even need note cards, but I’m not sure I could ever do that. If I had planned, researched, organized and practiced my speech, extemporaneous speaking, I would have definitely gotten a better grade. Extemporaneous speaking is what everyone should bring to the class but there a considerable amount of things that get in the way of the overall delivery, like nerves and such things.

Week 11 Post 1

In the "flickr" discussion many words were talked about being ban and such things. Some of the people who commented didn’t seem to mind, so called, sexist words and even used them daily. I don't see the big deal when it comes to using those words. There were some comments of Flickr talking about banning those words, as I mentioned before. While this is all going on, I think negative sexist language and racist language should be recognized more than describing a boy as a man or girl as a woman. In the chapter 10 reading I was confused over the tag questions. I don't notice different impacts whether it comes from a man or a woman. However I do believe non-sexist language can be overlooked. For example, male nurse, stewardess, chairman, freshman, career woman, boys, girls and such words may be sexist. While I don't believe most of it is sexist or a big deal, it seems to offend other people.

Self Evaluation- Informative Speech

1) I believe I did achieve the purpose of my speech, although I could have achieved it better if I used more facts or statistics from my outline. A lot of it was general knowledge, since I knew so much about my topic already.
2) Although I didn't feel as nervous, I began to lose confidence as I stumbled over my words every other 30 seconds! I was really thrown off with my pen marks everywhere, that I almost stop caring how it sounded and how I preformed.
3) If I had to do it again, I would have prepared much, much more! My note cards were completely unorganized from last minute scrambling; things were crossed off and added in.  It was very hard to read them. Next time I will definitely practice much more than I had for this speech. It didn’t help that I had two speeches, so it was hard to balance practicing them both for the same night.
4) My goal for the next speech will be to practice in front of a small crowd at least 4 times. When I practiced mine alone, I thought it sounded pretty great, obviously! Also, when I was alone I didn’t have to make any eye contact with anyone.
5) I failed to deliver my speech with full potential and personality. I need to really work on how I deliver my next speech and use more enthusiasm. I thought I had some as I started off, but if I did, it died shortly after I started scrambling my words.
6) Since I did two speeches during this class, my first one seemed better to me. I have had that speech ready for quite some time and was more familiar with it. This informative speech however, needed a lot more last minute final touch ups. I was more comfortable giving it, probably because I already stood up in front of the class just an hour before, but otherwise it wasn't as practiced.
7) I didn't do anything distracting that I know of, which was good because during my culture speech I was chewing gum and didn't even realize. I usually try to hide a piece of gum in my mouth so it’s not so dry, but apparently I’m not sneaky and my nerves force me to chew it!
8) I would rate my eye contact at about a 4. I feel more comfortable reading off the card, and think it sounds more smoothly. I desperately wish I could be like the others and give my speech without any note cards! I did notice students saying uh or um a lot without their cards, and I know I would constantly be using like, uh and um. However if I would have had them more organized and practiced, I wouldn’t have had to look down so much and  it would have made a noticeable improvement with my eye contact.
9) I believe I got a satisfactory grade due to my performance. When reading the feedback, apparently my speech was poorly researched. While I do agree my topic wasn't as challenging as some others, I did put in a good amount of research into it. Thinking back I should have created the speech about the inventor of Facebook, instead of the site itself. But other than that, I believe my grade was appropriate and I am satisfied with it.
10) I didn't source any citations during my speech; in fact I had no idea you had to. I did cite the source in my outline although as (s#). S stood for source and the number was the specific citation in order of my works cite.
11) This speech was not better than my last, and it was purely due to a lack of practice and research.

Week 9 Post 3

From this week’s reading I found the types of visual media helpful, because the advantages and limitations were displayed as well. I will explain a couple that were more common. Digital slides can help blend information in the form of text, images, video and sound. The downfalls of digital slides are they can be distracting, overused, boring, and the speaker can often forget about the audience and read off the screen. Another type of visual aid that I found useful would be a video. It can be very personal, emotional, and can give many examples. A negative side to using a video would be that it interferes with the audience focus or speaking pace. Another type of digital media I thought was interesting was handouts. It can reinforce key points and help the audience follow along. I know when I'm in class and a teacher hands out papers, it is always helpful to follow along with them. A downside is the audience may get distracted with them and read ahead, and they are also wasteful.

Week 9 Post 2

When using visual aid during your presentation, there are a few general guidelines. To start off, "keep it simple". Try not to include too much information or text, because it will distract your audience away from your speech. They will either not pay attention, or try to read the slide and won't hear what you have to say. Another rule is, "emphasize only key ideas". It is important that your visual aid reflects clearly upon the main idea. Also, "show what you can't say". This refers to showing charts, pictures, or graphs that explain what you can't. It is also helpful to "use close-up photographs and other images", because they seem to evoke a more emotional response from your audience. One more rule would be to "keep the number of images you present manageable", because too many images will bore or make your audience tired. Also, "combine variety with coherence". In other words keep the theme, such as colors or fonts, the same for the entire visual aid. Lastly, "use large lettering" so the entire audience can read.

Week 9 Post 1

I can still recall very clearly a MADD, mothers against drunk drivers, presentation I attended during drivers training. There were many mothers desperate to change lives, but one speaker in particular, was a drunk driver herself. She told of her story when she was a teenager, and only drove a short distance from her friends after she had been drinking. It was hard for her to talk due to the injuries she sustained, but it seemed to impact everyone. As she told her story, she had a slide show of photographs from the accident. While they showed the traumatic experience, it was also very distracting. The eyes were no longer on her, but on the pictures that were presented. Even though it took attention off of her, it was still a very strong presentation. The photographs were needed and really showed people the significance of drinking and driving. Her story was very touching, and could not have been as strong with words alone. 

Week 8 Post 3

For Speech Buddy Videos for chapter 9 the topics were about introduction and conclusion paragraphs. It was pretty basic knowledge, and was covered in reading. Once again, it was explained that to have a good introduction you need to get the attention from the audience, state your purpose, state your thesis, and preview the main points. When you prepare a conclusion you need to review main points, reinforce your purpose, and provide closure. The conclusion is your last chance to state what you haven't already. The examples in the conclusion video were very good, but the last speaker I thought should have stated the example of the car accident in the introduction. It seemed more of a statement for building your purpose or thesis. In the chapter 13 videos, their presentations were both good. They both had great eye contact, and their slides weren't filled up with information. Sometimes when people present slides with too much information, I tend to quickly scan them because I don't know where to start. It's nice seeing speeches, but at the same time makes me nervous. They all seem so confident and like experts. Hopefully my next one will go smoothly!

Week 8 Post 2

In chapter 13, I discovered there were 5 types of informative speeches. There are speeches about objects and places, people and other living creatures, processes, events, and ideas and concepts. Speeches about objects and places will be about “any nonliving, material thing that the human senses can perceive” or “geographical locations”. Speeches about people and other living creatures will of course be about a specific person, animal, or creature. Speeches about events can be “personal or otherwise known about”, and “can take place in the past, present, or future”. Speeches about ideas and concepts are about thoughts, understandings, beliefs, notions or principles. Ideas and concepts can also be actualized over time. All of these different categories will affect the title, thesis, topic and specific purpose differently. My topic falls under the category or objects and places. Now that I have some examples, I have a better understanding how to conduct my outline and even need to change a few things.

Week 8 Post 1

            There are many different parts of writing an introduction and conclusion. Starting off with an introduction, it is vital you have an attention getter. If it starts off boring, no one will want to listen to your speech. Attention grabbers might include a fact, statistic, story or a joke. After that, you want to indicate your purpose and thesis along with establishing credibility. The last part to an introduction is previewing what you will be talking about in the following body paragraphs.

            In a conclusion, you need to recall all the main points of the speech, reinforce your purpose and provide closure. Making a dramatic statement, thanking the audience or ending with a quote are a few ideas to end your conclusion.

            When I write a paper, I tend to use a lot of personal stories and jokes. When I prepare a speech, I tend to stick with facts and statistics, so it doesn’t become personal. I don’t feel comfortable joking with an audience, because it might not go as planned or might be hard to understand. For this upcoming speech I am trying to figure out a statistic that everyone can relate to, but also make it personal. I haven’t yet figured out how to do that, but it will happen! And for the conclusion, I need help with reinforcing the main points in my speech. Any suggestions?

Week 4 Post 3

The Chapter 7 Speech Buddy videos, reflected upon the reading, obviously. It discussed the importance and definition of supporting materials. As the book said, they were described to be used to help inform, persuade and entertain. There were also some down sides to the supporting materials. For example, narratives can be too long and definitions, facts, or statistics sometimes are not accurate. As long as you research well enough, you can pan out what is credible or not. In the 7.2 video, it talked about credibility. Books, articles, magazines and internet sites all need to be carefully assessed.

In the Chapter 8 videos, it talked about the 8 different patterns of organization and their definitions. In the 8.2 video, linking effective transitions were discussed. The videos were very helpful and I can definitely relate to opening my speeches with a fact, definition or statistic. Statistics can be outdated, and it seems like every site has a different number. You really have to research many sites, articles and books before you can identify what is correct. Also, I need to transition smoother and it will make my speech go along better. All of these tools to writing a great paper and speech are helpful, there are lots of different elements to creating what you are going to say. 

Week 4 Post 2

From this week’s reading, I found the many patterns of organization the most interesting. Patterns of organization is defined as, “structures for ordering the main points of your speech that help the audience members understand the relationships among your ideas,” (149). There are many different types such as chronological, spatial, topical, narrative, cause and effect, problem solution, and Monroe’s motivated sequence. The most common pattern I find that I use is the topical pattern, which is a “pattern that divides a topic into subtopics that address its components, elements, or aspects.” (146). It is used to inform the audience and all of the points are to be related to the main topic, thesis. When I construct essays or research papers, all of my body paragraphs reflect on my thesis. Ever since I first started any form of essay, I have always been taught to construct it in the same manner. I’m not saying I am a pro, but from a young age, every outline or draft I write is usually always structured in the topical pattern.

Week 4 Post 1

Giving examples, facts and statistics (supporting materials) are effective when giving a speech when the speaker wants to “bolster his opinion” (126). Giving those supporting materials “holds, illustrates, clarifies and provides evidence for your speech” (126). Using those tools are helpful when either you are trying to persuade, inform or amuse your viewers. Giving examples help make your topic concrete, but also can personalize your speech or make it emotional by telling a personal experience. Facts and statistics can persuade or promote agreement, and give logical, solid evidence. Both examples and statistics are commonly used, and are used often in my writing to support my thesis. I usually even start out my writing with a fact or statistic to try and engage the audience. Even though I may find it effective, I still need to explore different ways of grabbing my audience since I have gotten too comfortable using those supporting materials.  

Week 3 Post 3

Starting off, with the Drinking Speech Buddy Video, the speaker didn't seem to have been prepared for his speech. He looked at his note cards very often, forgetting to look up at them and also pausing along the way. Also when he had his power point up, he seemed like he was reading it for the first time along with his audience. He should have prepared more, but I will say toward the end he made a LITTLE more eye contact with the class. That's not saying much. During the Pollution video, although short, she seemed enthusiastic but also looked at her note cards. The only difference was she seemed she had the words down, and it went smoothly. The last video on the volunteering went very smooth. She was very relaxed and you could tell she practiced many times. She engaged the audience and had an effective presentation. Obviously, she researched thoroughly and had many examples to back it up.

Week 3 Post 2

This week’s reading really focused on audience analysis. Audience standpoints, values, attitudes, and beliefs all tied into meeting the audience needs and interests for the speaker to develop their speech. All of those key points should be taken into consideration when developing your point of view. Even though your point of view has its own meaning, you should make sure your audience will respect and take interest in it as well. One of the things I learned was to not deliver a bias speech, always refer to the opposing views and give plenty of diverse examples. Values can be a touchy topic when taking an entire group and “enduring a concept of what is good, right, worthy, and important” (83). What may be right to one person may not be right to the other. That is why it is important to give plenty of examples, and try not to form a bias opinion. Also, it is important to have an interesting topic. Looking back to last week’s Speech Buddy Video, one of the topics was on slugs, enough said.

Week 3, Post 1

Audience analysis is defined as “Obtaining and evaluating information about your audience in order to anticipate their needs and interests and design a strategy to respond to them” (77). Audience adaptation is meant for the speaker to “adapt their messages to appeal to specific audiences” (77). They are both important and have similar goals. If the speaker doesn’t take the audiences views into hand, the audience may not relate, and become very bored. Some topics may be hard to design a strategy that would fit the audience. Take for example, our upcoming demonstration speeches. We will be demonstrating something with our hands, but to me there isn’t a specific way to make it appeal to the audience. Maybe adding humor would appeal, but I can’t think of anything that would change the way I designed my speech. I could see this process being helpful when delivering an informative or persuasive speech. It is important to know where the majority of your audience stands of their views. For example, if someone was to give a speech about legalizing gay marriage in a Christian church, the audience feedback would most likely be very unwelcoming.

Week 2 Post 3

      In the Speech Buddy video 6.1, it had many helpful hints when you conduct a research at the library. I’m not sure about most of the students, but I don’t find myself in the library very often. Typically, I conduct my researches online. The library offers many resources in print, has organizations, interviews, and many different site sources. Also, when you get stuck, the librarians are always there to help you find something. The library database at Sierra is very helpful, including books, articles and many helpful sources. It seems there are a lot more sources there; I just have trouble finding extra time.

      Also, the two speeches seemed to go smoothly. Dory seemed comfortable and was “talking” to the audience, instead of reading off note cards. I find “talking” to the audience to be the most difficult for me. I prefer to read off a paper, rather than having a conversational speech. The other speech about the slugs was very boring, but I did like the fact that she brought visualization. Maybe picking a different topic other than slugs would have kept me interested.

Week 2 Post 2

From this week’s reading, in Chapter 6, I found helpful information on how to evaluate your topic. It was broken down into three criteria’s; reliability, validity, and currency. Reliability refers to the credibility of the author’s information he presents. Validity refers to the truth behind the underlying information of the resource. Lastly, the currency refers to how current or recent the information was presented. These three criteria I find most helpful when getting information off the internet. Books, magazines, and newspapers seem to have more credibility than the internet. Anyone can post information on the internet, and most of the information sounds legit. For example, take Wikipedia. It’s an online encyclopedia that the public may edit. It seems resourceful, but the information is posted by many people, some credible, most not. If you use the criteria, you will find that Wikipedia is not a trustworthy, resourceful site. If you do take information from sites like these, you may end up doing more work to find the credibility on the material. Even when you do find a credible site, you still might want to research the author, as his or her background may be surprising. The author may have a background that can lead him or her to bias opinions or such things that would make a difference in the information given.

Week 2 post 1

      I find research interviews very effective but they really depend on how relative the topic is to the person you are interviewing. Of course, you have to make sure the person is credible to answer the questions you propose. As long as that checks out, I find researching from what others have to say is very successful.

     I have done a very quick research interview on my high school campus. I had to do a study on how many students were going away to a 4 year university, if they were going to a community college, or unknown. There was nothing that went memorably well, or wrong, since it was so long ago. It was very simply and straight forward. Thinking back, I could have gone more into detail about the topic and asked students what their reasons were behind choosing a 4 year or community. It could have been due to money, scholarships, or family reasons, but is too late to figure it out now. 

Week 1 post 3

Watching the speech buddy videos really summarized everything in the chapter(s) reading. It was good to actually get to see the techniques being done. In the Watch It video 2.2, the students said not to comment on your nervousness. Not too long ago, I went to a work dinner so my coworkers and I could meet. It was overwhelming to meet everyone, especially when my supervisor wasn't there to introduce me. It seemed as everyone already had their own clicks, and I was quiet and nervous the entire time. At the end of the night I commented on how nervous I was without my supervisor, and remembered it only made my anxiety worse. Seconds after I said that, I wished I could have taken it back. I remember feeling my face turn bright red and my whole body temperature sky rocketed. Now I see why it doesn't do any good to speak of your anxiety, it only draws negative attention! Next time I will definetely channel my nerves into a more positive feeling- "good butterflies".

Week 1 Post 2

 In chapter 4, page 64, one of the topics was Consider Your Own Interests. When picking a topic, whether it is an essay, research paper, or speech I try to pick the easiest. I pick something that is understandable, and easy to talk about, even though it may not be my point of view. I make up common ideas around the topic, instead of choosing a topic and having ideas come to mind naturally. It seems that when I present my own idea, I feel like I don’t have enough resources and just take the easy way out rather than doing the work.

I need to choose topics that I have interests and believe in, instead of coming up with topics that the majority of people agree with. For example, controversial topics. Based on my topic, I will choose the belief that the majority of people would choose, just to avoid conflicting my point of view. By doing that, I run out of things to say and have no passion or interest in what I’m presenting. I also find my material very choppy, in the sense that it doesn’t flow.

The next time I have to pick a topic, I will brainstorm ideas and points that come naturally to me, and not think about what the audience wants to hear. I just find it difficult getting out what I really want to say, how I want to say it. 

Week 1 Post 1

Just thinking about what makes me apprehensive about public speaking, makes my mind jump in all different directions. In the chapter 2 reading, speech anxiety really explained it all. I experience the "quavering voice, shaking hands, increased heart rate" and most definitely nervousness. I guess what makes me so nervous is the uncertainty of my idea.  I over think my topic too much, and always wonder what the audience thinks about it, which would fall under the spotlight effect. When giving my speech, I feel like I’m being analyzed, which I am, but I also forget that’s what everyone else is going through. I seem to feel all the attention is on me, even after the speech is over.

I know it can’t be done right away, but if I practice visualization, relabeling, and relaxation techniques overtime I can become a more confident speaker. Before my next speech, I will start by taking calm breaths and trying to avoid nervousness and channel it into something else. I say this now, but I can already feel the anxiety building!!!

Hello everyone! I have been at Sierra College for what feels like too long! Public speaking is my most dreaded class, I wish it didn't exist. It is not only a prerequisite for me, but hopefully will help me get over my fear and make me come out of my shell at work a little bit. I recently started working in escrow, which most people don't know what it is. I constantly meet new people, and it's only a matter of time before I have to participate in meetings. It's very new to me and completely different from my last job of 5 years as a caregiver.

And I know this blog is late, but I thought getting familiar with blogger, besides the initial set up, before this week was an option! Sorry guys!