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 Statistics can be outdated, and it seems like every site has a different number.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".