anissacoms101-blog

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Course Reflection

Looking back at this quarter, I feel as if I’ve made a lot of progress towards achieving my goals. Specifically, I think I have improved in becoming a more confident speaker, but also with slowing down my pace. Before taking this coms 101 course, I was terrified of speaking in front of a group of strangers. So, whenever I had to give a speech to an audience, I would always get so nervous. However, now that I’ve spent an entire quarter giving speeches, I think my nerves have gone down a little bit. I mean, I still get a little nervous every now and then. But, they are nowhere near the nerves I had for my first speech. That being said, I think this decrease in my nervousness is due to all of my practice, but, also, to my big slip up. As the speeches got harder and longer, I would start preparing for them earlier. This is because I knew I would need more time to practice my speech and become comfortable with my topic. I realized that the more comfortable I was with my speech, the more confident I came off as a speaker. Also, after messing up on that one speech in round two, I learned how trivial it is to worry about everything. Sometimes, you do the best you can do, but you still mess up. And, that’s alright. All you need to do is take a deep breath and start all over. So, that is exactly what I did with my speech and I actually ended up doing alright. After experiencing this, I feel as if I am more confident in myself. I think it is because I feel as if I have hit rock bottom with that speech, so the only way for me to go now is up. This quarter, I have also been working on slowing down my speaking pace. This has been really hard for me because I naturally speak really fast. So, I had to learn how to enunciate my words so that my audience could understand me. It took me awhile to learn how to do it, but, I think I finally got it. I had to try multiple different solutions over the course of the quarter, until I found one that worked. For me, I think the solution that worked the best was practicing my speeches really slowly. This forced me to enunciate all of my words and pause in between sections. When I did this, my speeches would sound a lot better.

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Speech Round #3 Reflection

Speech #1-Monroe’s Motivated Sequence 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxAtbQuBuTA

Feedback: easy to follow; points flowed well; sometimes a smidge jumbled; good transitions; really informative; great examples to support argument; talked at a nice pace; kept audience engaged by sense of purpose in voice; good job controlling speed

Reflection: To be honest, I was really scared for this speech. This is because the last speech I gave to the class I actually choked. So, I was afraid I would do the same thing this time. However, I tried to forget about that experience and move forward. This actually helped me regain my trust in myself. Also, before presenting this speech to the class, I practiced it multiple times. I even practiced it for my roommates and friends, so that I could get another person’s perspective on the speech. I think by doing all of this I was able to come off as a more confident speaker. Furthermore, during this speech round, I made huge strides in accomplishing another one of my goals. This is that I was actually able to slow down my pace during my speech. In almost every other speech round, someone would always tell me to talk a little slower. However, during this speech, one of my teammates actually told me that I talked at a nice pace. This was a huge accomplishment for me because I never thought that I would be able to slow down my pace. I have been trying to do this for so long, but it has never worked. I think I finally got it because of the way I practiced my speech. When I was practicing it, I would make sure I talked super slow. This way, when I presented it for the class and naturally spoke a little faster, my pace would be pretty normal. 

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Speech Round #2 Reflection

Speech #1-How To Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxkQza1OxS8&t=279s

Feedback: the step by step process was easy to follow; organized structure; citation of sources was well done; explained the steps needed to juggle, but then also added a source to justify the step; the pitch was one-node; spoke a little fast, but interest in juggling made up for it; good credibility (walked audience through my relationship with the topic); strong and clear thesis (identified what I was going to talk about); research was embedded nicely; talk slower (this will help add pitch)

Reflection: I thought my how-to speech was one of the best speeches that I have given so far. Even though I struggled with accomplishing all of my goals, I still think I made some notable progress. For example, in my how-to speech, I feel as if I had more confidence than in my other speeches. I’ll admit I was a little nervous before I gave this speech. However, unlike my other speeches, I wasn’t nervous about presenting the actual speech. I was simply afraid that I was going to drop one of the balls when I was juggling in front of the class. So, in order to counteract these nerves, I practiced my speech several times and even performed it in front of my friends. Also, I practiced my juggling a lot the week before my speech, so that I would feel confident doing it in front of the class. Even though I ended up dropping the ball when I was juggling, I still believe that all that practicing helped calm my nerves. This is because when I went up to present I was only a little nervous. Plus, once I started my speech, I actually started to have fun and was not even scared anymore. My little slip up added some humor to my speech and I think I was able to play it off relatively cool. I was really afraid that it would damage my credibility; however, my speech was still able to flow smoothly. Though I made some improvements in increasing my confidence level, I did not learn how to effectively slow down my pace. In this speech, I noticed that I was really passionate about my topic. So, when I got excited, I would start to talk a little faster. The techniques I have been using to slow down my pace have not been working as well as I had hoped. So, in the next speech round, I think I am going to try and practice my speeches a lot slower than I normally talk. So, when I get nervous or excited during my speeches and start to talk faster, it would essentially level out to a normal speaking pace. 

Speech #2-Informative Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7zZrYfjBn8&t=1s

Feedback: strong structure (clear on points I was going to talk about); slides were intriguing, but add actual data (like graphs, charts, etc.); define some of the terms more; relate the topic to yourself; benefits and dangers of lucid dreaming were interesting to listen to; slow down a little bit more and it will help with nervousness; kept audience engaged with your tone; came back from the mess up in the beginning; intro could have been enhanced by relating it to the audience and myself; clear purpose and thesis; beautiful and fluid transitions; great conclusion to wrap things up; research was well done; sometimes pace was fast, but at other points it was good; make sure to control gestures and only use meaningful gestures

Reflection: So far, I feel as if I have been making a lot of progress towards achieving my goals with every new speech. However, after my informative speech, I feel as if I took a step back. For some reason, my confidence was essentially gone when I gave my informative speech. When I went up in front of the class, I froze and could barely get a sentence out of me. This was so embarrassing and weird because it has never happened to me before. I mean, sometimes I stutter on my words or lose my train of thought, but, it has never been this bad. Because of this mess up in the beginning of my speech, I lost all of my confidence. Though I was able to take a deep breath and finish my speech, I did not feel confident when performing it to the class. I am not sure why I froze and why my confidence level dropped so drastically. I practiced my speech several times the night before and felt as if I knew what I were saying. But, that night, I did not rehearse my speech in front of my friends, like I normally do. So, maybe that caused me to be unsure about my material and made me more nervous. Also, I think losing my confidence forced me to rush through my speech and talk too fast for my audience. Additionally, because I was so frightened in front of the class, I tended to look down at my speech outline more frequently. Overall, freezing up during my speech made it harder for me to accomplish all of my goals. However, I am not going to let that stop me from achieving them. I am simply going to work harder on my next speech. For my persuasive speech, I am going to try and start outlining it several days before my actual presentation day. This way I will have more time to practice it and perform it for others. Also, I am going to try and make my outlines less wordy. This way I won’t be so dependent on them. 

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Speech Round #1 Reflection

Speech #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skJT-oEjX6Q

Feedback: Very easy to understand intro through conclusion; structure was very organized; might want to change some of the language; pace was a bit too fast; slow pace down and emphasize emotions with voice just a little bit more; sometimes the sentences would end in an abrupt place; slightly choppy; good visual imagery of speech, give more; try embedding a reflective statement in the speech (helps slow down) 

Reflection: For my first speech, I thought I did a decent job in that I accomplished some parts of my goals. However, there were still several parts that I struggled with and need to work harder on. For example, I was incredibly nervous for my first speech. In order to counteract these nerves, I practiced my speech multiple times the day before, so that I knew my material very well. This was one of the techniques I found online that was supposed to help make me a more confident speaker. At first, I didn’t think this worked. But, after finishing my speech, I can tell that it did help a little. This is because when I first got up in front of the class, I was super scared and did not feel confident at all. But, as I got towards the end of my speech, I started to feel the speech and gain more confidence. Though I made some strides in becoming a more confident speaker, I did not learn how to effectively slow down my pace. Since I naturally talk fast, I tried using some pointers from my action plan, specifically the one that said to plan pauses throughout the speech. These pauses did help a little and forced me to slow down at certain parts; however, I still ended up talking too fast. I think this may have been because I did not plan enough pauses. 

  Speech #2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X7GppdmDnQ

Feedback: Good introduction, but ending was a bit abrupt; interpretation was good, but use more emphasis in the ending; make sure to vary voices; it was confusing to go from one strong voice to a narration; with a back and forth conversation, it is necessary to give a divider; try to take deliberate pauses in your speech; use differing vocal styles to give each narrator and character;life was brought ell to the piece and voice filled the room; eye contact and composure were good 

Reflection: My second speech was a lot different from my first speech in that I was presenting someone else’s words rather than my own. This caused me to be a little bit more nervous than usual because I knew I had to recite the passage verbatim. However, this oral interpretation did help me work on my eye contact and pace. In order to perfect my eye contact, I tried to look up for the majority of the time that I was speaking and if I did have to look down, I would pause, look down, and then continue speaking once I looked up again. This way I could maintain eye contact with the audience throughout my entire speech. Personally, I thought I did a good job at retaining eye contact with the audience, and so did my teacher. Though I was not able achieve a steady pace, I did make some small strides in slowing it down. I organized my outline into many small chunks, so that I’d be forced to pause multiple times throughout my speech. I think this helped a little, but my pace during each chunk was still too fast. Thus, I think I need to learn how to enunciate each word more clearly and maybe this will help me talk slower. 

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Goal #3

I want to be able to make direct eye contact with my audience.

http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/delivery/tips-eye-contact/

http://www.artofcommunicating.com.au/public_speaking%20tips/body%20language_eye%20contact.html

http://speakingsherpa.com/10-public-speaking-tips-for-making-eye-contact/

I understand that if speakers are able to use eye contact effectively then they are more likely to capture and engage their audience. So, I’ve come up with several different ways that I can strengthen my eye contact skills. First, when I’m giving a presentation to an audience, I will make sure to maintain eye contact with each individual for 3 to 5 seconds. This is because any longer will make the person feel uncomfortable and any shorter will make me look anxious and unreliable. I can practice this skill of maintaining eye contact with people on a daily basis, especially when I’m having conversations with a larger group. Another way I can work on this skill is by squaring my body to the person I am making eye contact with. This will make them feel more involved in my speech and also will allow me to connect with them. Lastly, it is important that I make eye contact in a random pattern. If I do it in a systematic way, it will look unnatural and make me appear awkward.  

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Goal #2

I want to learn how to slow down my speaking pace.

https://www.inc.com/sims-wyeth/how-to-slow-down-if-you-talk-too-fast.html

https://www.ethos3.com/2014/03/how-to-slow-down-nervous-speedy-speech

Ever since I was a little kid, I always had a tendency to talk really fast. Whether I was simply chatting with my friends or giving a presentation to an entire class, it was always difficult for people to understand me. So, I have researched several different techniques that I can use to slow down my pace in speeches. First, I can avoid memorization. When people memorize their speeches verbatim, it allows them to race through all of their information. Thus, I should make sure that I know my information well, but not to the point where I know every line word for word. Another way I can train myself to speak slower is to plan pauses in my speeches. Instead of viewing my speech as one big paragraph, I should think of it as several small chunks. So, I should make sure that I break up my speech into smaller paragraphs before I begin rehearsing. This way, when I transition from one topic to the next, I am more inclined to take a pause. This pause is extremely important in that it distinguishes each section, but also forces me to take a deep breath and slow down. Lastly, before rehearsing my speech normally, I can practice it by whispering the speech with energetic lips. This will prevent me from saying my speech too fast.

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Goal #1

I want to become a more confident speaker. 

http://www.success.com/blog/6-tips-to-be-a-more-confident-speaker

http://www.lifehack.org/328675/8-tips-for-becoming-more-confident-public-speaker

https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2010/11/30/four-ways-to-be-a-more-confident-speaker/#112448476a2

One of the ways I can become a more confident speaker is by frequently practicing my speech and understanding the material I am presenting. This will allow me to become more comfortable with my speech, so that when I deliver it, I can come off as credible and trustworthy. Also, I will make sure that I begin practicing my speech at least two days in advance, so that I have enough time to familiarize myself with the topic. Another way I can build up my confidence as a speaker is to watch videos of professional speakers and study their ability. These speakers have practiced their speeches for weeks and effectively know how to present their material. Thus, by studying them, I can learn how they coherently share their thoughts and connect with their audience. I will try to watch at least 3 TED talks or other videos with professional speakers at least once a week, so that I accustom myself to good speaking qualities. Lastly, I will make an effort to act naturally when I present and just be who I am. There is no right path for becoming a great public speaker. We all have our own strengths that we should try to build utilize. So, instead of focusing so much on putting on an act, I am going to simply be me. When I talk in front of the class, I can just pretend that it is some big family dinner and I am just discussing something with the guests.