The Nostalgia Sessions Part 3

LAST BLOG POST!

What I would like to take from this class is the idea that public speaking just isn't that big of a deal. I build it up to such epic proportions in my head, what with the nerves and the anxiety and all. I was just starting to get to the point in the semester with these speeches where I could explore how much fun I have up in front of people. I think that in another two or so speeches I may have been able to stop looking at public speaking as something that is going to tie my bowels into knots, but more as an opportunity to ...play. I'd really be able to take all of the tools I have acquired this semester and be able to use them to make a fun game out presentations in general. It's something I was able to do in my last rank test; instead of freaking out on whether I was getting everything right I was somehow able to relax and just have fun. I love martial arts, so why shouldn't I take the opportunity to enjoy the test? And it worked - I totally kicked ass. If I could translate this mentality into not only public speaking, but all other areas of my life, well, I think I would be one happy camper.

I've really enjoyed getting to know you all! (This has been my favorite class people-wise by far...) I hope you all have a fantastic summer!

Nostalgia Sessions Part 2

I would have to say that out of all of our speeches, I probably liked the informative speech the best. At least, that is the speech I felt best about. I am a huge nutrition geek and I felt really confident getting up there and talking about Paleo Nutrition. I also actually really liked having the power point up there, because it was almost like speaking with a friend up there. A non-verbal, two-dimensional and very colorful friend. And even though the informative speech involved a lot of work researching and putting everything together, in the end that made me feel even more confident about my topic. Which just does to show that you get out of it what you put into it, right?

Actually, the more I think about it I realize that the persuasive speech is up there too. I had a lot of fun with that topic. (How could you not, with a subject like play?) but I think the informative speech wins, just because I had a lot of stress going on while I was preparing the persuasive speech. But both topics were well researched, had power points, and were fun to talk about.

As "enjoyable" as they were, I am certainly glad to have them all over with. :)

The Nostalgia Sessions Part 1

What concept or concepts have I found most helpful in this class? well, I know this is kind of a cop-out answer, but I found everything to be useful. If I had to pick out specifics though, I would have to say that the chapter on organizational patterns and the chapter on reasoning stand out in my mind. I have come to the realization that without a good foundation you won't go anywhere. Each day seems to drive that point a little more home, and it is true in public speaking as well as the rest of life. Good organization in the preparation stages of your speech will make your life SO MUCH EASIER. All across the board, too.
I liked the section on reasoning because weak arguments do not a happy Emerald make. Whether you are writing or speaking, having a clear, sensible argument that is derived from solid evidence feels really damn good. Having the little table of fallacies was helpful, as well as having a better understanding of how to use different types of reasoning. I think I still need some work on proper deductive/inductive reasoning skills, but hey, it'll come in time.

And hooray for being done with out speeches! Does that feel good or what?!

A fallacy is simply an error in making your argument. The mistake can appear in your claim, your evidence, or in your reasoning. Taking a ride on the fallacy bandwagon will ensure that you have a weak argument that can be easily ripped apart in the event that you have opposition with weak-seeking fallacy hounds. The four main categories of fallacies are:

1. Faulty assertions
2. Flawed evidence
3. Defective reasoning
4. Erroneous responses

Looking at the blip on fallacies in the chapter in addition to looking at the handy dandy fallacy table in the text, I can't help but think that media and all of the people in it are feeding the public fallacies by the earful/eyeful/mouthful. Jeez. But I am pretty sure that I have already had that ranto, so...


Claim-based fallacies stem from an error in basic assumptions or assertions. Types of claim-based fallcies include False Dilemma, Begging the Question, Slippery Slope, and Ad Ignorantiam.
Fallacies in evidence are a result of the evidence being irrelevant, inaccurate, insufficient, or even having nothing to do with the claim. Red herring, Comparitive Evidence Fallacy, Ad Populum, and the Appeal to Tradition Fallacy are types of fallacies in evidence.
Fallacies in reasoning are errors in the way that the speaker links the evidence to the claims. They include the Division Fallacy, the Hasty Generalization Fallacy (the bane of Ents everywhere), the Post Hoc Fallacy, and the Weak Analogy Fallacy.
Finally, we have fallacies in responding, in which the listener makes errors while critiquing a speaker's argument. These include the Ad hominem Fallacy, the Guilt by Association Fallacy, the Straw Man Fallacy, and the Loaded Word Fallacy.

I feel like watching the election coverage is going to get a lot more entertaining with this better understanding of fallacy in argument.

Recent Discussions In Which I Have Been Charmingly Persuasive

Huh. Well of course I am drawing a complete blank here. I feel like I don't do a lot of arguing/persuading nowadays, though I am sure that my room mate would say otherwise. In reading the text, I probably use all of them, and probably more often than I think. I took a Critical thinking class with Alastair Moles a number of years ago (totally recommend that class) and I learned quite a bit about logic, as well has how to make more solid claims. But I think I am a lot better at unraveling other people's flawed logic, and pointing out fallacies in other people's words. Because, well, that kind of stuff tickles me.

If I had to narrow it down I would say that I probably use causal and analogical reasoning the most, and I tend to try to appeal to logos and pathos more often than not. I think they are what I respond to the most, and therefor I feel like they are more powerful tools for me personally. I like facts and statistics. I like information to be well sourced. When someone makes a claim but they can't back it up I usually don't pay attention to it. I think that appeals to pathos can be very strong, but that it is also very easy to manipulate people emotionally, so one needs to be careful in their appeals to pathos, and also be wary when someone uses your own emotions in order to sway your opinion. I like causal reasoning because I like If-Then statements, and they seem to follow the causal train of thought, though I suppose you can really do anything with If-Then statements. And i like analogical thinking because i can relate concepts to other concepts easily enough, which can make it easier to make my point to someone who perhaps relates to things differently than I do. All I have to do is find out what they geek out on and relate to that.

An Example being last night in my Tai Chi class. We had a new guy come in and the instructor was having me work with him for the class. After going over a few positions and movements, as well as addressing the gentleman's posture, my instructor stopped us and asked us to tell him what the differences were in three or four stances that he showed us, all from different martial arts styles. The guy starting saying that the hand placements were slightly different, and the feet had different angles to them, but I knew my teacher was asking a trick question. There were all the same stance. I said as much , and the new student was having a hard time wrapping his brain around that, as clearly the hands were in a different position in each of them, and yadda yadda yadda. After listening to my teacher try to explain the concept for a few minutes and not get anywhere, I said, "it like putting Monet, Picasso, and a woman in a red dress all in the same room. If you have Monet and Picasso paint the exact same woman, they will still come up with hugely different paintings. It's the same subject, but their styles are so incredibly different that you would wind up with two very distinct pieces of artwork." And that cleared it up right quick.

Oh, Speech Buddies....

Let's hear it for this week's round of speech buddy videos.

Lisa's blip on breast cancer was pretty short, but what I did notice was that she was doing a pretty good job relating the topic to the audience. Bring it on home, honey.

Brandi on not feeding the wildlife: While I thought her narrative was alright, I thought it was a little long to be a part of the introduction. At least it seemed to be the introduction. I thought it was kind of like pulling out the big guns a little too early. Also, I found her voice to be rather flat, and she breezed through everything really quickly, making me feel as though she was more reciting information instead of being an "expert" on the topic.

Hans gave me the impression that he himself needed to cut back on the sugar. Settle down there Hans. I found his speaking approach to be a little too contrived, and it made me feel like I was being patronized. I feel like his speaking style would have been appropriate had he been presenting on Sesame Street, but not to a group of adults. I couldn't focus on the technicalities of his speech because I was too focused on how much I didn't like his speech pattern. Which was actually good food for thought. Though I have to say that I am not in the habit of talking to small children like they are small children, much less adults.

I thought Dixie did alright with her pro homeschooling speech. She outlined her points well enough, everything had a nice flow, she seemed well-researched. Her voice was a little boring, but that's just me being picky. I thought she made her point quite well.

In contrast, I didn't care for Robert's cons of homeschooling speech at all. His whole speech felt vague and put together with a generic formula, rather than organized and professional. I also completely disagreed with him, and I thought that he could have gone a hundred different routes to make a better argument against homeschooling than, "We just can't expect parents to do their job and raise their kids, that's what teachers are for." I do think, however, that Robert's points did an excellent job of highlighting how skewed our perception is of how education "should" work. Education starts in the home, and while I don't expect every parent to be able to teach Advanced Placement Chemistry to their kids, they should be able to handle teaching their kids the basics of our society. And I have a huge problem with the whole "Should parent's be expected to give up their careers just so they can teach their kids?" mentality. It is not okay to just dump your kids off at school and expect the teachers to do all the hard work for you. If you are a parent, you damn well better be taking an active role in your kids life as it is. And that's what I think about that.

And hooray for having one more speech done. Only one left to go! Wahoo!

The Ethics of Persuasive Speaking

Did anyone else's Dashboard explode into a Wonkafied color-tastic display?


It's really easy for the speaker of a persuasive speech to only supply the facts and evidence that support their claims. As persuasive speakers, we have a responsibility to provide a wide range of information to the audience to allow them to decide for themselves. Persuasive speakers provide their audience with all of the evidence, not just the evidence that supports their claims.


One must also represent research for what it is, and not what the speaker would like it to mean. Personal or professional bias shouldn't necessarily come into play, even though you should clearly be advocating your point. I see this a lot in the media. particular with nutrition research. There was one study that came out not too long ago about red meat consumption, and once the media got a hold of it, they did the typical "Red Meat Will kill You!' spin. The media didn't bother to take into consideration the fact that the percentage of participants who consumed red meat also had a higher tendency to smoke and not engage in physical activity. Additionally, sedentary smokers often have a crappier diet than people with an active lifestyle. So while a correlation between red meat and mortality was made, none of the evidence was taken into consideration before these claims were made. Super frustrating, and a great example of the media attempting to manipulate the public.


Manipulation also come in the form of an abusive of power. I liked the books example of a doctor overstating dire health consequences for an uncooperative patient. Also, I happen to be reading The Devil Wears Prada, ( I just finished the A Dance With Dragons, the fifth Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire Book, and I needed something light after the whole epic fantasy thing...) and it is a perfect example of a manipulative boos with her assistants wrapped tightly around her pinkie finger through the threat of her displeasure. It's a great light read, I'd recommend it.


Persuasive speeches are just like persuasive essays. Clearly represent the pros and cons of the the topic, and leave out personal bias while advocating one position or another.

The Persuasion Bombardment of Everyday Life

You cannot hope to exist in today's world without being assaulted by people trying to persuade you into buying, liking, thinking, doing, voting, and/or hating. I think the most obvious example of this is the media's constant attack on our senses, but persuasion can happen in interpersonal relationships too. Additionally, persuasive speeches are the foundation of any kind of voting campaign, which we are witness to as this happens to be an election year.

Let's start with the public speaking bit. Candidates for whatever position use persuasive speaking to collect followers of their cause. They tell people that they are the best person for the job, that their opponents butcher puppies in their sleep and that the only hope for the student council/town/country is to elect them as a leader. They attempt to relate to their audience by declaring themselves as "Just another hockey mom," and by identifying with the ideals of their audience. They do their audience homework really well. The solutions to the problems that they cite usually entail being elected, and then some obscure plan of which we never really learn about in depth during the debates. Candidates fill their audiences heads with the belief that life will in fact be better if they are elected. And people seem to believe it.

Inter personally, I can think of a recent example that I had with a friend of mine. I mentioned that I am looking to get a new computer this fall, as well as a scanner/printer, Photoshop, and a good tablet (I'm an artist, and I want to start working with digital media). while I would love love love to get a new Mac, as they are much better for all the art that I want to do and I prefer them any way, they are a little out of my budget. I could get a non-Mac for a lot cheaper and have more money to spend on programs, tools, and devices, and maybe even have money left over. My friend made a face and said that I should go with the Mac. I told her that I agree with her completely, but that it is out of my budget. She went on to say that a Mac was a better investment, and that it will last longer and is a better product, and that really, when you think about how long it will outlast a PC, that it really wasn't more expensive at all. Again, I agreed with her, but maintained my position that I don't have the money for it, and I unfortunately cannot tap into the magic future account where all of the money that I save over the next five years from having invested in a Mac computer gets saved to buy this computer now. She rolled her eyes and acted like I was being unreasonable. And I totally left the conversation trying to think of a way I could manipulate my finances to put that new Mac on a credit card. Persuasion Win.

Last, and I think most obviously, is the aggressive persuasion that we face from the media. Every where you look, adverts make the claim that we are not pretty/thin/fit/sexy/rich/healthy enough, but this adverts product/service is just the thing we need to turn our life around. Beauty advertisements come to mind here. Our eyes/mouths/hair/armpits/legs/skin aren't bright/luscious/shiny/not-hairy/shapely/clear enough, and if we buy "X" product, then not only will our problems go away, but we will look like the 17 year old model in the advert and be coveted by sexy foreign men. It's pretty much why I don't own a TV. And when I do watch TV, I unconsciously want to eat everything in the kitchen and go shopping. BAD TV.

Persuasion is everywhere. Hopefully looking at it from this angle will allow us to recognize it more and not be so moved by it.

Problem/solution and Monroe's Motivated Sequence

While this chapter was helpful, well, it also wasn't at the same time. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that it gave me too much to think about at a point in the semester where I don't want to be doing any more thinking or make any more choices. Every time I read a new organizational pattern I would go, "oh, that's totally what I am doing!" By the end of the chapter I was just a little bit flabbergasted over which method is the "right" method for my intents and purposes. I am thinking that I may just close my eyes and jab my finger at a page and choose that way. o_0

Anyway, problem solution seems simple enough. You identify a problem, and then you propose a solution. Of course you will probably want facts to support the idea of there being a problem so that your audience isn't relying on your scout's honor. Because that could be construed as manipulation. No, you will want to present the problem, how it relates to the audience and why they should care about it, and then outline a solution. the solution should also be backed up with supporting evidence. A variation on this pattern of speaking is the Problem-Cause-Solution, which is exactly what it sounds like; Outline the problem, discuss the cause of the problem, and then give a solution. Wham bam thank you ma'am.

Monroe's motivated sequence is a five-step process by which you gain your audiences support through an audience-centered approach to persuasive speaking. The five steps are: Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, and Action.

Attention: Get your audience's attention by discussion how the problem/idea relates to them.
Need: Establish why the problem warrants their attention
Satisfaction: let the audience know your proposed solution to the problem
Visualization: Show the benefits of your solution and/or the costs of NOT implementing it.
Action: Explain to the audience how they themselves can take action.

Overall, I like the structure of Monroe's Motivated Sequence. I feel like the outline is a little stricter, so that I will have more definite structure as I organize my speech. With assignments like this, I really appreciate having a guideline to follow.

Shedding Your Word Security Blanket

I have really enjoyed reading Chapter 10, mostly because of they way that it demanded that you think about what you are saying and how you are saying it. I am a big fan of language as an art form, and so ideas like "using language to spark imagination" really tickle me.

But through all the tickling, the one part of the chapter that really stuck out as something I personally need to work on. At the very end of the chapter, right before the review section, is a tiny paragraph called "Don't Get Too Attached To Your Words."

The entire purpose of an extemporaneous style of speaking is to not read from text, and to not recite a speech that you have written in advance. You are to be so well-researched in your topic so that when you get up in front of a group of people you can speak confidently and casually and while you should most definitely practice, you should not tied to a specific order of words to deliver your speech. I totally get caught up here. I really like language and I prepare my speech a lot like I would an essay, so when I come up with a particularly clever way of relating something I am loathe for forget it while I am in the grips of stage fright. "But my genius will be lost on them if I don't recite this exactly the way I originally intended it to be!!" But being too attached to your words can come off as totally rigid, and it also makes you reliant on your words. You become a slave to your words! If something goes wrong i think you are a lot more likely to get lost when you are overly dependent on your language than if you are looser and more able to go with the flow.

I'd like to try to loosen up for this Tribute Speech. In the past I have been overly reliant on my cards, and on a particular set of preordained words. I'd like to take advantage of the more low-key speech type to experiment with letting go of my word security blanket.

Underlying Sexism in Language

Do you ever have themes in different areas in your life reoccur in other, separate areas of your life? For instance, maybe a coworker will talk about an old kid's show that they used to watch, say Fraggle Rock, and then the next day all of the kids in your art class are talking about Fraggle Rock. This kind of stuff happens to me all the time, and it makes me feel as though I am in some sort of sitcom, and I am waiting for that transcending moment where the sitcom writers give me a catharsis via the lessons that can be gleaned from Fraggle Rock.

Or, more simply put, funny that you bring up sexism in language, because it's been on my mind a lot lately. And the more I think about it, the more I see it everywhere.

I basically agree with what "eye eye eye" is saying about sexist language, but I think that she (he?) didn't do a great job of articulating the point. I also can't stand it when people don't have good sentence structure, or when they use "U" instead of "You." Oh, it drives me nuts.

But back to the point. Typically in society today, a group of females is referred to as a group of "girls," and not "women." I think that eye eye eye is right in saying that this portrays women as children subconsciously, and insinuates that we are naive and incapable of adult thought. You'll see this a lot in media as well, with women being portrayed with larger, child-like eyes, childish hairstyles, and often modeling clothing that is more often geared towards little girls. Models in adverts are often shown with submissive body language. And our culture today has idealized the female figure as it is at age 12, an age where the hips and breasts are not fully developed and the bodies of girls and boys are often indistinguishable. Furthermore, the media does it's best to convince us that our worth is wrapped up in our size, and most women inwardly strive to hit that size zero, or in other words, a size nothing.

To me, being referred to as a "girl" on some level implies that I shouldn't be taken seriously. That I am all sugar and spice and everything nice, and that I can't be mechanically inclined, I can't open jars, and that I need someone to hold my hand through the big, scary world. Irony being that I occasionally refer to myself as a girl. DAMN YOU SOCIAL CONDITIONING!

I also realize that most people, when using this kind of language, aren't consciously thinking of demeaning women when referring to them as "girls." Again, it's just a byproduct of social conditioning, and ultimately it's leftover from a time when it was perfectly okay to objectify women. But it's 2012, and I personally open all of the stuck jars for my male room mate. So let's get with it and cut the girl talk.

Minutia In Speech

This week's chapters are all about the subtleties of inclusive language and voice tactics. Unlike ideas like researching your audience, or making sure to cite your sources, I feel like these concepts in speech giving are more... sophisticated, I guess. Like now that we have established some sort of techniques, let's go ahead and refine it.

First up is using language that makes your audience feel included, and it is aptly referred to as "inclusive language." Using inclusive language allows for the audience to not only relate to what you are talking about, but to feel like a part of what you are talking about. In contrast, uninclusive (disclusive?) language will segregate your audience, and give them a sort of "Us vs. Them" mentality, which as it so happens is the exact opposite of making your audience feel included. Unless of course the Us vs. Them idea is exactly what you are going for, but I think that kind of language is reserved for dictators and religious zealots.
Anyway. use plenty of "us, we, all," and "you" language to make your audience feel included, and try to avoid using language that will create a social rift.

Next we come to the subtleties of voice usage. Well, okay, if I delivered my next speech at the top of my lungs that wouldn't be terribly subtle, but controlling our rate, pitch, and volume to speak as though we were having a conversation with a friend is no easy feat. Even if we speak reasonably well in front of an audience, chances are that we still sound a little "speechy." And for the most part, I don't necessarily see anything wrong with being "speechy," but I do consider the practice of grooming your rate, pitch and volume to be an exercise in refinement.
Also, try not to have huge, gaping pauses during your speech, and articulate and pronounce your words properly so that your audience thinks you know what you are talking about.

I felt that the videos for these chapters all focused on kind of small portions of the chapters themselves, and in that regard I suppose that I didn't find them as useful as they have been in the past. Not that I need for those videos to understand the subject material, but more that I found these chapters to be really interesting in addition to being helpful, and the videos touched on such a small portion of what the text was talking about that it was a bit deflating.

Or maybe it's just a rainy Wednesday and all I want to do is crawl into blanket fort with a plate full of warm peanut-butter chocolate-chip cookies and read comic books all evening. So it goes. Shrug.

Self-Evaluation #2

Woot! Only two speeches left! It is so incredibly encouraging to feel like I am improving at speaking, and to be past the halfway point in our speech work is nice too. :D

And now for my evaluation:

I think that for the amount of time I was given, I did a fair job of achieving the purpose of my speech. Nutrition is a topic that I can (and have) talk about at length, and keeping myself confined to 4-5 minutes was tricky. While I was preparing my speech, I actually found myself wishing that the time allotment was longer so that I could talk about more cool stuff. But I think I did well enough.

While I was still very nervous, I was exponentially more confident for this speech than any of the past assignments. If I had to do it all over again, I would make better eye contact, and one person mentioned that I spoke a little fast. When I get nervous I go into "fast-forward mode," and woe to the person that tries to interrupt my train of thought. I've been working really, really hard this semester at trying to keep a nice, even clip while I speak, and only one person mentioned that I spoke a little fast, so I am going to go ahead and call that Winning.

My goals for improvement in the delivery department of the next speech are to not look at my cards so much. For our Demonstration Speech I was noticeably lost a few times, and I couldn't find my place in my cards. For this speech, I was so worried about losing myself again that I color coded and highlighted those suckers like you would not believe. They were a thing of beauty. So beautiful I couldn't stop staring at them.....no that's not true. It was mostly the fact that I was so determined to not lose my place that I didn't really want to take my eyes off the cards. I felt like I looked up a few times and locked eyes with people, but for the most part my eyeballs were all over those cards, and it was pretty noticeable. So the goal is to be much less dependent on those note cards.

As far as goals for improving the content of my speech, I actually thought I did pretty well. There's always room for improvement though, and I'd like to aim for a general, overall improvement for the next speech.

Specific differences between these two speeches: I was WAY more dependent on my note cards this time. I was also WAY more confident for this speech, and I felt like I was able to inject more of my personality into my presentation this time.

How would I rate my eye contact? Maybe a two or a three. You know, I am going to say 3.5. It wasn't good, for sure, but I felt like the contact was good when I did actually look up. I even noticed Tracie holding up the time cards, which i have always blissfully ignored before.

I'd give myself a B. I guess I went seven seconds over the time, so I would knock me down for that and the lack of eye contact. But I feel like I definitely improved in a lot of ways. I think I was visibly more comfortable up there, and I was able to have more fun with the topic. Like I said earlier, I feel like more of my personality was able to come out, and I think that gets kudos. Plus, I had a super sweet unicorn at the end.

If I am not mistaken, I mentioned four sources. I think I had six references, but only four in the speech and the outline. Someone suggested that I use shorter quotes so that my face isn't buried in my cards, and I have to say that I had never thought of that before. So thanks for the great suggestion!

Was this speech better than the last speech? An emphatic yes.

Also, I just want to thank everyone in the class for such wonderful and positive feedback. I think we all improved a great deal from our Demo Speeches, and it was so cool to watch us all be that much more confident up there. Rock on Comm 001!!!!!!!

Keeping it Simple

One of the big themes in this chapter is keeping your digital presentation simple. Basically the idea is that you don't want to overwhelm your audience past the point of absorbing what you have to say. If you fancy up your slides to the point where the audience is visually bombarded with pictures, text, and wacky transitions, they won't take in a gosh darn thing that you have to say. How could you focus on a speech when the visuals are over-aggressive? And if you were to add exciting audio to the mix, you can kiss your audiences retention goodbye.

Keeping your presentation simple will allow you to highlight main points while still keeping the attention of your audience. You don't want your digital media to outshine you, right? Just like going to a wedding, you don't want to look better than the bride. So get your speech figured out, and then carefully choose media that highlights what you are talking about. Don't write your speech around your media, that is usually a recipe for a poor speech.

Keep your text large and easy to read and limit yourself to short, concise sentences. Use media to describe what you are unable to convey with words. Illustrate your point with pictures or fun graphs. Keep transitions to a minimum, and keep them simple. Choose color palettes that won't assault the eyes of your audience.

Keeping your presentation clean and simple will allow for your audience to more fully grasp your subject as well as up their retention rates. I've never actually made one before, so I am reasonable nervous about the whole thing. Well, to be fair, the whole Informative Speech has me a little nervous, but I am looking forward to having it over with. Good luck everyone!

Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women

Aside from our in class speeches this semester, I haven't actually attended any speeches or presentations in a great long while. Full full time work schedule, along with my training habits, keep me from being terribly active with extracurricular stuff on campus. But! I do have a fondness of watching presentations online. A presentation that I watched recently that had quite an impact on me is Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image of Women. The topic of the media's influence on negative body image is a subject that I am terribly angry about, so this video has stayed with me.

And part of that is due to Kilbourne's fantastic use of digital media to drive her point home. But to be fair, with a subject like "Advertising's Image of Women," I think you can't go wrong by using examples of advertising media. She opens with advertisements from years and years ago that she began clipping adverts out of magazines just as a side project, a hobby that made a collage out of her refrigerator. Ads that stuff like "Made for a woman's extra feelings," speaking of her anti-perspirant, or "I'd probably never be married now if I hadn't lost 49 pounds," and even "If your hair isn't beautiful the rest hardly matters." Oh, and "keep her where she belongs," with a woman on the ground near a pair of shoes.

Kilbourne also takes a moment to show us how advertising is so heavily integrated into our lives by listing a number of places where adverts can be found and giving a visual for each one of them. Now, in the book it says not to overwhelm your audience with slides but in this instance I find the method to be very powerful. It's a long list and visually seeing adverts in each one of the places that she mentions really drives the point home. She also uses video examples to demonstrate subliminal messaging in commercials and films.

Now this is more of a presentation than a speech, so Kilbourne uses media liberally to illustrate her point. And again, with a subject like advertising, the presentation is going to be media heavy. There are periods in which we aren't focusing on an image but on the speaker herself, but for the most part our attention is on the media. I find that her use of images isn't redundant at all; in fact it really emphasized for me how negative advertising really is everywhere. Since watching these videos I am so much more aware of advertising and how it is trying to manipulate me, and I think it is certainly in part to the huge amount of examples that she gave. In the past I may have thought that a given advert was mostly benign whereas now I see how absolutely awful advertisements are.

Finally, Kilbourne is a fantastic speaker. She keeps great pacing, has a wonderful cadence to her voice, she is eloquent, and witty to boot. She's been a bit of a speech hero since I watched these videos. She is passionate and well educated in her subject, and her presentation is incredibly informative. I highly recommend watching this presentation to anyone that hasn't seen it already.

Links!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ujySz-_NFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-1xCf3I7U

Ethics in Using Digital Media

Digital media is everywhere. It is an integrated part of our lives at this point. How many of us would feel like we lost an arm if our internet connection was down? Many of us would not be able to do our jobs properly, or be able to do our school work without the internet. And with the internet comes the constant bombardment of social media. And there is a lot of controversy at the moment involving the rights to digital media and how to go about using it ethically.

I think that if you are able to link/reference/credit to the original source of the photo/video/movieclip/soundbite, then it is your responsibility to do so. Even if you alter it and make it your own, you need to give credit where credit is due. You'll see this in the digital art community a lot; people making photo manipulations from a handful of sources and fairly crediting each and every one. it's considered very rude and poor etiquette to not cite your sources or references properly.

However, I do not in anyway agree with legislation like SOPA or PIPA. If you put anything on to the internet you are pretty much going to have to assume that people are going to download it and have their way with it. One of my favorite graffiti artists, Banksy, said it best:

"People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you, and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from the bus that imply that you are not sexy enough and that all of the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology that the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. they are "The Advertisers," and they are laughing at you.

You, however,are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights, and copyright law mean advertisers can say whatever they like with total impunity.

Fuck that. Any advert that is in a public space that doesn't give you a choice whether you see it or not is yours. It's yours to take, re-arrange, and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock that someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don't owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don't even start asking for theirs."

Yeah, that sums it up real good for me. Give credit where credit is due, but don't let anything stop your creativity.

Developing Your Conclusion

You conclusion is just as important in your speech, but I find that most people tend to neglect their conclusions in speaking and in writing. We are so close to being done, we can see the finish line and we just want to sprint for it and revel in triumphant glory. In reality, all this is going to do is leave your audience confused and unsettled due to the abrupt ending of the speech. "Is it over? Is that the end? Just like that? How awkward." The opposite can be just as awkward, when the speaker doesn't know how to wrap it up, and they meander through their conclusion like a drunk trying to say goodbye at the neighborhood block party. Sometimes people can't just shut up and go home.

Instead, what you want to do is restate your thesis, briefly remind your audience of your main points, and give them something to think about. With regards to your thesis, generally you want to be bringing your main points back to the thesis throughout the speech, so your audience should have a pretty good idea of what you are talking about. But bring it on home. Remind them that this is the Granddaddy of all of your points, and that everything you have been speaking about comes back to this. main. point.


Restating your main points will allow you to capitalize on the recency effect so that your audience walks away remembering your topic sentences instead of letting them get lost in the wild tundra of your speech. hogtie those ideas that have been wandering around and hand them back to the audience.

You conclusion is your last chance to leave a good, lasting impression on your audience, so seize the opportunity. Give them some closure. Don't just leave them hanging there with something like, "Ummm....yeah. there ya go." And if you've really got finesse, you can give them closure WHILE giving them something to think about. The book has a few great suggestions for this, including (but not limited to!) ending with a quote, make a dramatic statement, and reinforcing the speaker-audience connection.

Spending some time on your conclusion will ensure that you end your speech on a chord that resolves the dissonance that was your speech symphony. Don't start stumbling around the finish line. Hit it and hit it good.

The Components of Introductions and Conclusions

Chapter Nine has a multitude of aspects to to think about when developing your introduction and conclusion to a given speech.

Your introduction is your chance to take hold of your audience's attention and keep it! The primacy effect is the influence of first impressions, and basically it means that the audience is going to remember the first part of your speech the most, because it is at the point where they are most attentive. So you need an attention getter, a hook, something to capture their interest. You can cite a fun fact or statistic, tell a story, or even just be funny, clever, or if you are really going for it, witty. Take the moment to relate to the audience, let them know why the topic is of interest to them. Dramatize it, give it flair and use your creativity to the fullest extent possible.

Also be wary of time. If say, you are giving an informative speech in about a week and a half that is only supposed to be 5-6 minutes long, your introduction probably shouldn't take 2-3 minutes. That would be poor planning on your part.

The introduction is also the time and place to introduce your purpose and thesis. Make it very clear what your point is, and what you are going to talk about. This is just like an essay. The introduction is the framework that you are building a speech upon, and a weak foundation makes for a rickety speech. Also take the time to establish your credibility? Why should the audience listen to YOU? What makes you an authority? And lastly, preview your main points. Again, let the audience know what you will be talking about.

Conclusions basically are used to review the main points reinforce the speeches general and specific purpose, and provide closure so that the audience is aware that the speech is over. Like I said in the last post, NO NEW INFORMATION SHOULD BE BROUGHT UP IN THE CONCLUSION! And don't labor your conclusion - people don't need to hear you speech all over again. Keep it efficient and succinct. Bam. Conclusion.

I'm still working on my intro - so I am not going to post it quite yet. It's not quite....refined. I'm going to be talking about Paleo Nutrition, and nutrition is a subject that really, really fascinates me, and I am still trying to shave off time from it so I don't spend five minutes introducing the topic. It's probably going to be something like:

"You've all probably figured out by now that I am a superhero fitness enthusiast, but I bet you didn't pick up on the fact that I am a huge nutrition geek. I'm enrolled in the personal training and nutrition program here at Sierra, and my favorite way to spend my morning is with a cup of coffee and the latest peer reviewed research in Nutritional Science. Woot! And today, my geekery is your gain! I'm going to share with you how to achieve optimal health by following the principles of Paleo Nutrition! I'm going to touch on what foods to avoid because they actually hurt your body, what foods you want to focus on, and what habits you can develop to make a healthier, happier you! Yes!"

Kind of like that. Only, you know, with a thesis and a preview of main points. Maybe an actual hook. I am way too enthusiastic about the subject, and it has resulted in too many pages of brainstorming and outlines. This weekend is dedicated to Speech Only so that I can clean it all up and limit what I am going to talk about. Then I can spend every day of next week making my coworkers listen to me practice.

Speech Buddy Videos for Chapters 9 and 13

That two weeks off from blogging was nice...but back to it!

The speech buddies are back for another rousing round of videos that elaborate on the chapter reading assignment. Woot! They gave some advice for building strong introductions and conclusions into your speeches. Once again, I am able to relate this to essay writing, where hooking your reader at the beginning and leaving them with something to think about are absolutely key. Looking at it from an essay enthusiast's point of view, this ins't really new information, but I agree that well done introductions and conclusions are important to teach. Having evaluated many, many student essays in the past, I can't tell you how boring it is to read fifty essays on the topic of whether or not Othello was a tragic hero, and essentially be reading the same essay over and over again due to the entire class mundanely repeating the teacher's lectures. And it is just as boring to listen to an entire class give their speeches on topics that they don't care about and haven't put any effort into.

Introductions are your first opportunity to show off your creativity, understanding, and enthusiasm for the topic at hand. Take advantage son. Let the audience know what you are talking about and why it's freaking amazing. Because this speech is going to change their life, right? Right.

Your conclusion is where you wrap everything up with pretty paper and top it off with a nice bow. Don't leave anything hanging, and never, under any circumstances, present new data in your conclusion. Just like your hook in the beginning, leave the audience with something with which they will remember you, and that will also keep them thinking about what you have said.

Self-Evaluation

I don't know about you guys, but I felt a lot better once that speech was over. And I totally practiced. My voice actually got a little hoarse from practicing all day at work, and I even made a coworker or two listen to me. By the time I left for class, man I tell you I had that speech DOWN. I was barely looking at my cards, and not one "um" would escape my lips as I confidently spoke to the four walls of my office. Oh yeah baby.

And then right before we started the class as a whole reminded the teacher that the speech was supposed to be 3-4 minutes long. And I had prepared for an 8 minute speech. Suddenly my oh-so-perfect speech was twice as long as it need to be, and I had signed up to go first. I did some mental juggling and rearranging, took a deep breath, and went for it. And then I lost my place after I skipped a section I figured I could live without, so I glanced at my cards to figure out where I was, and they were TOTALLY WRITTEN IN NORWEGIAN! I don't even speak Norwegian! I flipped through my cards, desperately looking for one word that I recognized, one word in a familiar language...all for not. But I powered through. And then it was done. Thank goodness.

My cards somehow transformed back into English once I sat back down. Imagine my surprise. And my frustration.

All in all, I think I did an okay job at delivering my speech. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't God awful. I most definitely felt more comfortable in front of the class this time than for our culture speech. I don't know if it had to do with getting to know everyone better online, or if it was due to the class size, but it was a good thing.

If I had to do it over again, I would check, double check, and then triple check the time requirement. And then just read over the assignment every day to make sure I was doing the right one. Also, since I have a tendency of going over on my time, I think I would prepare for a three minute speech and then count on me taking longer to do it in front of the class. And then practice the shi* out of it.

As far as goals for improving content...well, I'd like to pick something I am interested in for this next speech, so that I can speak with ease and share my enthusiasm for the topic. Enthusiasm always makes mundane stuff seem more interesting, which will improve the content. My goal for my delivery this upcoming speech is to not mutter one single solitary "um" throughout the entire thing.

I thought my eye contact was okay. Maybe about a 6. Some of the feed back from the class said I had great eye contact, and some said I needed more. I think I fixate an particular people and perhaps ignore others. I will try to be more inclusive next time. I can't discriminate with my eye contact.

I think I mentioned at least three source citations. I had six actually (backup in case others failed!) But I think that one of my primary sources was cut out when I was trying to shave time off of my speech.

Overall, I would have given myself a B. Maybe a low B. If I was super cranky, probably a C. I know I looked at the cards to much once I got lost, I admitted to BEING lost, my voice was probably shaky, and I know I said "um" a few times. But I also think I had a good attitude about the whole thing, and I did try my best. I really wanted to do well! So yeah, I'd say a B.

I'd like to thank you all for all of your kind responses to my speech. It's nice to be part of such a positive environment. And it certainly makes it easier to get up in front of you guys and talk about stuff like domestic violence. See you all in a month!

Gimme the Facts

Facts are a fabulous thing to include in your speech. The texts makes an excellent point right off the bat that "When you include facts in a speech, you're not limited to your own observations. You accept other's observations as well." I feel that when you begin to include facts into your speech you establish a lot more credibility for yourself than you would otherwise. Facts (and their close friend Statistics) demonstrate that you know what you are talking about, that you have researched what you are talking about, and that people can count on you as an authority on the subject.

Facts and statistics also break up other methods of support by appealing to the logical (logos) side of the audiences mind. It is really easy togo overboard with facts and statistics though. It is best to use them here and there, but not overwhelmingly, so that they can still offer the "punch" needed to grab the audiences attention. If you use them too frequently, then your audience gets bored and your punches are not effective at all.

Facts and Statistics

Facts and statistics are an incredibly useful tool when giving a speech. They can add credibility to what you are saying, and they can effectively drive home your point when you use proper fact/statistic placement. Facts and statistics appeal to an audience's logical side, which can create an effective juxtaposition with appeals to the audiences mental side. I think that facts and statistics are best used as a kind of punctuation throughout the speech. You want to use them as the Bang! Bam! Zowee! Parts of your speech. They are like exclamation points; totally useful when you use them in the right spot, but when you have a whole paragraph of nothing but exclamation points you lose the oomph that that particular form of punctuation provides. When you inundate your audience with cited facts and statistics, you audience may very well lose interest. I think it is best to appeal to your audience through a variety of methods , such as examples, testimony, definitions, and stories. Hitting your audience with a rainbow of these tools is sure to keep your audience engaged throughout your speech. Hooray!

Speech Buddy Videos for Chapters 7 & 8

I found the speech buddy videos and the text particularly useful this week. I liked learning about the different types of supporting materials because I had never really given them much thought before. In all of my years of essay writing, it's always get your thesis, find your main points, find the supporting details - examples, quotes, statistics - apply to main points, bring points back home to the thesis, and conclude. Wham! Bam! Thank you Ma'am. ( Okay, I wish that my essay writing was that clean cut, but essentially that's how it works, just without the weeks of procrastination and then the week of free writing as I desperately try to get out of my stress-induced writer's block.) What I liked about Chapter Seven was the idea of organizing my supporting materials in order to appeal to the audience in a variety of ways. I liked learning about methods that will elicit emotional responses vs. logical connections. It seems to me that if you hit all of these points and stimulate the emotional and logical facets of your audience in an efficient manner, then you can potentially have the audience in the palm of your hand. Try not to go mad with power now...

Chapter 8 appealed to me because I am hopelessly busy, but I dream of one day being perfectly organized. I had never thought of different patterns of organization before. I think that mainly I had been using chronological and topical methods in previous academic jaunts. I am looking forward to incorporating new methods into future works. I keep having this sneaking suspicion that this whole public speaking class is going to improve my English and writing skills as well. Weird.

Also, if anyone want to dummy for a joint lock for my demonstration speech, do let me know. It will be fun! I promise!

Understanding Your Demographic

This chapter highlighted the importance of understanding your audience before delivering your speech. Knowing your demographic before your speech is going to be profoundly helpful with regards to your ability to relate to your audience. For instance, if you are giving a speech on the benefits of vegetarianism, you are going to approach the topic differently in Dallas Texas from what you would do in Berkeley, California. In Texas you have have to try a more persuasive approach, along with focusing heavily the basics of vegetarianism, why it's a god idea, and using statistics to bring the idea home for the audience. In Berkeley you would be preaching to the choir, so you would likely be able to skip the basic concepts since the majority of the audience would likely already be on board, and you would be able to take less of a persuasive approach and more of a "stroking the ego" approach.
Understanding your demographic will not only give you the ability to realte your information to your audience in an effective manner, but it will save you from a very deep and lasting embarrassment. I would hate to have to not done my research and wind up giving a speech on the wonders of dairy products for health and vitality to a Lactose Intolerance Anonymous group, or something similar. I run into enough instances where I would love to put my foot in my mouth without creating a scenario in which I give a speech directed to the opposite demographic from those to whom I am speaking.

The Importance of Audience Analysis and Adaptation

Audience analysis and adaptation are fundamental to speech preparation. One should consider the audience in the initial planning stages while brainstorming for a topic. Thinking about the audience from the get go will allow for the speaker to relate better to the audience, and to adapt their speech to do so. For instance, it would be in poor taste to give a speech on the importance of dance to American culture to a group of multiple sclerosis patients, or to give a Pro Life speech to a Pro Choice audience. Proper consideration to the Audience can be the difference between a great presentation and an exercise in futility.

In addition to making sure that you are choosing a topic that your audience will not be vehemently against, audience analysis will allow for the speaker to adapt their speech in a manner which allows for the audience to relate. I know that if I personally cannot relate to someone giving a presentation I quickly lose interest. It is important to make your audience care.

This chapter reminded me of an article I read about about the idea of feedback. The article was about a particular stretch of road where drivers had a tendency to speed. Speed limit signs didn't seem to work, and the city and the local police were scratching their heads as to what to do. Eventually someone came up with the idea of feedback, and thus those fun little off the road signs that tell tell you how fast you are going came into being. Research found that when people were simply told to do the speed limit, not much thought was given to it; however once feedback was provided in the the form of a sign that showed people how fast they were going, people were able to see how it related to them and finally slowed down. You can apply the same concept here with the idea that saying "24% of the people in this room have an STD," is a lot more powerful than "1 out of every 4 Americans will contract an STD in their lifetime." Just saying 1 out of every 4 Americans is an obscure thought for people,and it is really easy not to include themselves in that statistic. But when you bring the information home it has a habit of smacking people in the face and grabbing their attention.

With regards to my demonstration speech, I think (or I like to anyway) that I have chosen a topic that will be pretty easy to relate to the audience. The majority of our class is female, and I am fairly passionate about the need for women to learn self-defense. There are a lot of statistics available regarding assault,assault on women, where it can come from,and what you can do about it. I think everyone, men and women alike, have had moments throughout their lives where they have been afraid, or questioned their safety. I know I have, many and many a time. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge on the subject with the class.

Also, I have need of a volunteer, and the young woman with the passion for disc golfing offered to do that for me the last time we met in class. I'm sorry, I can't remember your name, but can you leave me a message so that we can connect if you are still interested? THANK YOU!

Thoughts on the "Drinking" and "Light Pollution" Videos

The video on light pollution seems to only be about 30 seconds long . . . which is only enough time to watch the introduction. Did everyone else experience this, or was it just me for whatever reason. It was a bummer too, not only because it gave me less to review but light pollution is a subject I am interested in. Going off of what I saw, I thought her opening sounded well organized and that perhaps she had a rather large interest in the effects of light pollution as well. I did think that she looked at her notes rather often, but I wonder if that is to be expected with longer speeches. I sure hope that it is more acceptable! Also, I thought that the quality of the recording was very poor, which in itself wasn't her fault at all but it did make me disinclined to watch the video.

The very first thing that I noticed about the "drinking" speech even before I hit the play button was that the "about" paragraph refers to the speaker first as "Matthew," and then as "Anthony." WHO IS THIS GUY? I suppose I will just call him "Manthony." First, I thought that Manthony had a lot of good points. I would imagine that drunk driving and the effects of alcohol in the body and on human metabolism is one of the most available research subjects out there, so I am sure that he had a huge wealth of statistics and research data to draw from in writing his speech. That said, I didn't care for it too much. i thought the opening bit with the retching noises off to the side of the room, while certainly an attention-getter, was a bit crass. He also makes this weird sucking noise with his mouth in between thoughts, and that noise is one of my pet peeves. I have one person in my life that makes that sound all the time, and it drives me nuts. I really hope that I never wake up one morning to find out that I have been making the same noise my entire life, because that would totally kill a piece of my self-righteousness.

I did not find Manthony to be terribly engaging. It felt more like he was reading words off of paper than giving a speech. I think that could just be the way that his nerves manifest themselves. I know a lot of people with stage fright that use a monotonous "whatever" attitude as a defense mechanism. I also think that it would have been helpful to set up his notes on the projector beforehand so that moving to and from the projector would have been less awkward and not disrupted the flow of the speech so much.

I learned a lot from Manthony and his "Drinking" speech, even if a lot of it was more along the lines of what not to do. I definitely want to be prepared for this next speech that we give, and I want to practice it in front of people so that I don't have to depend on my notes as much. And so I remember to slip in my references. Any speeches that we give in the future I will definitely have any kind of visual aids set up ahead of time so that I can move easily between speaking and emphatically gesturing towards my aid. And I may make do without graphic sound effects. Unless they are dinosaur sound effects, which are appropriate for any situation.

Using Library Resources

I thought it was really cool that the book highlighted using the library before mentioning nay other types of resources. I feel like libraries are being more and more phased out as the internet continues to take over our lives. Libraries are a fantastic resource with which everyone should become more familiar. I get the impression that a great deal of high school students and some of the newer college students have no idea just how useful a library is, or even how to use it properly.
Libraries don't just have books, although books are an incredible resource in themselves. They also have a hefty selection of journals, magazines and newspapers, which are available for your perusal for free. The same journals, magazines and newspapers aren't always available for free viewing online. Libraries also have a fantastic reference sections, which will contain maps, atlases, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and various print indexes. Often libraries will have multimedia resources as well, so you can access audio and video records as well as image libraries.
Also, with libraries you can verify the source. While there are plenty of legitimate online resources from where you can pull information, there are even more completely bogus sites that do not have any credibility whatsoever. Plenty of people simply post their thoughts and opinions on the internet, and no matter how will articulated they might be, they are still a poor source of information. We should truly all take the time to get to know our libraries a little better.

Chapter Six Speech Buddy videos, and the wonder of terrestrial pulmonate gastropods.

It seemed to me that Chapter Six did not have much in the way of videos to watch. There appeared to be only one "informative" video along with two speech presentations. The informative video mostly seemed to reiterate the content of the chapter. Understand what you know and do not know about your topic so that you can research appropriately. Use your library - it is there specifically as a research tool for you to use. A well-researched topic certainly does make for a smoother speech presentation. I remember having to give a research presentation on the fine intricacies of photosynthesis in a high school biology class, and it going terribly because I didn't have a firm grasp on the topic. So I can totally get behind the idea of thoroughly researching your speech topic.

I will say that I was completely enamored with Shaura's informative speech "Terrestrial Pulmonate Gastropods." Strangely enough, I am a rather big fan of slugs also, so not only did i enjoy the subject material, but I thought her speech to be rather witty as well as informative. I feel like I got more out of watching that video than the straight informative video. you could tell that Shaura enjoyed her topic, and I really appreciated the clever word play that seemed to flow very easily from her. Plus the title of her speech is beyond awesome. Shaura is my new Speech Hero, and I am hoping that I come off as comfortable as she did for our demonstrative speech.

Interview Experience

I am afraid that my only interview experience comes from being the interviewee. My little sister interviewed me as part of her final project for her Sociology degree at Sonoma State. I believe she interviewed eight people about various aspects of body image. She was very organized about the whole business and had a great many questions prepared ahead of time, and she also asked follow up questions that were based on the answers that I had given. being that it was my sister, and the interview was conducted in my bedroom, I was pretty comfortable with the situation, and I was able to give in depth answers rather easily. The interview lasted about an hour if I recall. I know that she had to transcribe each interview for her thesis, which took forever and a day, but it seemed like she gathered a great deal of helpful data from the process.

I was also interviewed by one of the local news stations when my high school (waaaaaay back when) had an outbreak of meningitis. We needed to get permission slips signed in order to take an oral vaccination, and I had forgotten my slip, so by the time my father came to the school the news team was there covering the story. They interviewed both my dad and I about the outbreak and how we felt about it. Then they asked if they could film me taking the pill, and I agreed. They put the camera RIGHT UP IN MY FACE as I tried to down the pill with some water, but I got so nervous and self-conscious that I choked on the pill, shot water out of my nose and spilled the water from my cup all over my face, and turned beet red in the process. And they totally used that clip.

All in all I think I preferred the interview with my sister.

Developing a Thesis Statement

I enjoyed Chapter Four quite a bit. It made me realize that preparing a speech is pretty much the exact same thing as preparing an essay. And in a way I kind of like essays. It feels really good to deliver a well-articulated point and give the reader something to think about. Language is an art form after all, and the ability to transpose your thoughts into either the written or spoken word coherently is truly a thing of beauty.

Central to any good speech or essay is a well-developed thesis statement. The book defines a "thesis" as "a single declarative sentence that captures the essence or central idea of a speech." Basically, the theses is a concise statement that tells the audience the point of the speech. Having a clear thesis statement is just as critical to speech as it is to an essay; without a good thesis, your topic can easily turn into a seemingly endless quagmire that you are desperately trying to navigate. A strong thesis will help to keep your thoughts organized as well as provide a consistent flow to your work.

I find that a great way to build an essay, or speech for that matter, is to start with a stream of consciousness brainstorm session. I just write out everything that comes into my head about a given topic. After a while I go through everything I have written down and I try to see how it all relates to each other. That's usually when I develop a rough thesis. After I have an idea of what my thesis is going to be, I decide what my main points will be and think about how I will relate them back to the thesis statement. Always, ALWAYS be able to relate your points back to your thesis. If any of the supporting evidence for your main points cannot be related back to your thesis statement then you are wandering off topic, which simply will not do! My thesis statements will usually undergo several revisions as I work on my essay. I will al;so bust out the thesaurus to determine whether there is a better way of saying what it is that I am trying to say. A good thesaurus can be your best friend.

Speech preparation got a lot less daunting once I made the association with essay formating. I am a reasonable wordsmith when I get down to it, and now that I realize that I can use my essay skills in speech preparation I am feeling a lot more confident. Hooray!!!

Thoughts on "Intro to Jessica" and Other Speech Buddy Videos

I thought that the best information that was relayed in the Speech Buddy videos was the idea of narrowing your topic down, and even tailoring it to your audience.  There were really good points made about ideas like, "If your speech is going to be delivered early in the morning, maybe a really heavy topic isn't going to go over so well," and other points that I had never really considered.  It certainly is interesting to learn all of the subtle nuances that come along with speech making.

I was really impressed with the "Ribbon" speech; holy cow she only had 15 minutes to prepare for that!  Does anyone else think that that is a remarkably short amount of time to get a speech together?  No lie, just the thought of it makes my insides do a little jig.  I mean...the thought of challenging myself by having only fifteen minutes to prepare for a speech to be delivered in front of real human being is exhilarating and leaves me breathless with anticipation.  (Win!)

I also thought it was encouraging to notice that all of the speeches given in the videos were not delivered flawlessly, and yet they still had great impact. The speakers managed to convey an air of professionalism as well as a sense of being thoroughly educated in the topic at hand, despite the occasion hiccup.  Which made me feel SO MUCH BETTER.  Just noticing that their (slight, tiny) errors did not make me think less of them made my anxiety lessen.  Just a bit.  I also felt as though I related to the speakers better after noticing the occasional blip; I would think "I DO THAT TOO!!!" and instantly feel a small bond with the speaker whom I have never met.

Could it be that a small part of me is looking forward to this upcoming culture speech?  Surely not...  :)

Apprehension in Public Speaking

Tomato Face.

That is what I dread about speaking in public.  My face, for whatever reason, decides that when I am in front of a group of people, particularly a group that I don't know, that THIS is the best time to demonstrate its color-changing ability.  Truly, this is the most appropriate moment to flaunt my little-known talent for impersonating a rather angry lobster who is about to be thrown into a pot of boiling water.  Thank you face, your timing is impeccable.

For the most part, while I do not seek out situations in which I find myself addressing a crowd on a given topic, I actually do alright.  When I was younger I most definitely suffered from shaking, lack of confidence, and worry from how my fellow students would evaluate me.  I have gotten a lot better with more performance related presentations in particular; if any of you have ever taken the State Board test for Cosmetology, you know that if you can handle a proctor staring at you for the entire duration of a three hour practical exam, well, you can handle just about anything. For something like that where the situation is more to the effect of being evaluated while I do my own thing, I am able to go into my own space and pretend no one is watching me.  Mostly.

But something that occurred to me as I read the chapter is that while public speaking and something like a cosmetology exam are arguably very similar, public speaking involves interacting with the audience.  And to interact properly one cannot go into their own little world and pretend no one is watching. Well, I suppose you could, but I doubt you would interact with your audience effectively.

Some of the tips that the book gives for working your way through speech anxiety are completely new to me, and others I have heard before.  I really like the idea of relabeling:  "My face isn't tomato red, I am simply so excited to give this speech that my exuberance is radiating form the pores in my face! Winning!"  But all in all I totally agree that changing the way that you think about something can make a huge difference.

I also thought it was interesting the way that the book advised to not clue the audience in to how nervous you are.  In times past I have occasionally opened with an acknowledgement of how nervous I was, and I feel like starting off with that admission of humility allowed me to relate to my audience a bit more, and it alleviated some of the pressure I felt over the need to be perfect.  But the book makes a good point in how the audience could take the opportunity to nitpick your behaviorism in order to watch your anxiety in action.  Clever, clever audience.

But for the most part I thought the book had a lot of great advice.  Hopefully I will be able to put it all to good use.  Or rather, I look forward to practicing the techniques form the book amongst such fine classmates, as well as demonstrating my excitement in the form of exuberant face radiation.  Positive thinking for the win.  

Introductory Post

Hi, my name is Amethyst February and I have been a student at Sierra for four years.  I've been chipping away at an art degree while I work full time, and I have decided to get my personal training certificate while I am here as well. I also study martial arts.  In my spare time I like to draw stuff, kick stuff, lift heavy things and then set them right back where I found them, climb things, and spend time outside.  I generally don't wear shoes.

As far as communications experience goes this is the first communication class I have taken, but I have been known to be a bit on the verbose side in my personal life.  I also work in an office where I spend a lot of time on the phone and emailing customers. I look forward to expanding my communication skill this semester.

I hope you all are well, and have a great first day of classes!