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!!!!!!!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
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!
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!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, March 16, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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.
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.
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