self evaluation

Recycling is important to our world today, that’s why I have chosen this topic for my persuasive speech. I thought that it would be a good idea to let others know how important it is to recycle for our planet and for us. I wanted to persuade others to start recycling in their own homes and I wanted to show them how easy it was and tell the audience of how much garbage we are putting into our landfills.

I think that I achieved the purpose of my speech because I feel like I got through to my audience with all the facts and statistics that I had in my speech. When I was researching my topic even I was surprised by the numbers and how much trash we wasted. I think I got through to my audience because I told them how easy it was and the consequences that would happen if we didn’t recycle and continue on the path that we are on now.

For our last speech I didn’t feel as confident as my first two speeches because I didn’t really practice my speech until the night before. I just had a lot on my mind with school and work and practicing my speech didn’t really occur to me until the night before we had to present. I kind of felt uncomfortable giving my speech because I didn’t really memorize anything except the intro to my speech, but all the statistics and facts that I had in my speech I could remember any of them. When I was giving my speech I didn’t feel as confident as when I gave my first two speeches and there was a lot more people this last time then there was the first time.

What I would change in my preparation would probably have to be me practicing my speech more than I did. I would change my organization of my outline because I didn’t know that there was another format that we had to follow when we did our second speech. So I didn’t know what was needed for the outline. In my delivery, I would change me not looking at my note cards that much.

The thing that I noticed that I did different from my last speech was I practiced way more then I did then for this speech. I hardly looked at my note cards for my second speech and for our last speech my eyes were glued to the note cards. My outline for my second speech was way better then my last speech because I didn’t know what was required for the last one. I think for this last speech I had a better power point presentation then I did for my second because I noticed that some of my slides from my second speech didn’t really go with what I was saying. I also think that I didn’t say um and like as much as I did in my first and second speeches than in my last.

I think the only thing I did distracting was looking at my note cards a lot and I noticed that I was moving my legs a lot. Then at one point I crossed them which I didn’t even notice until I saw myself do it. An improvement that I had from my last speech was that my slides went with what I was saying not like my second speech.

I would rate my eye contact a three or a four because I know I really wasn’t looking at the audience. At times I really did try and look at my audience while I was talking but I didn’t memorize my speech that much for me to keep staring at them. I could see it in the video and I could feel myself looking at my note cards more than the audience.

I think I would give myself at least a C because I think I could, actually I knew I could have done better but I just didn’t take the time to practice my speech. It was just my eye contact and memorizing my speech. The thing that I think I did well was not saying um or like. But besides the eye contact I think I did pretty well, my volume was pretty good and I tried to say some words with emphasis to get my point across.

I think that my second speech was better because I memorized it better then our last speech. I practiced our second speech way more but the only thing wrong with my second speech was that my slides from my presentation wasn’t going with what I was saying. My outline for my second speech was also better then the outline for my second speech. From my speech I noticed that I cited my sources about four times that I have counted while watching the video unless I missed some.

Well I didn’t have my second speech recorded but from what I can remember from my second I think that my best speech was my first speech. From what I saw and heard it looked and heard like I was more passionate about my topic then my other speeches. I enjoyed talking about Hawaiian leis because no one else knew about it and they looked interested in my topic. I also felt confident in presenting my speech because I k new what I was talking about.

Overall I think I did a good job considering the time I had to practice. I did what was asked of me and I tried doing them to the best of my abilities. So I hope my last speech really influenced some of the people in the audience to start recycling because it will save our future. I think that I got through to the audience with my speech.

What I'm taking from this class

From this class I will take the experiences and feedback that I had during my presentations and use them when I ever need to present a speech or whenever I need to talk in front of an audience. I will also be taking the different ways to not be as nervous when presenting anything in front of an audience. I will also be taking the different ways that I could make the audience feel like they are apart of my speech so they don’t just feel like I am telling them instead including them in what I am talking about. I will try and make my audience feel included in by using pronouns such as we and us instead of I and me.

My favorite speech

I think my favorite speech was my first speech, the informative speech, because I felt more confident giving it. I knew exactly what I was talking about, not like our other speeches where we had research and memorize new information just so we could keep eye contact with our audience. The only thing that I didn’t like about my first speech was that I was really nervous and my speech kind of ran a little to long, so I didn’t time it as well as I thought when I practiced it. I think I liked my first speech better because I was more passionate in giving it.

What I found interesting....

One thing that I found interesting from the reading is the different speeches, like an introduction speech. I didn’t know that just by introducing some one it would be considered a speech. They also consider the person who is announcing the winner to an award a speech. I wouldn’t consider that a speech but I guess if they say it is. What also interested me were the different types of reasoning, I thought there was only one type of reasoning which was reasoning. But there are four which are deductive, inductive, casual and analogical; some of which I have never heard of.

Persuading others

When I was at work today I had to convince a customer to spend at least three hundred dollars so they could get our promotion that was going on. Our promotion was you spend three hundred dollars you get one hundred dollars off. So I had to tell her by spending seventy five more dollars you can get one hundred dollars off and it’s like getting the top, shoes or a dress whatever they choose to be free. I think I was using casual reasoning because I was telling her that she would save money if she spent just a little more and my reasoning worked she went for the three hundred and saved a hundred.

Speech Buddy Videos

I learned that by using one of the elements of arguments it is easier for the audience to see what you are trying to persuade them to do. I think that having a strong claim would really help a speech. I guess a claim can be considered as where you stand towards your topic. The types of appeals that are mentioned are logos, ethos, pathos and mythos. The speaker connects to the audience by trying to relate their topic to the audience’s lives since everyone in the audience had gone through school it seems pretty easy to relate her topic to them.

Interesting concept

A concept that I found interesting in chapter 14 is the ethics part of persuasive speaking. I didn’t know that public speakers had to meet the National Communication Association’s standards of ethical communication. I didn’t know that they had to meet certain standards in order for a public speaker to present their speech. A public speaker can not degrade individuals in their speech if they want to present it. So if a public speaker doesn’t uphold to the NCA’s standards what will happen to the public speaker? I thought that people could say what ever they want because of our first amendment.

Being immersed in a sea of persuasion.....

We are all immersed in a sea of persuasion because we all live in the same world. Every where around us there is an ad or commercial or even friends that persuade us to do or even buy something. There is no escaping it because it is all around us and since it is around us we hardly even notice it any more. An example of persuasive messages is the commercials on television or the public speakers at school talking to kids about staying away from drugs and alcohol. To become a more critical consumer a person must first know what he or she wants and not just persuaded into anything. After a person figures this out then they know what exactly to look for.

In my next speech....

My main points for my next speech are what is recycling, how it benefits our planet and what we can do in our homes to recycle. I plan on beginning my speech by giving an interesting fact about recycling and what it can do for our environment or maybe how much waste we are producing. I plan on ending my speech by convincing my audience to start a recycling bin of their own at their own homes. I want my audience to see that by recycling at their own homes it will really help out our planet. I am going to persuade my audience by using what I can for example language and images to influence my audience’s beliefs, values, attitudes and actions.

Interesting Concept

One thing that I found interesting from the reading is the different methods of delivery. I didn’t realize there were different methods; I thought there was just one method of speaking while giving a speech. There are four different methods impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorized. Impromptu is speaking without preparation; I guess it’s like a debate you don’t know the topic you’re talking about until you get there. Extemporaneous is giving a speech that has been planned, researched organized and practice; so this is the method that we use when we giving our speech. Manuscript is when you give a speech that is written out word for word and the memorized methods which is self explanatory. This section interested me because I didn’t know giving a speech could be categorized.

Flickr

Our textbook says that people have different perspectives on different words and that we should watch we say not to offend anyone during our speech. There was one comment that really stood out to me in the Flickr discussion it was by Rippie:Contra Censura! He said something that languages change slowly when people use them, which I believe is true because the more we use a word the more meanings are put towards that word. Then it gives more people to take it offensive. It all depends on the person and how they interpret it. People have different perspectives everyone has different views.

Speech Buddy Videos

What I found interesting was that there are 5 ways to make the audience feel like they’re involved with your speech. This would help me on my next speech because I can use current events, use pronouns such as we and us, inclusive language so they feel like they’re apart of what I’m talking about. I can try and put these ideas into my next speech so they feel like they are apart of it. Another thing that I found interesting was vocal delivery; I thought it was funny when they showed examples of ineffective ways on giving a speech. From this I know what to do and what not to do when giving my speech.

Concept from Ch11

The thing that I found interesting in this chapter was the digital slide design tips. These tips could help me on my next power point presentation. It gives me tips on what to do and what not to do. For example it says that I shouldn’t but lengthy sentences or fill the whole slide with sentences so I wouldn’t bore the audience with words and also if I decide to use special effects I should keep it simple and that would fit my presentation because some effects may be considered annoying to the audience. This should help everyone to help better their power points and their speeches. They also suggest that we use bigger and readable fonts.

2nd presentation

I presented my speech in front of 5 of my friends that I asked if they had time to help me out on my homework, there names were Tess, Elmo, BJ, Megan, and Jake. What I tried doing differently this time was to stay away from uh and um. I tried really hard catching myself and just pause if I needed a moment to think about the next thing that I was going to say. I think that I did improve from my presentation because I felt more comfortable presenting in front of them because I knew them personally. So I didn’t really care if I made myself look like a fool in front of them. I also had an easier time memorizing my speech. I wasn’t really nervous, well not as nervous as I was presenting in front of the class. If I could do the speech differently I would have memorized my speech more and I would have brought a visual aid for them because I didn’t give them anything to look at. I believe having visual aid helps a lot because they seem like they were losing interest in what I was saying because they were looking at me the whole time. After receiving feedback I feel like I did improve my speech because I knew what I had to work on and I did. This exercise was useful because I got to hear feed back from my friends, hearing feedback from them helped me because I know that they are being honest in telling me what I need to work on.

self evaluation

I think that I did a pretty good job on my speech because I stayed away from taking any sides. But at times I found myself favoring one side more then the other. I think I did a good job overall. When I was giving my speech I felt confident because I practiced this speech more then I did my first speech. I also felt uncomfortable when I was giving my speech since I only had to present in front of the teacher in a small room. I felt more at ease when I was presenting my speech in front of the teacher then compared to the whole class.

If I had a chance to do it over again then I would practice more because I think I would have memorized more. During my delivery I would have stayed away from saying um or uh. When I was giving my speech this time I caught myself saying um or uh and I tried staying away from it. I also think that I could have had a better power point presentation.

One goal that I have for improving the content in my next speech is to cite more of my sources. When I came home and looked over my note cards I noticed that I didn’t cite all my sources. One goal that I have for improving my delivery for my next speech is to practice not saying um or uh or at least catch myself more before I say it.

From my last speech I think that this speech I practiced more and stayed away from uh and um a lot more then the first. I also stayed within the time limit that was given. I also think that my speech was better organized then my first one. I didn’t use transitions in my first speech but I did in my second, and I felt like my conclusion was a lot better then my first. I think that my power point presentation wasn’t all that good because when I was looking at the power point I saw that I had some of the pictures in the wrong slide. I don’t think that I did anything distracting besides look at my cards. I think that this speech was a big improvement from my first speech.

I would rate my eye contact to be a 7 because I felt like I memorized this speech more then I did my first. So I was able just to speak off the top of my head since I practiced it so much. I think I deserve a B because I stayed within the time limit, my speech was well organized better then my first speech and I felt more comfortable presenting it. I felt like I did a pretty good job on this speech.

In my speech I mentioned 4 sources during the course of my speech. I mentioned some scientist and some organizations like the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). I think that this speech was better then my first. My first speech I really wasn’t prepared but this one I was but I do admit that my power point for my first speech was way better. But my delivery for my first speech was rushed and unorganized. My second speech I had time to say everything that I wanted to say and it was well organized.

Intersting Concpets

The thing that interested me is in chapter 13, the different types of informative speeches. I didn’t know that there could be so much and I didn’t know that they had different categories. I thought an informative speech was just an informative speech. Another thing that interested me is the different types of organizational patterns. I never really thought of using another type for my outline. I guess that the different types of organizational patterns depend on how you want your speech to be viewed because you could go with the chronological pattern, where you can explain how someone or something has developed. Or you can go with the spatial pattern where you can describe and physical or directional relationship between objects or places. Lastly, is the topical pattern where you make subtopics and explain them, this is my favorite to use.

Components of an introduciton and conclusion

The components of an introduction are stating your purpose, thesis, main points, and establish your credibility. The components for a conclusion are to review your main points, reinforce your purpose and to provide closure for the audience. I would use these ideas for my speech by making sure I have all these components when I am writing my outline that way when it comes time for my speech I am ready. In introduction I would try and make my purpose, thesis, main points, and credibility as interesting as possible so the audience wouldn’t be bored. Then in my conclusion I will restate my main points by rewording it and not make it seem like I just said the same exact thing from my introduction. Then for closure I will try and leave the audience wanting more. I’m just not sure how I will do that just yet.

Speech Buddy Videos

In the videos they say that telling a story is a good attention getter, I have never thought to use a story because it would just seem that the introduction would be way to long. Now I know that a story would be a good attention getter I want to try and use it for my next speech. From the videos about informative speeches the speakers just talked about their topic without choosing a side. I think that with my topic it is going to be kind of hard to not choose a side, but I am going to try and stay away from taking a side or trying to persuade my audience to my feelings toward the topic.

Interesting/useful concept from ch.7 or ch.8

One concept that I found interesting and useful is the transition part of the chapter. I know transitions are used in between ideas to make the speech run smoothly. I also didn’t know that there are different types of transitions that we are able to use in our speeches. I always thought of a speech as an essay where our transitions couldn’t be “next I will be talking about….” But after reading chapter 8 I know that it’s okay to use that as a transition between my main points. Now I know that essays and speeches are different and I shouldn’t be writing them the same. In our next speech I will remember to use transitions so my speech is able to flow better.

Facts and Statistics

I find facts and statistics most effective in an informative speech because you are basically teaching the audience about your topic. It is also effective when you are giving an example in your speech and your example somehow ties into your fact or statistic. I find facts and statistics effective in every speech; you can’t go wrong in letting the audience know what everyone else in the world thinks. I don’t think I can think of any situation where facts or statistics wouldn’t be useful in a speech. I always think that they are interesting especially in a speech. If I hear one fact that really interests me then that would be the only thing I would remember at the end of that person speech. But I guess having too many facts can then leave your audience thinking that your whole speech is about facts and none of your own ideas.

Speech Buddy Videos

What I found helpful was which of my supporting material was best for me to use. In the video it explained the different types of supporting material and how it affects the audience. The video also talked about media credibility and how we should be careful in the sources we choose. This can help me on my next speech by not relying just on what I read in one newspaper. From the videos it’s telling me to not just rely on one type of source but I should have a variety of different sources. The videos also taught me how to organize my speech and the different patterns that I am able to use. I could use this information to help me better organize my speech by knowing all the organization methods. Transitions are also important which I didn’t have in my first speech but I will have in my next one.

Self Evaluation

Now I can relax, our first speech is over and done with. After that experience I felt that I had a lot that I could have worked on prior to giving my speech. I feel that it was pretty good for our classes first time. The thing that I could work on is my time management. Every time I looked at the time cards I panicked and I lost my train of thought. I guess I could time myself better so I can fall into the time frame.

I think that I achieved the purpose of my speech very well except for the time frame. I feel that I had a lot of information in my speech about the Hawaiian lei. I thought I timed myself pretty well but I guess I just took way to much time talking about one thing. Overall I think I did well I just need to work on eye contact and memorizing or practicing my speech a bit more.

During my speech I felt a bit confident like I can see myself doing well, but then once I started talking I could feel my voice shake. I felt comfortable when I was up there but for some reason when I started talking that’s when I started to become nervous. Then when I saw the time card for four minutes and thirty seconds that’s when I started to feel uncomfortable. Then I had to rush to get to the end of my speech and that’s when I started to read off my card. Every time I looked at the time cards I lost my train of thought and would have to look at my note cards or my slides to remember where I left off.

If I was able to do it all over again then I would probably practice my speech more then I did and I would have timed myself better. In my delivery I would have made more eye contact with the audience and tried staying away from “like” or “um”. I also would have not made my slide show so long because there were some pictures that I didn’t get to explain because I was trying to have my speech within the time frame.

One goal that I have for improving the content in my next speech is to mention more support in my speech because I knew that I only cited my sources once in my speech. One thing that I could improve in the delivery in my next speech is to make more eye contact and memorize my speech a bit more. I also could try not using “like” or “um” as much as I did, which I didn’t know I was saying so much in my speech.

When I first watched the video tape I noticed that I was really loud and I noticed that I stuttered a lot because I was so nervous. I also noticed how much times I said “um”. I couldn’t watch the whole tape because I felt that I could have done better if I wasn’t so nervous. I thought I wasn’t going to be while I was walking up there but once I started talking the butterflies in my stomach came.

I think the only that I did distracting is when I started looking or relying on my cards at the end. I also got distracted by how much times I said “um” and I hate it because I didn’t really notice it when I was giving my speech.

My eye contact was about a six because in the beginning I was giving good eye contact. But every time I saw the time cards it just worried me and I just forgot what I was talking about then I would have to look at my cards and think where I left off. Then at the end I just lost total eye contact with the audience because I saw that I only had thirty seconds left and I just had to rush my ending.

I think I would give myself a B because in the beginning I was doing fine I hardly looked at my note cards, I was giving good eye contact and my volume was really good. I did the assignment that was asked I just failed in keeping my speech within the time frame. But I think I did good overall just my ending of my speech could have been better if I didn’t have the feeling of being rushed. Especially this being our first speech I think I did pretty well for my first time.
After doing our first speech, now we know what to do and what not to do for our next one, our speeches can only get better. By watching ourselves on tape we can see for ourselves what we actually do which is a good thing because sometimes some people have to see it for themselves in order to believe it.

Developing Credibility with Your Audience

What I found useful in the reading was the four dimensions of credibility. The first dimension is competence the speaker has to understand their topic in order for the audience to take them seriously. I understand that you must know what you are talking about before you present your topic because if you present your speech without researching your topic people are not going to want to listen. The audience can tell that you are not prepared. The second is trustworthiness where the speaker must have the audience’s true needs at heart. The third is dynamism the speaker must keep their audience listening at all times by showing passion into what he or she is saying. I think that by showing passion it allows the audience to see that you enjoy talking about your topic and if you’re enjoying it they would enjoy listening to it. The fourth is sociability where the audience feels comfortable asking the speakers question. Sociability is important because you don’t want to feel that the speaker has more authority then the audience then a person in the audience would never ask a question or find the speaker approachable. With this in mind I hope that I can take this and use them as guidelines when I am preparing my speech so I can get the audience involved.

Audience Analysis

Knowing your audience is important when giving a speech. I think for an audience to enjoy listening to a speaker the speaker must some how relate to them. For example in that video that we had to watch about drinking, that caught my attention and made me want to listen to his whole speech because I could relate to it. I am going to try and use it in my speech by thinking about how my topic can some how relate to everyone. I would also try and get my audience involved when I am giving my speech whether it be answering questions that they have or doing an activity.

Drinking and Pollution videos

Drinking video:
The attention getter really grabbed my attention because I was like “what is he doing?” It was a good way to start off his speech and a good way to tie in with his topic. Matthew had some good facts about his topic and he had visuals for his audience to see. The way he tied everything at the end together was a good way to provide closure. From Matthew’s speech I learned that there are no boundaries to my attention getter and it always better to see visuals.
Pollution video:
I didn’t really like this video that much because she didn’t really do anything to grab my attention and she started off with “Hi my name is….” From this video I learned not to start off like how she did and to meet the requirements of the speech.

Conducting Research Interviews

From this section I have learned how to be prepared for a research interview. It tells me the types of question that I can ask and how to develop them. It also tells me when to use the type of questions which would be useful in my next research interview. The main thing that I’m getting from this section is to be organized and prepared when doing an interview. I guess before an interview I have to write down what I know and what I want to know so that way I’m not wasting my time or the interviewee’s time. It also taught me how to integrate my information that I got from the interview. Like it says I could use a interesting quote from the interview in the introduction to catch my audiences attention, which I will keep in mind for my speech.

Speech Videos

The videos taught me that the library is a very helpful place to gather information and if I had any questions the librarians are there to help me. I know when I go to the library I feel like I’m not supposed to bother the librarians even if they are there to help me. What I also found helpful that I will start doing is to make a list of what I know about my topic and write what I want to know about it. That way when I go to the library I know what I’m looking for.
The speeches in the videos taught me to try and relate my topic to my life. I guess that way it would be easier for me to remember because I can relate my topic to an experience that I had or going through.

Conducting Research Interviews

I don't think that I have ever done a professional research interview before. I have talked to some people to gather information for an essay but the information that they have told me could have been found on a website, but then again most of the people that I have talked to was a friend. But I think that I have done a research interview back in middle school when we had to call certain jobs and find out what they did. That wasn’t scary at all because we had to talk to them over the phone. Having an interview on the phone I can deal with, its just the in person thing is what stresses me out.

What I found interesting

What I found interesting in reading was the sources of speech anxiety. All the uncertainties that were motioned are the same uncertainties that I have. Now I know that I am not the only one who has them and that makes me feel a little bit more comfortable about speaking in front of others. I didn’t realize my uncertainty about the setting. When I read it I realized that it was true, being in the classroom I am so use to sitting on the desk listening to the teacher. But once the roles are switched I start to feel uncomfortable. I guess that this is trying to say that anything that we are not use to we feel uncomfortable because we aren’t use to it. The different ways to build your confidence will also help with my public speaking skills because whenever I get nervous I can use them.

Speech Buddy Videos

In the video I learned how to relax when I think about giving my speech and that I should imagine myself doing well instead of thinking about the bad things that could happen. I learned how to breathe to calm myself down when I get nervous, all breathings deal with breathing from the diaphragm and just focus on relaxing. It seems that the fears that we all have is just in our heads and can be overcome. In the second video I learned that we should visit our speech location and get use to our surroundings so we can feel more comfortable. I think that the main thing to remember is to visualize the speech going well and to relax when we start to get nervous, well at least that is what I’m going to do. Being evaluated is also one of my fears, but in a different way mentioned in the video. What if a question is asked that I am not able to answer about my topic?

What makes me aprrehensive about public speaking

Public speaking makes me nervous because that means I have to stand in front of people that I don’t know and I have to memorize information to share with everyone else. The process of habituation sounds like it should work because by practicing over and over again I would get use to the idea and not be so nervous. The second thing that worries me about speaking in public is that I have to memorize information and if I forget something or get something mixed up I would just feel embarrassed. I feel more comfortable speaking in front of people that I know, like in high school since I knew mostly everyone in school it sort of comforted me that my friends were out there. I know public speaking is important in life like in classrooms or at a workplace.

Biography

Hi everyone,

My name is Sheryl I was born and raised in Hawaii. I moved out to San Jose to get away from the islands. I know everyone always ask me "why would you leave, its paradise?" Living there is a different story. I always saw the same people and did the same things; I was ready for something new. I always knew that if I left I could always go back home. I chose San Jose because my brother attended Santa Clara University and my sister attended University of San Francisco so I had family close by and it made it easier for me to fly back home when I needed to. I am a Mechanical Engineering major and currently in my second year of college.

I had many public speaking experiences while I was in middle and high school. I was always involved with student government so therefore I was expected to speak in front of the student body but I tried to avoid it as much as possible, but sometimes avoiding it was not an option. I found it easier to talk in front of people that I knew and harder to speak in front of people I didn't know. My goal for this class is to feel more confident in speaking in front of people that I don't know. I'm hoping that from this class I would feel more comfortable speaking in public.