Response to Holly's persuasive speech (symp)

Holly chose to advocate for lowering the drinking age back to 18, but used new, less talked-about reasons to back her argument.  She quoted Ron Paul (a take on having the freedom to make good or bad decisions), and made appropriate use of statistics throughout the presentation.  It was an interesting speech that incited a fun and interesting discussion during the Q/A session.  There was some opposition to her position, which may have made her nervous (I noticed her increased use of "like" at this time, but not during the speech).  It was a great, well-thought-out speech. My only critiques would be her referencing her note cards somewhat frequently and this nervous fidgety/swaying thing she did (takes a step forward for a moment then shifts her weight back and returns to her original position).

Response to Caitlin's persuasive speech (symp)

I had the opportunity to work with Caitlin on Thursday (10/20) before the speeches began, to see how she prepared for her presentation.  As it turns out, she seemed to be so familiar with the facts associated with her speech that she did not choose to try to memorize/rehearse the wording on her outline--this may explain why her speeches tend to be more conversational than dictated; I like it though.  For this speech Caitlin chose to talk about animal testing for cosmetic purposes.  She defined "cosmetic", explained the suffering endured by test animals (which was appalling, by the way), and then went into the policy aspects.  She said "um" a noticeable amount of times but it was not too distracting (I probably only noticed because I was looking for things to critique)--she spoke with conviction and clearly has strong feelings on the issue.

Response to Allie's persuasive speech (symp)

Allie's fun, light speech was a breath of fresh air.  She chose to promote the use of dry shampoo, a topic that proved to relate and appeal to the audience.  She explored the history of dry shampoo and told us about the different types; she recommended the Tresseme brand for price and quality and demonstrated its use, which was entertaining.  Allie was very well-spoken and appeared comfortable throughout her presentation.  I cannot think of anything on which I could critique her...it was a very memorable speech.

Reflection: Persuasive speech (sympathetic audience)

10/25/2011

           

Last time, for my informative speech, I had found that I went well over the time limit, and I wanted to have a more focused objective for my persuasive speech; my topic had been too broad before and I found it difficult to omit information to form a more concise speech.  My goal for my persuasive speech was to restrict its length to somewhere between 5 and 6 minutes; I was successful.  To do this, I had to narrow my subject from global water availability (way too general) to wetland protection in light of global water availability.  While I easily could have gone into further depth on the issue, I remained conscious of the fact that I needed to stick to the bare minimum, most basic information that I needed in order to convey the message effectively. I decided to use the apple to demonstrate how much water is available for human use because I know that it effectively shows how little there is to begin with, before pollution takes its toll—I did this demonstration several times over the summer and assumed that if children can understand/visualize the concept this way, my audience could, too.

During my speech, I noticed myself saying “um,” but not as frequently as I had in the past.  I was unaware of any fidgeting that may have occurred.  I did notice that my heart was not racing throughout the speech—that was exciting for me.  Luke mentioned in one of his blogs that I appear extremely nervous but shouldn’t be because I am clearly prepared—I tried to focus on appearing less nervous, even if I was, and found that physically restraining my nerves actually caused me to feel less nervous. 

Response to Holly's informative speech

Holly chose to talk about child soldiers, a topic that spurred her interest after watching the movie Blood Diamond.  I too had seen this film, so I was familiar with the concept but not overly knowledgeable in the details of the issue or the extent of the brainwashing experienced by the children; it was a good choice of topic, as no one with a heart could help but feel sad afterwards.  The quotes and references she cited were relevant and seemed credible (although difficult to say for sure without investigating the source).  There was minimal fidgeting during the speech, and I was impressed with how smoothly Holly spoke.

Response to Luke's informative speech

I enjoyed Luke's informative speech.  He chose a topic that everyone could relate to: how one's ability to learn may be affected by the time of day.  It was a relevant subject to talk about, but also something of which many people are unaware--I don't think that anyone in the class knew much, if anything, about it.  Luke had a clear, obvious thesis statement, which helped the audience follow the points of the speech. I noticed that he did refer to his note cards more frequently than I remember him doing during other speeches, but I think that he did this mostly when he was relaying a quote, statistic, or citing information...which makes sense (I think everyone referred to their notes more frequently this time around).

Reflection: Informative speech

10/6/2011

            When forming the list of possible topics we were assigned to make, I decided that I wanted to make my informative speech on Nature-Deficit Disorder.  I had done a lot of reading and research on environmental education in the last few years, and thought it would be relevant for me to explore the problem (NDD) more in depth, as opposed to the solution (environmental education), about which I am already knowledgeable; I would gain more from the assignment if I were to learn something new.  I did enjoy the preparation of my speech more than I had in the past, maybe because I was especially interested in the subject, or maybe because, with the assigned draft outline and revised outline, I was forced to work on it a little at a time and not all at once at the end (as I unfortunately tend to treat all homework assignments in all my classes). 

            Come the day of the speech, I arrived at school only to realize that I had forgotten my note cards at home.  Instead of spending the free time I had between classes practicing my speech as I had anticipated, I had to re-write my cards.  In the future I will remember to rehearse my speech more thoroughly the night before (and not wait until the day-of to make sure I ended under the time-limit).  Because of this, I referred to my note cards too much during my speech.  My nerves this time around were less what I would describe as “pangy” (pulsing, radiating from the inside), and more of shaky nerve that I felt was visible in my hands and extremities.  I also fidgeted my feet a bunch, again.  When Navaiera spoke, she walked around and used arm gestures, and I immediately wished that I had remembered to do that (I had made note of this when she presented her current event speech and liked it then); to me this made her appear (and I imagine feel) more calm and relaxed.  I focused more on trying to speak more smoothly (as I felt Holly had done that day) and did not notice myself saying “um” in every sentence as I felt I had during my current event speech.  Perhaps this focus distracted me from conveying my points efficiently, as I went well over the time limit; I will be sure to have a more narrowed thesis statement next time—this topic was too broad and I had a difficult time omitting information to form a more concise speech.

Reflection: Current event mini-speech

9/27/2011

            When asked in class to come up with a current event idea, I had nothing.  I then realized that I am appallingly out of touch with current global news.  So I thought locally and remembered about the increased crime occurring in New Haven, CT that has made the places I used to frequent not worth the risk of visiting the city (not that I ever really felt safe there).  I knew I had a personal story to grab my audience’s attention, so I stuck with the topic. 

As I was preparing my speech, however, I remembered that in class we were told to present the current event in a way that revealed how or why the news was important/mattered to the audience.  This is when I decided to make a connection between the New Haven police’s response to crime and the way the UNH police force responds to crime.  Through the question and answer session though it was evident that the audience was more interested in my story about my sister and the happenings in New Haven than in the way UNH police conduct themselves.  I suspect that this is at least partly because many of my audience members are first-year students who have not been around campus long enough to feel as though violent crime is an issue on campus; they probably have not walked alone across campus at night either, to discover if they feel safe doing so or not (last year I did this frequently, but always with a bottle of pepper spray).  Therefore, I feel my connection with my audience was made within my first few sentences, but that connection seemed to linger there and not travel throughout the rest of my speech.  This makes me reconsider how I presented my material and how I chose to follow my story; if I were to rewrite my speech, I would probably develop a more obvious objective.

Before giving my speech, I felt fine; over the weeks I have felt myself become more and more comfortable with my classmates.  The second I stood up though, I felt a pang of nerves radiate from my heart, and it began to pound.  I had a few moments while the class was still discussing Kingsley’s speech to try to collect myself—I took several strong, purposeful and slow breaths; my heart rate may have lessened slightly, but was consistently racing throughout my speech.  As I began my sister’s story, I found that I was not nearly as comfortable talking about it as I thought I would have been (given that I did not myself experience the tragedy).  This discomfort caused me to say “um” far too frequently, and I realized it as it happened but I couldn’t stop.  This also led me to refer to my notecards too much (the topic made my mind wander to thoughts of my sister, and not the topic at hand: giving my speech).  These things must have been obvious to my audience.  I make note not to choose a sensitive topic again, as I could not effectively handle it.

Reflection: Speech of self-introduction

 9/13/2011


    Coming up with what loss I wanted to speak about was not difficult for me; I had such a powerful experience, in the wake of a lost opportunity, this past summer that I knew I wanted to talk about it.  I did, however, find writing my speech somewhat challenging.  I didn’t create an outline, only made note of certain things I wanted to mention.  I spent a lot of time trying to develop my introduction, but kept hitting a wall.  I finally decided to write the body of the speech first, then the conclusion.  At that point I was able to form an introduction that was appropriate to the speech, and not have to develop a speech around an introduction.  I found I had more freedom with the direction of my speech.  I also found that I had written way more than I could say in three minutes, so I had to delete a lot; I was, however, able to say much of what was omitted when responding to the audience’s comments and questions.
I was scheduled to speak after Holly, and as she presented her speech, I began to feel the nervous butterflies fluttering in my chest.  I immediately attempted to remedy the situation by taking a few slow, steady, deep breaths and consciously telling myself to calm down.  This seemed to relax my heart rate, not completely, but enough for me to feel more comfortable. 
    When I was giving my speech, I remember feeling my ears and cheeks burn, and I hoped my face had not taken on the bright red hue I imagined it having.  Even immediately after my presentation I could not recall if I had been fidgeting as I know I tend to do.  I think my feet may have positioned themselves awkwardly throughout the ordeal though.  I also found that I was unaware of how frequently I used filler words like “um” and “like;” I was more focused on being able to convey everything I wanted to within the allotted three minutes.
    I don’t really know anyone in the class, but after my question-and-answer session I felt more connected and comfortable with my classmates.  I remember feeling as though I had successfully communicated with my audience after someone commented that the outlook I had on my lost opportunity was “a good way of looking at it.”  It felt good to know that my underlying message, that each individual is in control of his/her own happiness based on the way they view situations, was acknowledged.  I do not know at which point in my speech this was realized by my audience members, but I recognized my connection with the audience at this moment.