End of Quarter Reflection

I had an interesting time in this class. On one hand I enjoyed it, specifically the speech topics I was able to speak about. I genuinely enjoyed giving these speeches because they were all about things I care about and I liked that I was able to share them in front of the class. I learned a lot about how to improve my speeches and just how to address public speaking or even communication in general. On the other hand, despite how much I learned, I feel like I was never able to put it all together in any of my speeches. I think each speech did one or two things really well but I definitely believe that was never able to put it all together and have one standout, ideal speech. that being said, I do think I was able to at least make progress on all of my goals. Goals #1 and #2 specifically I think I made very good progress on. i think I made progress on Goal # 3, but not as much as on the other two. In the future, I will certainly use what I learned in this class and try to tie it all together so that if there is ever a time in my life where I need to give a very important speech, I can pull it all together into that one perfect speech that I wasn't able to give in this class.

Speech Round 3

Monroe's Motivated Sequence

Reflection

Aside from one major flaw, I think this was my best speech so far. I think that the structure was very good. Not only did it follow the rules laid out by Monroe's Motivated Sequence, but it also had a good hook, thesis/purpose, and it's points were all intentionally ordered and well supported. I thought the visual aid was relevant and added to the effectiveness of the speech. I think my delivery was clear and I used different vocal techniques to strength of the content. A small flaw I think I had was looking at the power point and my notes too much. the major flaw I mentioned was my pace. It was one of my three main goals to use effective pace and for it to be one of the downfalls of my final speech is not something I'm happy about.

Speech Round 2

How-To Speech

Short Informative Speech

Reflection

I believe that this speech round was good, not great. I enjoyed giving both speeches, both topics interest me and I know a good amount about them, but actually giving them didn't go as well as I would have hoped. In the How-To Speech the strongest part was the visual aid. I thought using the baseball bat and being able to actually show how to swing while I explained it was very effective and that is the feedback I received. My voice was confident and I thought it was very conversational. The major flaw with the speech was its focus. I should have focused much more on the actual how to of the swing instead of all the intro content I had. My Informational speech was just about the opposite. The structure was very strong and all points flowed logically and were well supported. The hook and evidence were good but the speech had problems in the delivery aspect of it. The visual aid was messed up in the beginning and I struggled throughout the speech with filler language and finding the right words for what I was saying.

Speech Round 1

Impromptu Speech

Family Tradition

Reflection

In my opinion, this round went pretty well especially for being the first speech round. Some of the things that I thought went well were my delivery in the impromptu speech and the structure of the Family Tradition speech. In the Impromptu speech, my delivery was deliberated and controlled and I think that helped the audience focus on what I was talking about. The structure in my Family Tradition speech was good because the direction of my speech was laid out well in the beginning and it had a hook that tied in well to describing where the speech was going. Even thought this was a good round for me, I still feel that there were shortcomings. For example, in the impromptu speech, my structure was weak and ended up resulting in me falling short on time. In the tradition speech I feel like my pace could have been improved to punctuate some of the key points better.

Course Goals

Goal #1: Learn how to properly structure a speech to get my message across.

Support Articles

1) http://bpwnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/EFFECTIVE-COMMUNICATION-for-LEADERSHIP-TRAINING-2012.pdf

2) http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffschmitt/2013/07/16/10-keys-to-writing-a-speech/#1580b4bd69ca

What Will I Get From This?

By learning how to properly structure my speeches, they will be more focused and precise. Each main point will come across more clearly and leave a greater impact on my audience. I will be able to have a better grasp on what I am talking about and therefore will be able to cut out many necessary thoughts and ideas. All in all, I hope to be able to be perfectly conscious of the direction my speeches are going so I will be able to transfer that understanding to the audience.

Goal #2: Learn to use my voice to effectively convey what I want in my speeches.

Support Articles

1) https://www.ethos3.com/2015/10/how-your-voice-impacts-your-public-speaking-success/

2) http://www.teacherjoe.us/PublicSpeaking11.html

What Will I Get From This?

The way with which a speaker uses his or her voice plays a huge part in determining whether or not a speech is good. At the end of this quarter, if I have achieved this goal, My voice will play a crucial part in what is taken away from my speeches. I will be able to convey messages to the audience, not ony with the content of my speeches but also with different kinds of vocal cues.

Goal #3: Learn how to control the pace with which I speak in order to maintain the attention of the audience without speaking too quickly.

Support Articles

1) http://totalcommunicator.com/talk_article.html

2) http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/7676c9b0-189a-46d1-a977-6d2c2445776e.aspx

What Will I Get From This?

This will be one of the more difficult goals for me to accomplish. Ideally at the end of the quarter, my speeches will include controlled pauses, as well as intentional use of a faster speed when it works to benefit my speaking. By controlling pace, my audience will not get left behind or confused by what I am saying but rather be able to absorb and think about what I am saying.