Tag: SPC100

Dry Run: https://youtu.be/9F6C3_l0RfY

Final: https://youtu.be/7wMNKzkxwo0

Looking back at the last four speeches, I think I improved on every speech between the dry run and the final. However, I personally saw the most growth with Speech 3 between the dry run and the final. When “teaching” a mastered skill in my dry run, I was very rushed and tried to get as much information in as possible. Instead of teaching anything, I just talked about the topic. This was also one of the speeches that I received the best feedback and advice that helped me decide where I wanted to go with the final. It was mention that I narrow down to a couple moves and explain them or even demonstrate them. It helped my speech take a turn for the better because it sparked the dance teacher part of my brain into creating a lesson plan within my outline. In the final, I slowed down my words, gave out important tips and tricks, elaborated on moves, and showed the costume. Before it was just a jumbled mess in my opinion and wasn’t really a video that was teaching something. I had to take the final video multiple times because I was critiquing myself a little too harshly. For me my specific good moments would be when I mention bending your knees and then describing two simple dance steps (1.32-2.18). I know this may sound silly, but I also adjusted the format of my video by propping my phone up vertically. With my phone being horizontal in the dry run, it cut off my movement and made me step farther away from the camera. This resulted in a strain of tone and volume because I couldn’t tell how loud was too loud. In the dry run, I think setting the phone up vertically helped the set up feel more like an instructional video. I didn’t do that in the dry run and I think that was one of the most important things missing from it. Obviously looking back it now there are still things I would change and alter to this day, but I’m happy with the improvement between the two videos.

Out of all the speeches we have done so far, I think Speech 4 was my best speech given in my personal opinion. I can see the improvement on things, like maintaining eye contact, making sure there are pauses to insert emphasis, and speaking rather clearly compared to my others. As for my seriousness in this speech, I don’t think it’s too much since most of it is a serious topic. However, I believe that my personality fluctuates and the seriousness is balanced with a joke here or there to cause a lightheartedness to the topic.

One thing I personally still want to improve on is my organization. I think the beginning of this speech is really well organized, but the end kind of loses me a bit. I don’t realize it until I watch it back, and even then it stumps me because I’m not too sure how to make it any better. Continuing forward for the last two weeks, I really think I need to focus on the organization of my speeches and maybe start out in the outline to the progress from there.

Chapter 25 was really interesting for me to read because I call every single speech a speech. There isn’t a fancy word or title in my head to describe that speech like this chapter mentioned. Learning the ins and outs of what goes into each speech in order for it to be labeled that way was something I had never learned before.

I watch a lot of Comedy Central’s roast specials, so it was mind boggling for me to understand that a roast is a speech. My brain understands it, but doesn’t want to if that makes sense. The section that I found really intriguing was the one about eulogies. They had the quick tip section at the bottom labeled “Commemorate Life- Not Death.” I feel like when some people write eulogies they focus too much on the sadness of the present versus the happiness of the past life. I wasn’t expecting the book to point out something like that, which was shocking to say the least.

Since I can’t write about every single section, I will definitely take away the differences in each speech and always remember the pro tip if I ever have to write a eulogy too.

I think this week’s speech is better than last weeks. For me the one thing I can see obvious improvement on is the connection to the audience. I think I made better eye contact in this Speech compared to last weeks. I paid more attention to the camera and made a better connection through my body language and movement too.

I also did some serious rearranging and altercations to my speech because I felt like I wasn’t teaching anything in my first one, just describing Tahitian. So in the final I went more in depth in beginner moves and explained some important rules. I think that also adds another element of connection.

The only thing I didn’t like and think I can improve on is my movement. I was rocking back and forth a couple of times and it was really distracting for me, so I can’t imagine what it would feel like for the audience. When I start talking sometimes I subconsciously rock my body, which is something I need to be more aware of in the future.

Overall I see an improvement personally from last week, but I also understand I have a long way to go still. However, feeling like you improved helps you notice other weaknesses in the future.

Chapter 13 was obviously really informational when it came to outlines. I never knew that making two outlines would be more helpful then one, well at least I didn’t think about it like that anyway. I used this method for the Speech assigned this week to switch some things around and try it out. I don’t think I used a speaking outline in the same manner that they talk about in this chapter. They even want the outline broken apart to pauses which I find strange because for me I do that naturally after getting a read of the crowd.

I know that no matter what type of outline I make, I usually make a phrase outline. That way I can adapt my words naturally but still have the main idea written down so I don’t get lost. To me writing every sentence out is too much of a hassle and is overwhelming, while only writing a keyword can sometimes throw me off or mess me up.

I think for my first speech, I had the actual speech memorized better than the second run through. I cannot tell you how many times I recorded the second run through because I kept mixing the two speeches up in my head. The first run of Speech 2 I don’t think was very organized and I worked hard on that for the second run through, especially because of the reading chapters this week. The comments also brought up my organization problem in my speech and repeating myself, which I think I improved with the final submission. I think I need to slow down when speaking because I noticed that in my submission. I don’t know if it was nerves or excitement with my object, but that was obvious to me.

I also think I was more serious in the final submission, which is something that you made a comment on. I felt like I was trying to hard to not be so serious, but it didn’t work in my favor and made it worse. Sometimes when I have a critique stuck in my head I overthink it and then it ends up being worse than the first time I was told about it. That’s one of my biggest struggles in general for me. In my opinion, the speech was good and it wasn’t weak, but I do need to improve on things still.

Chapter 11:

The first thing with chapter 11 that I immediately noticed was that I should go back and fix my outline for my speech. I think in my outline it was missing the correct form for the sub-points and main points. The one quote that I will take with me not only through this class, but also in life is, “In essence, the introduction of a speech tells listeners where they are going, the body takes them there, and the conclusion lets them know the journey has ended” (78). Speeches are similar to essays, but they are also completely different as well.

After reading this chapter, I also realized that I need to work on my transitions. This is also something that I tend to struggle with in my school essays, but is a whole new level when just talking to people in general. Sometimes in my speeches I tend to “squirrel” and start going off track. This chapter was really helpful especially when it gave a list of possible transitions to use for our speeches in the future.

Chapter 12:

First off, I really enjoy the checklists in this book because they are more helpful then I thought they would be. Also this chapter has made me realize that there is a lot more that goes into speeches than what I have been putting in. I didn’t know that there were so many different types of organizational rules for various speech genres. The one quote in this chapter that stuck out to me was, “Whatever the structure, simply telling a story is no guarantee of giving a good speech” (95). Sometimes if I am unsure of my organization, I solely rely on my presentation. But I have learned through this chapter that that doesn’t ensure that the audience will take away what I am trying to voice. Organization is much more important to speeches than I thought and I will definitely be looking back at this chapter for guidance in the future for more speeches.

Narrative Paragraphs:

The only stuffed animal that decorates my made up bed throughout the day is one of the most important objects for me growing up. Fairly small now that I have grown up, but at one point I thought this bulldog was bigger than me. It is a big jump I know, but when I first received this animal it was in the midst of a distraught time for a child. My dad was deployed for several months when we lived in Virginia and my mom told us kids that we had to go get dad from the airport. Of course we were jumping with joy because being away from your dad at such a young age, 4, was rather hard since you were always teased with him coming back at some point but never knowing exactly when that would be. As a four year old in an airport it was overwhelming, but when I saw my dad walking down the aisle connected to the flight I was jumping with joy and even more excitement filled my body when I saw a stuffed animal shoved between his arm and his body.

Stuffed animals can be overrated when you get older but this one never did. He’s a three inch long bulldog with a British flag tied around his neck. The bulldog not only symbolized my dad and how much he cared for me, but it was also the mascot of my dad’s career. That bulldog stood for the Marine Corps which tied me closer to my dad when he deployed again. Not only did this small but beefy animal represent a person, it also ignited my dream to visit England simply because of the flag around its neck. I failed to mention this flag has a small hole in it because I did not understand how scissors worked as a kid, fooling around with them and eventually leaving a mark in the flag. Back to the dream though, I always knew that my dad stopped in London on connecting flights but that was enough knowledge for me to know that I wanted to visit there too. Luckily I eventually did in 2018 and was able to take a picture with the flag that represented my best friend back home. This bulldog received so much love that some stitching had fallen out, stuffing is flat in some places, and the flag is worn and fading. Nonetheless this simple object was my best friend in the midst of all the military moves we made growing up and that it why it is the only stuffed animal that still holds a special place in my heart.

Outline:

• history behind the stuffed animal – dad, deployment
• what the bulldog represents – dad, love, dreams, best friend
• what the bulldog looks like – then vs now
• the bulldog leading to a lifelong dream – something minute but important still

First off, I did not understand that there was so much technical meaning behind public speaking. Even though I have given numerous speeches in the past, I never thought about all the breakdown information that goes along with them. The biggest thing I am taking away from this chapter is that if I can conquer my fear behind public speaking, then I can practically rule the world especially when being hired for a future career. The other thing I took note on was that public speaking can lead to me becoming a more engaged citizen which is something I value highly. I do not want to go through my life being silent about things that I do not think are right. That section practically gave me a boost of confidence towards public speaking. Finally, the last section that I believe will be helpful for the entirety of this class was the Classical Roots of Public Speaking. When writing speeches in the past, I failed to notice the components. Invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery were not all present in my brain. However, delivery and style I know I used, but I would say the others were lacking. I know that when it comes to arrangement in speeches, my organization aspect is lacking.