Concepts in Chapter 9 & 13

A concept in Chapter 9 that I found interesting or useful was that in the Introduction we need to consider the time we have for the attention getter. Some people might go over board with the attention getter or some may even last a few seconds; we just need to quickly grab the audience's attention effectively. With the attention getter it should be creative, we need to consider the purpose of the speech and use strategic ways in setting a approach in the introduction.

A Chapter 13 concept that I found interesting or useful was the different organizational patterns for informative speeches. Patterns for the informative speech are: chronological, spatial, topical, narrative, and cause-and-effect. We need to choose one of the patterns that work well with our topic and also sets the purpose.

Components

Elements that go into an Introduction is the attention getter, indication of the purpose and thesis, establish credibility, and the previews of the main points. With the attention getter, its purpose is the grab the audiences attention so they become interested in what we are talking about. People will actually remember an interesting introduction more than the actually body of the speech. By indicating the purpose, thesis, and the preview of the main points, it will give the audience an idea of what you are going to be talking about and what they should look out for. Also by establishing credibility in the beginning of the speech the audience will trust the speaker with their knowledge.

Elements that go into a Conclusion is a review of the main points, reinforce the purpose, and provide closure at the end of the speech. We need to briefly review the main points that were spoken in the body of the speech because it is a way to transition from the body to the conclusion. By doing that it will also let the audience remember what you have talked about. With reinforcing the purpose of your speech it will leave a memorable message in which it tell the audience why your information was important. And after your introduction, the body of your speech, and the conclusion, you need to provide closure in which you leave off a good impression.

I will definitely take in all the ideas and actually use it for my introduction and conclusion of my informative speech so that it will be effective towards my audience.

Speech Buddies Videos

After reviewing the Interactive Videos, there were numerous things that I learned and can use to be helpful in my speech. I learned to have a good introduction because I have to grab the audience’s attention and it goes a long way. I also need to establish the purpose and thesis and preview the main points that would be covered in the speech. It’s important to have a strong attention getter and I can do this by using humor or surprising facts! I also learned to have a solid conclusion so I can reinforce my audience the key ideas. While watching Evan’s speech he spoke clearly and strong. Janine is an excellent example of how a speech should be presented because of the confidence she had and knew her information very well. Katherine’s speech was good too, but she looked to her cards too much.

Concepts in Chapter 7 & 8

A concept I found useful or interesting in the chapters was that the main points should be balanced throughout the speech. When organizing the body of our speech, the main points should be balanced, relevant, and clear. The main points do not have to be exactly equal, but proportionate to each other so that one point does not have more information than the other. I think that is a very useful thing to know because most people tend to give out more information on one point, then barely give any information on other points. I also learned that labeling our introduction, conclusions, and transitions can be very useful when formatting our complete-sentence outline. Organizing your speech can make or break your presentation because organizing your speech can help provide a clear message towards the audience.

Facts & Statistics

Most of the time facts & statistics work great in a speech so that the presentation seems credible, but there are times when we can or cannot use it. I find that it is more effective to use facts & statistics when we are discussing our main points especially. By giving the right information the audience will get a greater impact of the purpose of the speech. But the information that you may give out in the audience has to be a reliable and relatable to the topic and thesis. The facts & statistics you gather up has to strongly support the main point so that its not just some random fact you may throw in into the presentation.

Speech Buddy Videos: Chap. 7-8

What I learned in the chapter seven videos is that narratives, definitions, examples, testimonials, facts, and statistics can help make a speech become believeable towards the audience. With those types of information the audience can get a better feel of what the purpose is in our speech and also that they could trust us during the entire presentation. I also learned that using the media as a source isn't always reliable. It's because media credibility is a longer process to develop so the information might not always be on point. So when we do use media sources we have to check if it is a reliable source and if it is even related to the topic and audience.

In the chapter eight videos I learned about the different patterns of organization for the main points of a speech. I never really realized there were many different patterns of organization to use for in a speech until I saw this video. It is very important to choose the right pattern that works for the speech because the way the speech is organized is how it will be presented. In the second video of chapter eight I learned about the 6 different transitions that can be used to move to each point. There are various ways to transition that I never thought of before, so I will probably bring that into consideration on my next speech.

Self-Evaluation!

It was the day of the speech, and the first thought that popped up in my head when waking up was, "Oh No!" The day of the speech finally came and it felt like it came to soon. Once I got my number, I waited anxiously to be on the spot. Number by number passed, and I was hoping a fire alarm would go off! It was finally my turn and I felt fine, but when I stood up in front of everyone it finally hit me that I had to actually do the speech. I could tell right away that I looked very nervous during my delivery of the speech. I could hear the trembling in my voice, and I just forgot everything that I had to look at my notecards after every line that was spoken, and I did not know when to bring in my artifact.

Throughout my video, and even before that I didn't feel confident or comfortable at all. I can honestly say that I did not prepare enough for this speech, and I would definitely spend more time practicing. I felt that I had all the right information, like the citations during my speech, which was mentioned four times, but my delivery was pretty disappointing towards myself once it was over. I didn't feel as if I achieved the purpose of my speech the way I wanted it to. I knew I could of done better because most of the time I do. So for my next speech my goal is to practice, practice, practice! I would want to practice my delivery and make sure that my content is well organized and beneficial.

In the video I did notice I was distracting people with my hair! It was also distracting for myself during the speech because I couldn't see well. I did not realize my hair would become an issue during my presentation so before the next speech I will definitely get a haircut or use a pin to hold it in place. It was very difficult to give eye contact because of my hair problem! I had to keep looking towards my left because I could not see on my right side. I also kept looking at my notecards most of the time, so for eye contact I would probably give myself a five at the most. So eye contact is another goal that I would want to work on for the next speech.

On a scale from A to F, i would give myself a B-. I gave myself this grade because I had all the right content in my speech, but it was just the delivery that I had to work on. I should of practiced more on saying the speech out loud and understanding it so that I wouldn't depend on my notecards. Also eye contact is another factor in why I gave myself that grade. So overall the first speech didn't go so well for my personally. I felt like that speech was like one of my speeches in my Sophomore year in high school that didn't do so good because of confidence. So I definitely want to redeem myself on the next speech, and make it feel like my last speech in high school which was my Senior Exit Project where I was confident in myself.