Discussion 9.3: Intro and Conclusion

According to the book there are many necessary components that go into an introduction and a conclusion. In an introduction you need a purpose, thesis, main points, and credibility. In a conclusion you need to review your main points, reinforce your purpose, and provide a closure to your speech. In my informative speech I am going to use these ideas to make a more entertaining and organized speech. In the first speech for this class I noticed that the people who added the proper components for an introduction and conclusion overall had a more focused, credible, entertaining, and organized speech.

Discussion 9.2: Chapter Concepts

A concept in Chapter 13 that I found interesting was about gatewatching. Gatewatching, according to the textbook, “involves monitoring news sources to analyze and assess the information those sources produce.” Gatewatching allows audience members and listeners to assess the credibility, correctness, and accuracy of information. When in a public speaking class the audience can use gatewatching to assess the credibility and accuracy of information given by a speaker. In any speech it is important to have credible information and not give misleading information. By learning about the term gatewatching I will learn to better assess the information that speakers speak about and I will also assess the credibility of my future speeches. Overall using gatewatching can greatly affect the quality of a speech.

Discussion 9.1: Speech Buddies

While watching the five videos for this week I learned a lot. In video 9.1 I learned that it is importatnt to have an effective introduction. Having an effective introduction gets the audiences attention, establishes a purpose and thesis, and establishes main points.Ways to have an introduction is to use humor, facts, and stories in your introduction. In video 9.2 I learned that it is important to have an effective conclusion. To do this one must review the main points, reinforce the purpose, and provide closure. By simply having an effecttive conclusion an individuals speech can improve greatly. In video 13.1A Evan presented his informative speech about techno music. He did a lot of great things during his presentation. He uses a quote near the beginning to grasp the attention of his audience and also to introduce his future points. He also uses a lot of facts and uses a powerpoint to express his main points and subpoints in words and pictures. In video 13.1B Janine talks about the Kodak camera. During her presentation she uses the camera itself which I thought was very effective. Janine also maintained very good eye contact with the audience by only using notecards when she quoted someone. In video 13.1 Use it I thought that the speech Katherine gave about Kosher salt was less effective overall. During the speech she significantly relies on her notes too much resulting in less effective eye contact with the audience. Katherine also talked to fast which took away from the overall effect of her speech. However Katherine did use many visuals which made the presentation more interesting. Through all the videos there were a lot of things that I can use in my next speech. Definitely I can use the tips that Evan mentioned to have a more effective introduction and conclusion. In my next speech I will also utilize the powerpoint presentation like Janine and Evan did in their informative speeches.

Discussion 8.3: Facts and Statistics

Facts and statistics are most effective in the beginning or middle of the speech. If used in the beginning of the speech the facts and statistics can serve as a background for later information that you may tell the audience or even for later examples. When used in the middle of the speech you can use the fact and statistic as an argument about something you are trying to prove. Facts and statistics are not as effective at the end of the speech. During the conclusion of the speech you should be summarizing your speech and not giving the audience new information about your subject.

Discussion Week 8.2: Speech buddies

Video 7.1 focused on supporting materials and its credibility as well as advantages and disadvantages of each. There were many types of supporting materials talked about in the video. The speaker talked about narratives, examples, testimonies, facts and statistics. From the video I learned what kind of supporting materials would be appropriate to use in different speeches. In video 8.1 I learned more about the patterns of organization and the different types. These include spatial, topical, narrative, cause and effect, problem solving, and chronological. From the video I learned that patterns of organization are important to organize the main points of a speech more productively. In the video I also learned the importance of transitions and how they help transition speakers from one idea to the next idea.

Discussion Week 8.1: Reading Concept

The aspect of the chapter reading that struck out to me the most was the part about “Using Popular Media Sources as Illustrations and Examples.” As speakers we are always trying to find ways to entertain the audience so adding popular media is a wonderful way to achieve the entertaining aspect of a speech and to also to grasp the audience’s attention. Popular media sources embedded into a presentation can include video clips, still photos, audio clips. During presentations I always find that when a person adds popular media to their presentation or when they simply make power point slides, that it is easier to understand that speakers main goal and purpose and also to be interested in the individuals topic or speech.

Self-Evaluation for Cultural Artifact Speech

The cultural artifact speech I did was about the Bandurria, a Philippine musical instrument. Overall I think I achieved the purpose of my speech pretty well. I was able to communicate to my audience what thy Bandurria was and the importance of the instrument in my culture. During the speech I would have to say that I was a bit nervous. Going into a room where not everyone was familiar to me made me feel a bit apprehensive towards presenting in front of my audience. However, I did pull through it with as much confidence as I had. I could have been a little more confident toward my subject matter though. While watching my video on my presentation I noticed that I looked a lot at my note cards and even paused to try to regain my thoughts. For the next speech I deliver I want to improve my confidence by not relying on my note cards that much and to make sure all my ideas flow. To improve the content of my next speech I wish to cite my sources in which I got my information in order to gain credibility, and validity.

After watching my video there was many things I noticed about my delivery. The most notable was looking down too much. Even though I knew all the information on my note cards and in the outline I looked down excessively. Sometimes I even paused to regain my thoughts and think about what the next thing I had to say was. I also noticed that I could have added a little more dynamics to my presentation or the way in which I presented the material. I don’t think that I did anything distracting in my video tape however more importantly I didn’t do things that would make my presentation more interesting to the audience. For example more eye contact. I would rate my eye contact for this presentation as a 6 on a scale of 1-10. Even though I managed to look at my audience I still looked down a lot to make sure the information I was telling my audience was correct. After watching my video of my speech I also noticed how many source citations I mentioned during the course of my speech. During my speech I managed to do an oral citation once. I did have other sources to cite on my note cards but what held me back from mentioning them in my speech was trying to keep under the time limit.

Overall I think I did a good job on the cultural artifact speech. As an introductory speech for a public speaking class I felt as if my speech was a good starting point to continue to grow as a public speaker. On a scale from A to F I would give myself a B based on what I noticed from the video tape. Overall I did a good job following an organizational pattern and overall informing my audience about my cultural artifact however I was lacking in several areas such as dynamics, eye contact, and citations. I also was lacking in confidence especially in the introduction and conclusion of my speech where I should have been prepared more for that aspect of my presentation. If I had to do this speech process over again I would make several changes. In my preparation namely I would go over my speech several times out loud to make sure I was comfortable saying it out loud. In my delivery of my speech I would particularly focus on maintaining eye contact with my audience and having more dynamics to my presentation.