Self Eval

For this being my first term in a hybrid class I feel that it is going well so far. I have identified some areas I want to try and improve for the rest of the term. When I started off the term I was unsure how I would do with the different format of the this class. One area where that I was worried about was being able to keep up with the reading due to the fact in most of my previous class I retain most of my information from the in class lectures.

So far I have been able to keep up with reading the chapter and watching the speech buddy videos. Being able to post at the end of the week in this class has helped me due to my work schedule. I am taking two other online classes and in one I have to have my post in by Wednesday with work and my other classes and job its pretty tough to fit it all in. I would like to try and get my post in a little earlier so I am not worrying about them on the weekend.



When it comes to my speeches I need to apply my self across the full time allowed in between speeches to write and practice them. After giving the last two speeches I  know that practicing them will help me to have a smooth delivery. From watching others in class I can tell that they have spent more time than I have in my speech preparation. I also need to do my research farther in advance so that I can edit all of my information. I know from my last speech that I had to much information and had some I could have taken out.

Speech Buddy 7.1/7.2 and 8.1/8.2

For me I took the most out of the speech buddy videos form chapter 7. They continued to emphasize that the supporting materials in your speech needs to be relevant and credible with the audience. Using just one form of supporting material will not benefit your speech because you are always looking for the best way to present your speech to the audience. If you are using any definitions in your speech you have to make sure that there meaning is what you think it is, as well as what the video commented on that people will have preconceived notions of what certain works mean.

I had not given any thought to using media as a source in my speech but the video gave me somethings to consider if I ever do. From using this as a source with everything you have to look at the information from the viewpoint of the audience to see how how it will be received.

Organizing the Body of the Speech

There are 3 main points that the book hits on when talking about the body of the speech. First off you have to have clarity in the body of the speech meaning that your main points expand on your thesis statement. These both need to send the message that you want the audience to hear. The main points also allow you to inform the audience about your topic,

The second thing your speech's main points must be relevant to the topic. As more information is gathered you may have to adjust your main points to better emphasize your main point. The final thing that the main points of your speech must have is balance. This means making sure that all of the main points carry equal weight in relavence to the main point and each other. To figure out the correct balance of a speech you also need to figure out how many main points you will need to include in the speech.  to determine this you need you to figure out the information you need to cover and the amount of time you have.

After reading this section in CH 8 I think it gave me some important information to consider that will also make my speech better

Facts and statistics

In the past when I have had to give speeches, the point that I have found it most beneficial to include facts and statistics are the moment in the speech where they are most relevant. I have used facts and statistics in the intorduction to try and grab attention, but most of the time I use them in the body of the speech. I feel that the relevance of the facts to the current topic your are going over in your speech is the most important. You don not want to be talking about gun ownership in America and give a fact about how many cars were produced last year.

The only experience that I have had were statistics did not work in my favor was when I gave to many statistics in the speech. I needed to use them in moderation and make them have an impact. By over using them I believe that I diminished the statistics and made my speech very dry.  

Adapting to the setting

As the chapter was saying making sure that your prepared for the venue where you will be giving your speech is another important aspect. The location will determine the size of your audience, the availability of technological resources, the rooms configuration and any possible distractions.

There have only been a few times in the past when public speaking has taken me out of the smaller settings of the classroom and into a larger auditorium. When I did speak in auditorium it was for a speech competition in elementary school and they had us practice there at least three to four times before the day of the speech came. Even though it has been a long time since I gave that speech the fact that my teacher had me practice it there made giving the speech a little bit easier.

Audience Analysis

After reading the chapter I can see why audience analysis is so important to your speech. I had really never placed that much emphasis on who I was giving my speech to, just what I was going to say. I see the need for the information to be relevant and be presented in a manner that makes it matter to your audience.
In the chapter it talks about using the correct language in your speech, this is portion of the chapter I have a lot of experience with. Being in the military if I use all of the jargon and slang to tray and explain a piece of equipment I use or a weapon they don't really understand what I am telling them. If however I tell them that we were out shooting our rifles it becomes clear and understandable.

In my speech I plan to implement establishing my credibility on the subject, making my subject relatable to all of the class and using easy to understand language to get my point across.

Speech Buddy CH 5.

I felt that the speaker in the drinking video did a good job of tailoring his speech to the emphasize to the class how susceptible the were to drinking and driving. He had a strong introduction and a a good conclusion. A few of the things that he did during the speech that I thought he could have done better with had to due with the use of his visual aids, and how much of his speech he had to read off of the paper. I did like when he cited where he was getting his statistics during his speech. I think that he could have used some pictures of drunk drivers wrecked vehicles besides using the overhead to shown statistics that he was going to talk about.

In the light pollution speech I felt that her introduction was very strong and that she laid out for you exactly how her speech was going to go. After seeing that introduction I will make sure to have introductions that make and impact and lay out what I will be talking about. After seeing both of the speeches and how they kept reading off of their notes it reinforces that I need to practice, practice, practice.