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.

maximizing searches

I found the information in chapter 6 on maximizing library and Internet searches quite helpful. It seems to me that whenever I am searching for things on the Internet I always end up with things close to what I am looking for but not exactly what I need. I think the next time I search I will try using a variety of keywords to squeeze out more information. I am new to using the Library searches and only began using them last term. Using the library databases more will help me diversify the sources that I am gathering my information from.  The text also says to use the advance options, which I can say I never use. I hope that I will be able to find the information in those databases that will help me complete full and through research.

Interview

It has been many years since I interviewed anyone for a paper or project. The last time that I conducted and interview I had all of my questions laid out and prepared in advance. I then went over my questions with a friend to see what they thought and if they had any other questions they thought might help me with my project. When the interview was happening I took notes on everything that the person had to say and came up with some new questions to go along the stories and experiences shared with me.  

Having another person look over my questions and help me come up with more I think helped me be successful and come up with questions that I wouldn't have thought of. Keeping an open mind as I was asking questions and asking new questions worked well also. A mistake I made was cutting of a story the person was telling me to try and force a question into the conversation. 

Purpose of a Speech

As I was looking for my third subject to talk about I stumbled across the purpose of a speech. For me the easiest speeches for me to give are those who's purpose it is to inform. Being informative I feel that I have a better knowledge of the subject that I will be speaking on. Secondly I most likely am passionate about my topic so it won't seem like a such a task. Because of these two things I feel that I'm less nervous and can give a better presentation.

Speeches that are meant to persuade tend to be they type that I am most apprehensive about. Because you are trying to change attitudes and opinions, I feel that people are often less receptive which helps add to  me being nervous.

I don't believe that I have given any speeches to entertain. That said I have gone to many military functions at which the guest speakers usually gives a speech. These speeches are usually to entertain and are filled with great stories. Someday I hope to get to give a speech at similar functions were I get to tell my stories about the great people I've had in my life

Speech Buddy Videos

The biggest thing that I took away from the videos was from "Intro Jessica" and the tab that showed you her outline for the speech. It helped me better visualize the relationship between the two and gave me a starting point for my own speech. With video 2.1 I thought it was helpful that they actually showed you the different breathing techniques that they had explained in the book. A point that they brought up in video 2.2 that I had never really though about was being familiar with your speaking space. I know that in the past I have only given speeches in a couple different settings so I haven't ever focused on where I'm giving the speech. I think I will try to combine that with visualization on my next speech to see if it helps calm my nerves before the next speech. Overall I thought that the videos were helpful because they presented the chapters information in another form than just more text, which is a nice break for an online class.

1). What makes you apprehensive about public speaking?

     I would have to say that my biggest problem with public speaking is uncertainty about my Ideas. I have in the past waited till the last possible minute to put my speeches together. That of course means that I do not rehearse my speech many times. Even though I feel that I have a good grasp on the subjects I speak on I always wonder if my conclusion about the subject I am presenting will be reached by others.

     At least a few times a week with my job I have to give an small presentation to groups from five people to 100 people and I have found that some of the techniques the book mentions help me relax and not get flustered. The one I use the most often is just breathing. Even though I have given the presentation 500 times I still get a little nervous especially when the group is 50 or more people. Once I take a few deep breaths and calm myself down the presentation just roles out the way I want it to.

     The biggest thing that I will try to take away from this chapter is planing and preparing the speech early. It is going to be my biggest challenge but I think I will be able to accomplish it.