3rd Self evaluation

My speech topic was on Littering. I feel that my speech’s purpose had achieved its purpose. I did a lot of research for my third speech and thought I used good information. After doing the last two speeches I felt more confident on my third speech. I did not like having my turn being number ten. I wanted one of the earlier numbers so I can get it over with. Waiting for my turn made me kind of nervous. For this speech I didn’t get to practice as much as I did for my second speech so I did feel kind of uneasy and not as confident. If I had to do my speech again I would add a few more main points, find more interesting pictures for my power point slides, and work more on eye contact.
The last speech was an informative speech. I thought it was easier because all I had to do was look up information. The good thing was that I was able to find a lot of useful information. The bad was that my visual aid was not a PowerPoint. My third speech had a power point but that was because it was required, but it had nice pictures to look at. I felt that I still wasn’t really projecting any emotions during my speech for both of the speeches. One thing I notice was that I did not pause so much compared to the other speeches. In the speech I had mentioned three sources.
I did not use a lot of hand gestures but remembered that my leg felt restless like I wanted to move around. I don’t think I made much improvement for doing anything distracting. The gestures I did for the second speech were similar to the things I did for the third speech. The rating I would give myself for eye contact would be 7 out of 10. I glanced around the room and made eye contact with a majority of my classmates, but I looked over some of them. The grade I should get for the third speech is a B. For the past two speeches I was suppose to improve on my dynamic delivery skills but I don’t think I sounded very dynamic for any of my speeches. I’ve improved on certain areas like not making awkward pauses that made me look like I had lost my place and speaking louder.
I think my second speech was better than my third speech. I just felt more enthusiastic about that topic. It was something I liked. I know we were able to choose any topic for our speeches but for the third speech I just picked it randomly. I did pick something I liked for my first speech but because it was my first speech, I felt really nervous. Although my visual aid for my second speech was not a power point, I thought it was a really good idea to choose fruits and describe what vitamins they have. Based on all my speeches I performed best on my second speech.

Helpful concepts that helped in class.

The concept of knowing about your topic was really helpful. Before doing research I thought about how much information I already have on my topic. When I try to add it to the outline I realized that, with the general things I know, it is not enough to make a long speech. After researching my topics I felt more confident in what I’m going to say. I know that what I’m going to say is true because I used sources that are reliable. The breathing exercising was also helpful. They’re actually quite calming and helped me feel a little bit less nervous.

Favorite speech

My favorite speech was the informative speech. My topic was on nutrition and it was usually something I like to talk and learn about. It’s also a really broad topic so I was able to find many books in the library compared to the others. When I went to the library for books on littering there were very few and hard to find and they were mostly on pollution and landfills. I think that the informative speech is easier than persuasive, just because it‘s research and deliver. I didn’t have to find ways to convince my audience to do anything besides tell them things.

Video 15.1

Both of the speakers provided good examples to support their idea. I learned how to look for the thesis, claims, evidence and reasoning. Each speaker stated their claim and then gave a sample of evidence ten backed with up with reasoning. Robert started that parents can’t teach their children as well as teachers because they don’t have the time or the credential. Then explained why they don’t have the time or the credential. Dixie backed up her claim of how schools are violence with example and a statistic. Dixie used a question to get the audience to picture their children in a violent environment to relate to the audience. Robert stated how people come from different schools of many backgrounds.

Interesting concept chapter 15

One concept I found interesting is a qualifier, it is the not using of the words like probably, likely, often and usually. The book used an example of the likeliness of outsourcing plane maintenance causes more plane accidents. By using the word likely it makes the fact sound less likely to be true. After I read the paragraph, I recalled a moment in my second speech where I used the word often. I was saying how all fruits have fiber and a bit of vitamin C in it. Instead of saying what I intended, I added “often most fruits have fiber and vitamin C.”

Recent discussion

My recent discussion was just a few minutes ago when my friend was arguing with me how I always round off time wrong and that comparing it to normal rounding off things. I usually like to look at time by the every half hour and hour. I feel that minutes go by too fast so anything past thirty minutes is basically an hour already. My friend says that way off and that my reasoning is wrong. I used analogical reasoning by comparing my rounding off my test score to minutes in time. My reasoning did not go well because my friend kept giving more examples and made my reasoning fail.

Main points for next speech

My first main point is to show the problem which is how there is trash everywhere and how it makes places dirty and gross looking. Then my solution is to explain where to put the trash instead of littering. Next for the visual I plan to show pictures of areas in cities and such of how filthy certain areas can be. For my introduction I will use the attention getter, which is to describe people felt a wall or walked past a pole and it smelled really bad and explain my purpose and preview the main points. The conclusion is the review of the main points and to convince my audience to stop littering.

Sea of persuasion

There’s persuasion everywhere I go. Family, friends, and random people have sent persuasive messages to me. From buying things, eating certain foods, and ways to do things people prefer their way of doing it and tell others to do it also. The media’s messages try to make consumers buy their products by showing them how their product is better and what they are good for. Television commercials are the most convincing advertisement to me, just because I can actually see people and objects being demonstrated. To become a more critical consumer of persuasive messages, I think about the pros and cons of the persuasive message before buying it.

Chapter 14 concept

I thought the question of value is interesting. People base their opinions on their values and cultural beliefs instead of facts. Most of the topics using question of value are based on things like moral of war and ethical uses of facebook according to the book. I find this concept interesting because most of time when we decide about something it’s more likely that we base it on what we believe in and not on facts. Even though it is on a subject we know that might be wrong, if we like it then we will believe it is right. For example killing insects, they are disgusting and it should okay to kill them but there’s also how the world needs insects for the ecosystem. Most people would want to kill bugs because they are annoying and gross and it’s just based on their opinions.

Interactive Videos 10.1, 10.2, 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3

I’ve found using similes and humor to catch the audience’s attention and to keep them listening helpful. When I hear a simile I can actually visualize what the speaker is trying to present. I am able to compare it to what the speaker is saying and to something I am familiar with. When speaking the speaker should not talk to fast or use a high pitch tone. I’ve notice how some people talk with a high pitch tone and their sentences always end with an upward reflection like it’s a sentence. When the speaker looks at their note cards too much it makes them look like they are ignoring the audience and being unprepared.

Interesting concept

One concept I found interesting was the one about culture. It talked about how in other countries like China, Japan and Vietnam, see speaking out loud as a bad thing. In general they do not like to draw attention to themselves because it shows a person being stuck up and boastful. Being modest and respect is a way to get people’s attention because they are worthy of getting attention. I think the concept is true and that it does apply to Asian cultures because I am Chinese. Since I grew up in the US I learned both ways how to be a good speaker.

Discussion on Flickr

In the book it mentions how there are women who are actually quite powerful speakers. It also talked about how women aren’t as influential as men just because of their gender. Those women became powerful speakers because they were able to capture people’s attention. Each one of the women that were mentioned had different hair color, one of the responses were about how taking away different terms of describing people and hair color was one of them. I agree with most of the people who responded with its how words are used and not what it is used for. Those words are used for describing people and that’s all.

Speech 2 redo

I presented my speech to the following five people: Steven Tran, Steven Liao Annie Luu, Alison Huang, and Wanda Huang. For this speech I did not have my visual aid so I had to use a picture instead. The area I had presented wasn’t as big as the classroom, it felt more private. My presentation went well because I was comfortable around the people I presented to. During the presentation I had slouched more and gave off the laid back look. I delivered the speech with the same tone as I had done on Friday’s speech. Something I did differently was that I was a bit more enthusiastic, it was just easier to give a speech to people I was more comfortable with. Doing the speech for the second time, I definitely did better but because I got to choose my audience I was not as nervous. If I had to do the speech over again I would work on my voice dynamics before giving the speech again. I also got feedback saying I had lost my place a few times. During the second time I had to present my speech, I lost my place two times but I was able to find my spot quicker than when I had given the speech the first time. Over all I found this exercise useful. It gave me more practice in delivering speeches.

Self Evaluation 2

Practicing makes perfect and I made sure I had practiced a lot for my second speech. During the speech I felt nervous but I was not as nervous as when I had to present my first speech. I already had the feeling of the classroom and knew a few of my classmates. The purpose of my speech is to inform my audience about nutrition, I think I was able to explain my main points clearly. My main points were clear but I think I could’ve done better on explaining my points with better examples and other source materials.

Comparing my last video to my new video, I definitely did better on my second video. In the first speech my voice was low, skipped some parts of my speech, lost my place, and used a lot of vocal fillers. In my second speech I spoke louder and more clearly but during the speech I also lost my place a few times and still used a good amount of vocal fillers. There were some hand gestures I made throughout the video that were rapid movements. Compared to my last speech I looked liked I had the same amount of hand gestures. I felt that my eye contact would be an 8 because I looked at everyone and only glanced over two or three people. Watching my video I saw myself using four citations.

Although I made an improvement in my voice projection, I had gotten feedback that I was mono tone. For my next speech I will have to show more enthusiasm and try to be less mono tone. I also need to make my speech go smoother, I frequently pause and used “um” when I lose my place. I know that it is okay to pause but in my video it looked bad since my pause took a while. It made me look like I had lost my place which is what happened but I’m not supposed to show it. In my first speech I had glanced down to look at my note cards a lot and I had done the same thing in my second speech. When I first practiced the speech it was really hard to make sure I had 5-6 minutes of things to say. For the next speech the minimum time frame is 6-8 minutes which is even longer. During the speech I was afraid I might have forgotten something or say something wrong.

The score I would give myself would be a B. I felt that my content was good but my examples could be better. My delivery was good, my voice was clear, but I lost my place quite a few times. For this speech I had found more people and practiced my speech more than my first speech. Practicing more and getting feedback from more than one person helped me gained more confidence. My second speech is definitely better than my first speech. I did more research and practiced more in front of people.

Interesting concept in chapter 11

One interesting concept I found in chapter 11 is using whiteboards and chalkboards as a visual aid. In that chapter it mentions how turning your back to the audience makes you look unprepared. I don’t see how turning your back to the audience to make a point makes you look unprepared. All you are doing is showing an example. If you are trying to show examples with arrows or lines I think it can be quite useful. I can see how the book says that turning your back to the audience may make you look unprepared but there are also some advantages in using whiteboards and chalkboards.

Review the following Interactive Videos: 9.1, 9.2, 13.1A, 13.1B and "Use It" 13.1

I learned that the introduction has to be good in order for the audience to stay focused on you. I liked Erin’s introduction, she talked about an accident and death that follows. Her voice was really stern and she looked really serious. Her conclusion didn’t capture my attention as well as Janine’s though. I though Janine’s recapping of her main points had more closure than Erin’s. I really liked Katharine’s video, it was interesting. I only knew that kosher was a Jewish thing but the way they do things are fascinating. I learned to look for interesting facts and to have a strong introduction and conclusion.

Concepts from either Chapter 9 or Chapter 13

I though the Inform to Educate paragraph from chapter 13 was interesting. A line from the book states, “A successful informative speaker informs the audience in a way that educates them.” I think all speakers have something interesting to say and we can all learn something new from them. They aren’t always interesting but informative none the less. I remember one time I went to an event in SJSU and there were people giving out a lot of different information. Once a big group gathers there was this group who tried to inform people about Jesus and get them to join their church group. I’m not religious but I thought things that the speakers spoke about were interesting.

What components, according to your book, go into an introduction and conclusion?

According to the book the introduction is suppose to contain something that catches the audience’s attention. It should also explain the thesis and what the main points are. The ending should be a summary about the main points that were just presented. I’m going to use the idea of finding something interesting to grab my audience’s attention with a fact not many people may know about. For my introduction I plan to talk about the basic nutrition information then talk about a certain topic about nutrition many people may not know about. For my conclusion after I summarize my main points I will look for a dramatic fact to end with like the book suggested.

Chapter 7 & 8 interesting concept

In chapter 7 there was a section that talked about citing from popular media sources as references. Apparently USA Today isn’t a very reliable source, and then I realized I had used a quote from one of their articles. I also didn’t know that People magazine wasn’t a reliable source either. I see the magazines everywhere and just assume that they were reliable but they aren’t. Now I know that I have to do more research on my research to make sure the data that I use are creditable. Even though the sources aren’t reliably I wonder if the audience can tell if the information is reliable or not.

7.1, 7.2, 8.1 and 8.2 videos

How to use sources was helpful, to know when and what kind of sources for certain types of sources. I didn’t know that I can use television as a source even though it is not very reliable. It depends on what kind of information one uses to prove creditability. Before learning about different types of pattern of organizations, I thought of just using topical. For example if I were to give a speech about a famous person I would use chronological and show what happen to life in chronological order and show how they came to become who they are. I also liked spiral pattern because you use visual to explain your topic.

When is statistics most effective

I find facts and statistics most effective when it’s used to show a big difference in something but it also depends on how the data is used. For example how much sugars are in fruit and candy. The candy will obviously have more sugar and have a bigger negative effect on the consumer. Chapter 7 had an example about comparing the numbers of bike theft. If the numbers were small then people won’t think of it as a big problem but if it was a big number like the thousands then it would seem more problematic. Statistics like I mention at first about the small number of bike theft from chapter 7 would not be as effective. If the numbers are too small then people won’t want to care about it or to take notice.

Self Evaluation #1

When I read that our speech topic is something we can choose I felt happy. I decided to choose something I really liked and already had knowledge of. In my head I thought, “Oh, this is going to be easy.”, but it wasn’t. Parts of the research were easy because I knew where to find the information but actually putting it on to my outline was hard. After turning in the outline and getting feedback I felt better, because I know what had to change on my speech. When speech day came I felt pretty confident because I had also practiced though out the week and got feedback from a friend. Even though I practiced and revised my outline though out the week, on the actual speech day I felt really nervous.

During the speech I felt nervous and thought I might forget parts of my speech, and I did. I looked at my not cards a few times to try and remind myself what I’m going to say next. When I was on my second body paragraph I saw the time card, panicked and thought I was running out of time so I skipped a whole section. Then at the end of the speech I remembered I had skipped a part of my main points and added it to the conclusion. I knew that I shouldn’t have done that but I ended up doing it anyway. If I had to do it over again I would organize my outline better and practice more. I found the researching easy but organizing the information is harder and to make it transition, so I plan to work on making my speech outline flow more smoothly.

In my video I noticed that I did held my note cards with both hands and let go one hand over and over, it was quite distracting. I also swung my arms back and forth like I didn’t care. When I was speaking, in my head I thought I projected normally and clearly, but when I got feedback from my peers most of them said speak louder and with more enthusiasms. In the video I could barely hear my own voice, it was really low and I had to be close to the screen in order to hear myself. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate my eye contact a 7. I felt that I made eye contact with everyone but I only glanced at some of them. During the speech I mentioned three citations.

The grade I would give myself would be C because I don’t think my speech went to smooth. Though out the week before the outline was due I had put it off and finished it near the end of the due date. I had the chance to fix it and I thought I felt better about it but only on the content I had. As for the speech itself, in the video I didn’t project myself very well. My voice was really soft, monotone and, I had no enthusiasm. I got through most of my main points but I didn’t do well projecting it.

Speech Buddy Chp 6

I felt that Matthew’s speech was really informative with a lot of trust worthy facts. The way he presented his information made him sound credible. When he made a mistake like pronouncing a word wrong, he just corrects himself. Throughout the whole speech he spoke at a good pace, not too fast or too slow. He also used transparences to show facts about his topic and nothing he didn’t have technophobia. Watching the videos showed me how fast I should be talking and I should go to the main points in my speeches. Following the outlines for the videos gave me a better idea of what to write on my note cards.

Interesting concept chapter 5

I read a passage about how people multitask a lot when they are doing things. Like how when someone is watching a small clip from the internet and at the same time they can be listening to music or texting on their phone. According to the book, people like rapid information but a speaker shouldn’t deliver their information the same way. The audience wants more than just bits of information and it’s up to the speaker to capture their attention. I recall back in high school during presentations and speeches, there were always people whispering to each other, texting, or even listening to their mp3s. It was rude of them but the speakers themselves were kind of boring and bland when they were presenting.

The importance of audience analysis and audience adaptation

The audience believes that the speaker is trustworthy when a speech is given. The speaker must show that they are trustworthy about their information and need the audience’s attention. The audiences will trust the speaker more if the speaker sounds like they know what they are talking about. It’s also a good to go to the speech place and check out the room to get an idea of where the speech is going to be held. I know that most of my audiences are my fellow classmates and that they all go to the same school attending the same class as me for the same reason. I can go on their blogs and read some of their posts to get a better idea of who they are. I also plan to go to the place where the speech will be held sometime next week before the speech is given.

Concept from chapter 6

I find it interesting how there are different ways to ask questions. Depending on how I ask a question can determine what kind of answer I receive. Chapter 6 mentioned neutral questions that are unbiased wanting direct answers and leading questions that are answers that I want. I’ve realized that we ask questions all the time but didn’t know that that there are different categories for them. The chapter also mentioned how questions should be neutral and opened ended. That reminded me of when I have to give an interview and my teacher said that we can’t have questions that are yes or no, and how the answer should be an explanation. I guess if it were to be a yes no thing it might as well be a survey.

Chapter 6 videos

A lot of the teachers always inform us how the library has a lot of useful resources. One of the videos also mentioned the same thing but they also mentioned about how librarians can be a great help and there are books on interviewing. I learned that I shouldn’t just use a few resources and should look for more and to make sure they are reliable. In the past I just used the internet for gathering information and didn’t even bother to check if the information came from a reliable source or not. Now I know that I need to do research on my research to make sure it’s fake.

Experiences with conducting research interviews

I remember that I had interviewed my boss’s son about his career for a homework assignment. He was a tax preparer who majored in economics. My purpose for interviewing him was to see what it was like to have a career in business because that’s what I wanted to major in. The interview went well, I got a lot of information but I think it could have gone better. I asked general questions like how and why he went into a business major, what are some benefits and any tips. I probably should have practiced the interview before doing it. When I asked him for the interview I was kind of nervous. An advice would be to write down all questions you might have for the interviewee, so when you are interviewing you won’t have to worry about forgetting a question or anything.

Speech Buddy Videos

In video 2.2 it mentioned about choosing a topic that you like, that would make it easier to talk about since it’s something you like. I think it makes sense that a speaker should be interested in the topic they’re going to give a speech about. I recall back in high school where everyone was forced with topic they didn’t care about and had to present it. On the day of presentation everyone just presented with no enthusiasm and it was just something everyone wanted to do it and get it over with. Jessica from the video looked really happy when she was giving the speech. Like the other videos mentioned using positive thinking and rejecting negative thoughts can help a person feel better about giving their speech. From the videos I learned that choosing topics you like will make it easier to talk about and using positive thinking.

One concept I found interesting in chapter 2

There are three methods to help ease nervousness when giving a speech. There are relaxation techniques to reduce symptoms of stress by breathing. Before giving speeches I’ve always took deep breaths but it only calms me down until I have to give the speech. I guess it takes more than breathing exercises to calm down nervousness. Relabeling is another way, where the speaker uses positive words instead of negative words to help them feel better about giving the speech. The third method is where visualization is used, imagining the speech going well will help the speaker see that the speech will go well and not bad. I think these methods will work if the speaker thinks that it will work with a positive look on it.

What makes you apprehensive about public speaking?

In chapter 2 it talked about illusion of transparency and how people believe that others are watching them closely even though they aren’t. I have the illusion of transparency and I get scared and nervous when I’m on the spot light about to give a speech. I’m also generally one of those quiet and shy people, sometimes I get nervous just talking to strangers. The book said practicing a lot will help the speaker gain more confidence. In the past I’ve never practice a lot for my speeches or presentations, the most was like 3 times afterward I just felt like I’m ready. Then on the day of presentation I start doubting myself and I lose confidence.

Introduction

Hello my name is Amy. I'm from San Francisco and have lived there since I was born until I came to SJSU. Its really nice in the San Jose area, to me it feels like everything kind of goes slower and people seem more easy going. I haven't done much public speaking in my life besides the occasional presentations for certain class projects in high school. The most recent presentation in front of a large group I have done lately was last semester, when I had to present with my group about a product that we're supposebly trying to sell. My goals for this class is to be able to deliver speaches effectively. A fear I want to definiety conquer is to not be so nervous when I give speeches, I tend to speak faster thinking I can get it over quickly. I look forward to working with everyone.