stuck in a moment

Informative Speeches - Day 3

2006-03-02T22:18:00.000-08:00

With the informative speeches now at an end, I have the advantage of retrospect. Compared to the other speeches in the class, I don't think that my speech was as bad as I had initially thought it was. Of all of the speeches on Wednesday, I thought that Tiffany's was the best. Although she talked for more than the alloted amount of time, I though she was the best prepared and brought in visual aids that greatly emphasized and added to the speech. On a technical level, I thought she spoke well, and as a listener, I thought that her topic of choie, the history of Nintendo, was unique. I never thought anyone could actually give a legitimate speech on Nintendo, but Tiffany pulled it off well. On the whole, I thought that the informative speeches went well and accomplished their goals of spreading information.

Informative Speech Self-Criticism

2006-02-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

On the whole, I think that my informative speech went well. I think I was well prepared for it, and I recieved mostly positive feedback on my visual aids. I did think, however, that the organization and structure of the speech needed improvement. I thought that I veered off on tangents at points, and I lost the overall focus of the speech sometimes. I think that I had ethos and logos appeal, and my credibily statement was legitimate. I was happy to find, however, that I was able to keep the attention of the audience. Going in, I was worried that I would lose the interest of the audience with such a serious and dry topic. After listening to the speech on Peewee Herman, I thought of changing my topic to something more entertaining, but I decided against it at the last moment. I feel that my delivery was good and that I now know to concentate on organization in the future. On the whole, however, I think that I gave a good informative speech.

Informative Speech Criticisms - Day 1

2006-02-26T15:54:00.000-08:00

The first day of informative speeches turned out better than I had expected. Going into the speeches, and especially when I wrote mine, I had an idea of what the informative speeches would be like, but they initially seemed like narrative speeches with research. Of all of the speeches, I liked the one about Peewee Herman the best because it was funny, and it presented information about him that I didn't know before. I am doing my speech on the Newark race riots, so it will be hard to make it humourous like Kevin's, but I think that in order to make it a memorable speech, I have to concentrate on delivery. I think the strongest aspect of Kevin's Peewee speech is that he concentarted on the parts that would keep the audience's attention. There were many different parts of Peewee's story that he could have concentarted on, but he chose those that would keep the audience entertained and informed, not just informed.

Self Criticism

2006-02-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

I feel that my first speech, although slightly flawed, went pretty well. I think that I could have varied my sentance structure more and changed the tone of my voice througout my speech. In addition, I used filler words, such as "um" and "er" too much. Additionally, I was told that I corrected my sentances too much, although I do not remember doing so. On the positive side, I think that I put a lot of personality into my speech and persuaded the audience that this issue is near and dear to my heart, and that they should empathize with the issue. After the speech, I got some positive feedback about the speech, especially regarding how I moved the audience to empathize with my cause. Therefore, I think that my ethos appeal was my strongest attribute to my speech. In the future, I hope to better control my filler words and to add more sentance vairety and tone to my speeches.

Reaction to 1st Day's Narrative Speeches

2006-02-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

After listening to the first day's narrative speeches, I now have a better understanding of what to expect and prepare for on Monday when I give my speech. Of the speeches on Friday, I think that the most influential one was the one about the friend who got pregnant at 20 years old. Firstly, the rhector told the speech well and in a way that captivated the audience on an emotional level (a pathos appeal). I could relate to some of the situations that she described to events in my life, specifically, recent events. Secondly, she told the story in a way where she seperated herself from the story, but kept emotional ties and added her own personal insights into the story. At one point, she broke down when telling the story, and although it broke the flow, it validated her ties to it. On the whole, I will be hoping to emulate the narrative structure of that story for my speech on Monday.

Rhetoical Problems

2006-02-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

With my narrative speech approaching on Monday, there are various rhetorical issues that I have to be concerned about. Firstly, I have to worry about whether or not I can get my audience emotionally involved in my story. I will be discussing about a boy's death, but I have to convey the idea in a very specific way to be effective. Additionally, I have to be concerned about finding a moral for my story. The story I am telling about is true and moving, but finding a concrete, persuasive moral is going to be difficult. Finally, I have to be concerned about telling all of the facts of the story. Even today, the facts get jumbled in my head, so I have to practice beforehand to make sure that I tell the story correctly. Otherwise, I feel confident about my narrative speech on Monday the 13th.

Origins

2006-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

Personally, speech communication is a cornerstone of an effective society and the advancement of the individual. Preforming speeches is at many times overrated and taken for granted, but it is most definatley an art form. By the end of this class, I hope to be more efficient at making effective speeches and learning the origins and techniques of influential rhetoric delivery. I feel that my writign is profficient at this point in my academic career, but I still have not mastered the art of speech communication. I forsee the knowledge I gain in this class as tools that I will come to use throughout my academic and personal endevours.