Journal #1:
An important takeaway from chapter one would be the life skills acquired by learning how to become a public speaker. Even if one’s chosen career does not require speaking publicly to a large audience, the advantages acquired by learning how to speak effectively to a crowd will translate well into other aspects of life. There are many components of public speaking that can also be used in many other classes; such as being able to “research and write about topics, analyze audiences, outline and organize ideas, and support claims” (3). It is necessary to see the versatility of the skills acquired in a public speaking course because the knowledge gained can be applicable to any and all facets of life.
Another important takeaway from the first chapter would be how timeless the art of public speaking has become. Even with the creation of new technology for presentations, “the speechmaking structure they [the founding scholars] bequeathed to us as the canons of rhetoric remains remarkably intact” (5). It is astonishing to know that ancient Greek and Roman teachers have created a structure for speeches that still holds true over one thousand years later; even through the creation and destruction of countless new devices, the basic components of a speech survive unaltered.
Journal #2
Throughout my senior year of high school, every student in my AP Biology class was required to give chapter presentations once every few weeks. These presentations would be a minimum of 50 slides to a maximum of 120 slides and there were no words allowed on the slides, only pictures. These presentations could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 25 minutes and they were extremely nerve wracking. Although it was mandatory for every student to complete these presentations, one couldn’t help but feel hopeless and alone while standing in front of a group of teenagers, preparing to talk science at them for 20 uninterrupted minutes.
My first presentation did not go as planned. I rambled on in front of the class for more than 25 minutes, stumbling over words and phrases I never had trouble with before. I knew I would receive a below satisfactory grade. I knew the mistake I made. I knew I had not practiced enough. In the class beforehand, I ran through my presentation once like an utter fool and my grade reflected as such. I decided I would never be so unprepared again. From that point on, I made sure to practice my presentation at least ten times before the big day. However, I discovered that it did not help to practice ten times in a row, I needed to space it out over a couple of days or else I would keep making the same mistakes repeatedly. What I discovered was that practice makes perfect, but practice also takes time; if I want to be successful at what I practice, I need to practice until there is nothing left to fail.
Journal #3
I believe that overall, my speech went quite well. I believe the speech was delivered in an efficient and effective manner; I think I spoke at a loud enough volume to be heard out back and I also think I spoke at a good pace, not too fast or too slow. However, I do believe that I could have had a bit more eye contact with the audience, I was just a little more nervous than expected so I was unable to maintain steady eye contact for a while. Though, I do hope that during my next speech I won’t be so self conscious and I will be able to maintain better eye contact with the audience.
I believe I engaged with the audience quite well and managed to make the speech seem more personal by sharing an embarrassing story. I also believe I took a little bit of tension out of the air by making light of the cringeworthy moments in my speech. Another thing is that I think it helped to be telling a story in my speech because I believe it made the speech flow better and it gave me a topic to focus on so I wouldn’t go off on tangents or forget what was coming up next in my speech.
Looking back I believe I did the best I could have at the time, but I know I can do better, after all, this was only the first speech.
Journal #4
I found that chapter 11 really emphasized the importance of a well-balanced speech outline and the necessity of transitioning words, phrases, and sentences. When the book mentions well-balanced outlines, they are not referring to the outline’s ability to stand on one foot, they are referring to the coherence, unity, and organization of the outline. The outline should be set up in a way that allows each main point to have supporting points with evidence to back up what was said and the points should flow directly from one to another without seeming scattered about. The points should also hold equal importance to one another — main points should be about the same length as other main points like supporting points should be about the same length as other supporting points — to help the audience members pay equal attention to the topics by not having one point drag on longer than the next. Transitioning words, phrases and sentences are also necessary to help the balance of a speech as they allow the speaker to flow seamlessly from one topic to the next. Transitions help the speaker to not jump to the next point because the transitions connect points and bring ideas together in a fluid manner.
Chapter 12 was really focused on the various organizational patterns for different types of speeches. These organizational patterns are used to make the speeches purposes’ have the most impact on the audience. Said organizational patterns include the chronological pattern, spatial pattern, causal pattern, problem-solution pattern, topical pattern, and the narrative pattern. The chronological pattern is simply a pattern set up around the chronological order, it sets up the speech to give all information in the order of which it occurred. The spatial pattern sets the speech up around the physical arrangement of the topic being discussed, which allows the speech to go in order of which point is closest in proximity to the last and orders like such. The causal pattern is used for speeches that talk about cause-effect relationships; it allows the speaker to discuss one cause that can have multiple effects or multiple effects that can result from one cause. The problem-solution pattern allows speakers to discuss the significance of a problem and then give a solution to said problem. The topical pattern is mostly used when the main points are of equal importance to one another so it is not essential that the points be in any particular order. Lastly, the narrative pattern is used for giving speeches that tell stories; the speech can either be one story or multiple stories that have all of the components of a speech, just given in a more audience-friendly manner. It is also important to note that these patterns can be used hand in hand with one another, meaning that the main points of a speech can use a topical pattern whereas the supporting points can use a chronological pattern, and vice versa.
Journal #5
My next steps will be to revise my main points as I have already completed those. They each have 3 sub points and each sub point has 2 sub-sub points. I will be working on making sure all of those points flow together nicely and one doesn’t drag on longer than the next. I will also try to work on any grammatical errors that might impede the delivery of my speech. After revising I will need to work on my introduction to my main points, I cannot just start off by telling people that dough should not be airy as they will have no context to what I am talking about. My introduction won’t be too long, maybe 3-5 sentences and it will just be about my topic of discussion and why I am qualified to give such a speech. The writing of my conclusion will follow the writing of my introduction and I will try to neatly tie together all of the ideas that I presented into one little spiel. I will try to keep my conclusion short and to the point so my words are able to stick with the crowd more. After finishing the writing of my introduction and conclusion I will revise those as well and try to fix any grammatical errors. Lastly, I will go through my speech multiple times a day until the day of the speech. I will start by going through the main points and I will eventually get to practicing the introduction and conclusion with the main points.
Journal #6
For the most part, chapter 13 really focused on the different types of outlines you should have prepared. In general, there are two that you should have, a working outline and a speaking outline. The working outline is what contains everything you want to discuss in your speech, it features all of the evidence and research you acquired for the speech and has all of the main points as well as sub-points. The speaking outline adds cues to each point so you have an idea of how to deliver that portion of the speech to the audience. Some cues include transition, slow down, pause, and stuff like that. The outlines can be organized in a few ways, there is the sentence format, phrase format, and a key word format. The formats each use fewer words because the more familiar one is with their speech, the less of a cue they will need to keep them on track while giving the speech. The formats are fairly simple, the sentence format has everything explicitly stated for each point, the phrase format is less specific and uses less words for every point, while the key word format just uses one or two words per point made.
Journal #7:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWwEF-o7WQE&feature=youtu.be
Journal #8
I believe my 2 dry runs went okay, but my delivery needs to improve for the actual speech. I think my volume was loud enough to be heard and I believe I spoke at a decent pace, however, I need to work on eye contact, reading from the paper less, and being less monotone. My eye contact was poor for both of my dry runs, I failed to look around much and I believe keeping steady eye contact with the audience will help to improve the delivery of my speech. I also read from my paper a lot as well which is not okay, it shows that I am not as prepared as I can be and if I want to do my best while giving my speech, I will need to have my speech memorized more. My voice was also quite monotone and I didn’t give the audience much to listen to, it was quite boring in that regard and I will need to work on “jazzing up” my delivery if I want to really engage the audience. Also, I believe that doing these dry runs in class really helped for preparation because it gave me a chance to try and get some of my nervous jitters out before the actual day and allowed me to practice in front of an unbiased group of people.
Journal #9:
I believe that overall my speech went quite well. Particularly, I believe I did a good job with eye contact, projection, not reading from my paper and organization, while I believe I could have worked on my pace which I think might have been a bit too fast. I believe my eye contact was good because I scanned the audience and looked at the parts of the pizza I was discussing as often as possible. I believe my projection was loud enough to be heard in the back but not too loud to make the audience think I was yelling. I believe that I read from my paper as little as possible and only glanced down at it a few times to assure myself of what I would be discussing next. I also believe my organization was quite solid because I had the two most important points at the beginning and end where people pay the most attention while I had the less important point in the middle of the speech. Another thing with the organization is that I had 3 sub-points for every main point and 2 sub-sub-points for every sub-point so no point dragged on longer or had more information than another, they were all equal. Lastly, I believe that I could have worked on the pace at which I delivered my speech because I think I spoke too quickly so if you stopped paying attention for only a short time you would have missed a bit of information.
Journal #10:
A really good public speaker that I have spent a lot of time with over these past few days would have to be my manager, Andrew Maloney. His body language exudes confidence when he is talking to people: he stands up-right, directs his body towards the person he is speaking to, and relaxes so he doesn’t appear tense. This body language improves his public speaking because it shows his focus on the conversation and allows the customers to remain comfortable. His eye contact is also very heavy which helps to keep the customers’ attention when he is speaking with them. His word choice is also very positive, he tries to eliminate the use of any negative words so the customers don’t misconstrue any statements to think he is “talking down” at them. His pace is very slow and consistent which helps the customers focus on what he is saying without missing anything. Lastly, his performance under pressure is quite graceful, he never “loses his cool” when speaking with customers, no matter how difficult they can be, which allows him to appear very calm and collected. This ability to always appear graceful really helps because the customers never feel threatened or in the wrong, they always feel relaxed and reassured.
Journal #11:
Chapter 25 was about a specific type of speech, a special occasion speech, which unbeknownst to me, has multiple different variants of itself. There is the introduction speech, the acceptance speech, the presentation speech, the roast, the toast, the eulogy/tribute speech, the after-dinner speech, and the inspirational speech. The main purpose of the special occasion speech is to acknowledge a specific occasion and base the speech off of the occasion itself. It isn’t quite that simple, however, for the different types of special occasion speeches call for different acknowledgments. The introduction speech is supposed to be short and sweet while preparing and motivating the audience for what is to come next. The acceptance speech should convey a feeling of gratitude towards the award as well as those who helped you along the way and it should indicate what the award means to you. The presentational speech should reveal the significance of the award and the person receiving the award. The roast should be brief and comedic, full of light-hearted jokes (that are about the guest of honor) that keep the room positive. The toast is very similar, but it is less joke based and more of a tribute; it still remains brief and comedic, though. A eulogy or tribute speech should be commemorative and positive, focusing on the highlights and good memories to help celebrate what once was. The after-dinner speech is a short speech that acknowledges the occasion in a serious manner but keeps the room light-hearted, as well. Lastly, the inspirational speech has a goal of shining a positive light on a subject by connecting to the audience members’ emotions and lifting their spirits.
Journal #12:
As my speech currently sits, it is a commemorative speech, specifically a commemorative speech about my father that goes over the three traits he passed on to me that help make him one of the most important people in the world to me. I believe my speech does a good job commemorating my fathers strong work ethic, love for God, and loyalty to his family. I really like how I have explained my father’s work ethic because I believe I did a good job weaving in my main example into the story. I also believe my introduction is quite solid. It is nice and concise, giving you all of the information you need while remaining short. I do believe that I need to tweak my commemoration of my dads love for God and Loyalty to his family, it isn’t that they don’t get my ideas across, it’s that I might be able to make some changes that can improve the quality of the explanation. I also need to work on my conclusion, I always struggle to write conclusions because tying everything together in a meaningful way takes a lot of time, and time is one thing I do not have enough of.
Journal #13:
Overall I am not too worried about the dry runs, I am now quite confident in the content of my speech as well as other aspects of it, but I do have some things that I am nervous about. I am confident in my content because I believe it expresses clearly how important my father is to me and how much of an impact he made on my life. I am also proud of the examples that I used because I have come to realize how much these moments affected me since finishing up my speech and I believe they are some of the best examples of how my dad has impacted my life. One last thing that I am proud of is my introduction because I believe I introduced the topic of my speech concisely and with minimal unnecessary words. I am quite nervous about my eye contact though because I have a tendency to forget to look at my audience. I am also nervous about my memorization because I know that I can have it committed to memory better, I just need to practice more. The last thing that I am nervous about is my conclusion because I think I can add one more sentence at the end to wrap up my speech in a more suitable fashion.
Journal #14:
After some helpful critiques, I have learned that my speech is quite dense. I was oblivious to this before as I wrote the speech so I knew what to expect next, but after giving it some thought, my speech is mostly one big block of text that seems to ramble on over and over. Especially after re-watching my dry runs I notice how long and tedious my speech seems. This robot-like manner that I give me speech in can be fixed though, it will just require some spitballing. The best way to get rid of a speech that seems simulated is to do the exact opposite, give it on a whim. My examples came from the heart so my speech should too if I want it to sound genuine. The speech won’t necessarily be given all willy-nilly though, if I want to incorporate all of the information about my father, I will need to have some key points written down to keep me on track. My main points of dialogue shouldn’t come from a piece of paper, though, if this person if that important to me then I should be able to commemorate them without a scripted speech.
Journal #15:
Looking back on my speech, I believe it was of a better quality than my previous speeches. I used a lot more eye contact, I was still fast paced but much less so than before, and I also spoke in less of a robot manner and more like a human. I was able to use more eye contact because I practiced looking around a lot while going over my speeches to prepare me to use more eye contact while delivering my speech. I spoke at a slower pace because I practiced my speech as slow as I could since I knew that on the actual day of my speech I would be nervous and speak faster than planned. I was able to speak more like a human in this speech and less like a robot because I practiced giving my speech from the heart – I had a few phrases on my paper to keep me on track but everything I said was sincere and not read from a sheet of paper. Overall, I still need to improve my pace and the monotony in my voice. My pace is still too fast for an ideal speech and my voice is still too monotonous. I can improve my pace by practicing in more nerve-wracking situations and I can decrease the amount of monotony in my voice by becoming more passionate during my speech.
Journal #16:
I haven’t necessarily put the pen to the paper yet, except what we did in class since I have been working all weekend. However, I have been putting a lot of thought into what we could potentially incorporate into the talk show. I would really like to add into the talk show a way to express the limitless opportunities that there are for jobs in the pharmaceutical industry. I would really like to express this because it is one of the main reasons why I am studying to become a pharmacist, today. Throughout my Careers In Pharmacy class, we have had several people come in to discuss what they do in pharmacy. There have been ambulatory care workers, pharmaceutical researchers, pharmacists in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, and many more, but one thing quite notable about every single one of these pharmacists is that, while they worked in all of those various sections of pharmacy, they were all united by the fact that they could teach. It is completely mind-boggling that these people can go from working and trying to save peoples lives and then the next day they are molding the young minds of the next generation. Being a pharmacist is such a unique job to have and I would love to be able to express that. I was thinking that, potentially, these various careers could all be grouped into a game of sorts for the talkshow. It could be like a matching type card game that matches the job description with the job title.
Journal #17:
Overall I think our dry dry run went quite well. We addressed everything that we wanted to speak about and how we would be doing so. I think we have a pretty neat idea of having the audience members “send in” questions they would like to ask us, almost like a real talk show, except we get to create the questions so we can make sure we discuss all of the points we want to cover. I also really like our game idea because it allows us to incorporate some of the common drugs we will be working with in the pharmaceutical industry into our presentation and we can also go over the common reasons for use and side effects that come alongside them. I think that while recording though, we need to set up a better game plan for how we will transition from the questions to the game part of the show because right now we aren’t 100% sure on how to do it but we have ideas. One more thing we might rethink before shooting is the order of the questions, we have an outline of how they will go but if we don’t check all possible options we won’t know if there is a better order for the questions. Generally speaking, though, I think we are well equipped for the upcoming recording, especially given that this was only the dry dry run.
Journal #18:
I believe our Dry Run was quite successful. Overall, there weren’t too many hiccups but there is some stuff that can be worked on. Specifically, with myself, I think I need to speak more clearly and louder in case the microphone is not near me so the viewers will be able to hear and understand what I am saying without any problems. I also think I could stand to be less monotonous because if I want the audience to be interested in what I am talking about I need to act as if I am interested as well. One other potential fix could be making the game seem more realistic instead of just having it seem like all of the answers are right there in front of us. Overall, though, I believe we did quite a decent job with our Dry Run. We didn’t forget any part of the talk show, which is good. We also didn’t go directly off of the script, we spoke mostly from the heart with a few keywords written down to give us some wiggle room for error in the talk show. I also think we did a good job making it seem like an actual talk show – we incorporated something about “next weeks show,” we made it seem like myself and Kenzie were guests on the show, we created a game for the show and of course, we answered questions too.
Journal #19:
Overall, I believe our speech went quite well. We were very organized and had prepped a lot for the speech. We all knew our lines and there were only some minor speed bumps in the road. I also believe that we had the talk show segmented out quite nicely, with the short little introductions from each of us that lead into the game and then into the question portion of the show. I also believe the game was pretty neat, incorporating the common drugs into the talk show with short little descriptions each. I thought that it was clever, too, how I could get bonus points on my next quiz for being able to tell the name of the drug (skittle) in front of me. I believe our questions were quite important questions as well. With them, we hinted at some reasons why pharmacy is really interesting and we also went over what to potentially do if you don’t get into pharmacy school, which is something I know I never thought about so that was an eye-opener for me. I do believe that I sounded a bit monotonous when I was speaking but I believe I made up for it with good eye contact with the audience (camera).
Journal #20:
Final Journal:
I would like to say thank you to everybody in the class. Delivering those speeches was difficult but we did it. I never thought I would have to stand in front of an audience so much in my life but I am grateful for it all. This class taught us a lot of valuable life lessons – how to manage stressful situations, how to calm your nerves, how to work under pressure and anxiety, the whole works, and I am forever thankful! I would like to give a special thank you to Peta-Gaye for working with me on the podcasts, we killed them! I would also like to give a special thank you to the members of In Our Element, Hailey and Kenzie, we worked really hard on that project and our effort shows! Also, of course, I would like to give the most special thank you to our professor, Jesse, who helped guide us through a difficult course and made it fun as well as interesting along the way! Good luck to you all, go get those PharmD’s!
