For Use in the Future
Public speaking is such a routine part of our lives, that at times we forget how important it is to pay careful attention to exactly what it is we are saying. When we aren't making prepared speeches in front of the classroom, we may be speaking publicly amongst friends, in the workplace, or even with our families at home. Wherever we may be and whomever we may be conversing with, one thing is for sure: it is vital to communicate clearly.
One of the best things taught in this class was a breakdown of the different components that make up a proper speech. Whether the speech was a demonstrative one or an informative one, the basic parts of the speech were pretty similar. For example all intros included an attention-getter, a thesis, a statement of the main points, and a credibility establisher. Sometimes in other courses, it helps in comprehending broad major concepts when they are broken down into smaller bits of information. Similarly, if you take your speech, and break it down into separate parts it helps by not only making it easier to coherently organize the speech but also by forming a checklist of things that need to be included in it. And when I say breaking down, I am not referring a general breaking into intro/body/conclusion method. That's the format of any generic outline. I like the finer breakdown of components.
Labeling all the different parts of a speech helps strength our speeches organizationally too. This is one of the main reasons I like completing outlines. They serve as a list of things I need to write in my speech, and they help me get an overall picture of how clear and organized my thoughts really are. I'll definitely continue using the lingo to identify the different parts of my speech. If anything it'll make my speech-creating abilities stronger and make me more confident in writing and making speeches in the future.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Discussion #2 - 12/7
Most Helpful Concept
I thought that the most helpful concept taught in this class was the section on different outline patterns. I hadn't known about the different formats that could exist (topical, spatial, problem/cause etc) and found them extremely useful throughout this semester. The main reason for this was because the outline really allowed me to create speeches with good structure. I've always used outlines for everything. They help get my thoughts organized and in front of me so that I can restructure them as I see fit. Having specific types of outlines helped me by further organizing my thoughts so that all I had to do was fit my researched info onto a template. As long as the speech information was placed in the correct part of the template, my speech would be coherently organized. I will probably use these outlines again, and not just for speeches but also for papers that I may write. Having a specific outline is a great idea because it ensures that I will have clearly formatted info.
Another concept I found very helpful was the list of fallacies that were covered towards the end of the book. I think in order to avoid certain problems, it is sometimes better to be AWARE of them in the first place. Many of the fallacies that I learned about were things that I had knowingly and unknowingly done in past arguments/discussions. My husband sometimes says I'm making an irrational argument, and I used to always think he was making a crack about my intellectual ability. However, after reading about fallacies, it was an eye-opener to see that there can be such a thing as a completely irrational argument. I intend on keeping track of how rational my arguments are in the future, now that I know there is a list of fallacies.
I thought that the most helpful concept taught in this class was the section on different outline patterns. I hadn't known about the different formats that could exist (topical, spatial, problem/cause etc) and found them extremely useful throughout this semester. The main reason for this was because the outline really allowed me to create speeches with good structure. I've always used outlines for everything. They help get my thoughts organized and in front of me so that I can restructure them as I see fit. Having specific types of outlines helped me by further organizing my thoughts so that all I had to do was fit my researched info onto a template. As long as the speech information was placed in the correct part of the template, my speech would be coherently organized. I will probably use these outlines again, and not just for speeches but also for papers that I may write. Having a specific outline is a great idea because it ensures that I will have clearly formatted info.
Another concept I found very helpful was the list of fallacies that were covered towards the end of the book. I think in order to avoid certain problems, it is sometimes better to be AWARE of them in the first place. Many of the fallacies that I learned about were things that I had knowingly and unknowingly done in past arguments/discussions. My husband sometimes says I'm making an irrational argument, and I used to always think he was making a crack about my intellectual ability. However, after reading about fallacies, it was an eye-opener to see that there can be such a thing as a completely irrational argument. I intend on keeping track of how rational my arguments are in the future, now that I know there is a list of fallacies.
Discussion #1 - 12/7
Favorite Speech
My favorite speech was the demonstrative speech. I had never done a demonstrative speech before so it was a lot of fun speaking and demonstrating at the same time. I did my demonstrative speech on how to make Guacamole. I found the speech to be challenging too because it was tough getting the hang of doing two things at once. When I was practicing, I found that either I got sucked into demonstrating and stopped speaking, or I focused to much on speaking and messed up on the demo part. However, since I did my speech on preparing a food item, I was able to get a taste of what it feels like to be a TV chef (one of my secret desires). I learned that practicing multiple times is the only thing that can help in making an effective demonstrative speech. Also, in order to be successful at doing two things at once, you need to know your speech backwards and forwards. I had a simple enough topic so it wasn't hard memorizing the facts. I just had to know the different steps that go into making a traditional Guacamole. And since cooking is one of my passions, that part wasn't very hard. Overall, the speech was a lot of fun to prepare, and to watch!
My favorite speech was the demonstrative speech. I had never done a demonstrative speech before so it was a lot of fun speaking and demonstrating at the same time. I did my demonstrative speech on how to make Guacamole. I found the speech to be challenging too because it was tough getting the hang of doing two things at once. When I was practicing, I found that either I got sucked into demonstrating and stopped speaking, or I focused to much on speaking and messed up on the demo part. However, since I did my speech on preparing a food item, I was able to get a taste of what it feels like to be a TV chef (one of my secret desires). I learned that practicing multiple times is the only thing that can help in making an effective demonstrative speech. Also, in order to be successful at doing two things at once, you need to know your speech backwards and forwards. I had a simple enough topic so it wasn't hard memorizing the facts. I just had to know the different steps that go into making a traditional Guacamole. And since cooking is one of my passions, that part wasn't very hard. Overall, the speech was a lot of fun to prepare, and to watch!
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