The Ideal of Speech

 Dear Class, 

The last few classes of so we have gone over the question, “What is speech”, now of course there are many components to this discussion. We get into the details of what makes or breaks a good speech. In the very first presentation we are introduced the idea of communication and how it’s possible to adapt your skills to your speech. Though, I felt as if the most important or effective thing was the idea of speech efficiency. It truly shows you that your audience is your sole source, the way they interpret or react to your ideas will be what really matters. 

Now, we are addressed with more ideas when it comes to our second presentation. After all, it just feeds into everything we’ve been covering. The most important thing I gathered from the second presentation is that organization is crucial, you must plan your outline accordingly, down to the last detail. Everything counts, of course not forgetting your information and research, making sure to fact check your sources. 

Lastly, we are coming down to the last two presentations I can say I love how the information was all brought together. We always seem to start our presentations off with nothing but good vibes. It feels more so like a conversation between a large scale group rather than a tough discussion. Santana usually brings in some major energy, which I feel is quite essential with our class starting so early. Making sure to hype up the audience or crowd before we are reeled into another discussion. 

In terms of audience, I feel as if we are pretty chill, no one usually is in a state of extreme discomfort or more so confusion is the word. We tend to always need our speech’s on rather great notes. I feel like another thing that’s amazing is the fact that we are all slowly realizing that’s speech is not as difficult as many make it out to be. During, situations like presentations we must stand in front of an enormous audience, and are expected to do our absolute best. Yet, in times like this we typically forget this is nothing but talking. There isn’t anything wrong with being nervous, though it is obvious that we as human tend to overthink even the smallest of things. We are becoming more and more confident in ourselves. More comfortable in our class. 

People tend to forget that the idea of speech is nothing but a concept, something that isn’t necessarily as big of an idea as it seems to be. Now, of course the speech itself is importance, though the contents of the acts itself don’t have to be so robotic. We are allowed to feel anxious and even scared when thinking about public speaking. I myself would say I’m a very talkative person, a motor mouth as some might even tell you. Though, I can state that I’ve never been the type to initiate a conversation, least not since I was in kindergarten. The issue is with public speaking for most people is once we go through puberty and reach a certain age we become overly sensitive to our image and self aware of everything around us. I’d like to think of this as a mental toll on the mind. I can state that in the past few classes this contestant volunteering or more so being called upon to speak, personally every class for me. It is a good thing, it helps one deal with self esteem. 

I didn’t exactly make it to the first groups presentation so, I can’t say much about it besides what I’ve seen in the videos. I feel like it’s a different feeling when you are apart of it, becoming completely immersed in the idea that is known to be speech. For example, I was there for the second group, and creating my first conclusion was a wreck. As I rewatch that video, I seem so nervous and robotic as stated before. It’s almost as if I’m completely unprepared. This goes into the idea of organizing your outline, I had prepared previously beforehand. A good example of the nervous body language that is brought up in the third presentation is my constant need to move my body around to feel a sense of balance and control when I’m being put on the spot. I feel as if all of these things I’ve mentioned are quite common when it comes to human behavior especially when they are under the stress of the spotlight. 

Though, I can’t just speak for myself when I state that improvement as stated in last presentation or the fourth of many, that practice does make perfect. Once we’ve reached the last of many, there is a subtle shift in how things are going. I feel as if the members of group four, were more easy going due to watching everyone else go over their  presentations. It has become an almost laid back atmosphere. Which I’m quite pleased with, it shows how far we’ve come not just in groups but as a class. 

It’s easy to say we have come a long way due to being so familiar with all of these groups now. Being project manager has allowed me to hold myself accountable in multiple situations. Like how I failed to manage a good time schedule at first and missed the entire first presentation. Though, it would seem I got it together quite  fast if I do say so myself. I have become immensely involved in all of these groups allowing me to learn more information as time goes by, knowing I do in fact have to have a key element to speech which would be communication in these situations. When I speak to Santana, to organize certain things to gather a better sense of control over issues or when I’m trying to help organizations group meetings to practice our presentations. Skills like this are quite effective and valuable. In addition, I have also took the time to evaluate my appearance before presenting during class. 

In this time, I have began to notice how I use a lot of skills that I learned during our class discussions. Furthermore, incorporating these techniques and concepts into my daily routine to improve my skills when it comes to daily usage of them.