Week of 10/12-18: Question 1

The Speech Buddy video for Chapter 9.2 I found to be helpful after watching. This video covered the conclusion of a speech, an area that was not one of my strong points during the first speech. Within the first 15 seconds of the video, I found I was guilty of not thoroughly developing my conclusion just as the video had stated. The video gave a good recap of the chapter section and then ended with two good examples of conclusions which I found helpful. I plan to make sure to address everything the video stated in my conclusion for the upcoming speech and that should help me quite a bit in improving.

Week of 10/5-11: Question 3

After reading chapters 7 and 8, I found that one of the most useful concepts in the reading was the section on transitions in chapter 8. The chart on page 209 was extremely helpful because it has the different types of transitions used, the special words or phrases, and examples of usage. I think I found this helpful just because of all the transition words they have listed. If I was to try and think of transition words to use in a speech without this table, I would not come close to thinking of all those words. I plan to use this chart as I plan out the next speech to help with the overall flow.

Week of 10/5-11: Question 2

I think facts can be effective in a speech where you have to inform or persuade someone on a matter. You use the facts to help support your topics and make yourself look more knowledgeable on the topic and help back up your topic. I believe statistics are the same way, to reinforce and support an idea or topic. I think one of the most effective uses of facts or statistics is when you use them to grab the attention of the audience in the beginning of the speech. You normally try to find a fact or statistic that is not commonly known, but has significant meaning to try and capture the audience. If successful, most of the audience doesn’t forget that fact or statistic because that’s what you used to grab their attention. These are not as effective in things like demonstrative speeches where you don’t need so many facts and statistics to verbally support your demonstration. I believe they can also be not as effective when given in too much of a dosage. Once that happens, the audience gets lost in those, and concentrate less on what you are trying to say.

Week of 10/5-11: Question 1

After watching the 4 Speech Buddy videos, I found the video on information credibility and the video on transitions very helpful for my next speech. The video on media credibility was helpful to remind me to pick a variety of sources for my speech that are credible so that I am better prepared for my speech topic. Since there is going to be a lot of information out there on my topic, knowing how to differentiate from all the difference sources of information will help. The video on transitions was the most helpful because it got me thinking of a couple different ways I can structure my next speech. The six different types of transitions give me a good selection to choose from when I start to outline the speech.

Week 4: Question 3

One concept from Chapter 5 that I found pretty interesting and possibly useful later on, was using a questionnaire for audience research. I did not realize that people use survey forms to find out more about their audience before they speak to them. While I probably will not get a chance to use this concept in the first speech, I think it was just interesting overall because its one of those no-brainer tools you can use to learn more about a group of people, but I would have never thought to use it in this application. The tips about using close ended questions in your survey to gather demographic information was also helpful because its more of a surefire way to get defined answers.

Week 4: Question 2

After reading Chapter 5, I believe that audience analysis and adaptation are important because they help make the speech more effective when the audience is engaged in what the speaker is talking about and when the speaker can comfortably convey their thoughts. Audience analysis is about knowing who you are speaking to and if your speech was better suited for another crowd, your audience won’t be very receptive to what you are saying. Adaptation is also related to this since audience adaptation is about changing what you are presenting on the fly to best fit your audience. If you mention an idea that gets the majority of the crowd to give a displeasing face, then you know from then on to try and avoid that idea. I think that understanding who you will be talking to, and reacting to how they react to you, will help create an audience centered speech.

Week 4: Question 1

After watching the Speech Buddy “Drinking” and “Light Pollution” videos, I found things I thought both speakers did well and things that I could benefit from. In the “Drinking” video, I really think Matthew did a great job using a shock and awe method to start his speech. The fact he stepped away from the podium to vomit caught my attention immediately because it is something you wouldn’t image seeing in a speech. From then on, he had my attention and could keep presenting facts on drinking. In Courtney’s “Light Pollution” speech, I thought she did a very good job at opening her speech up with a short overview addressing all the points she would be covering in the following eight to ten minutes. The things I learned from both of these videos would be to try and incorporate a few “out of the box” tools to try and captivate and engage my audience. I also learned that when giving a long speech, an overview of your speech can be given in about half a minute that gives the audience an idea of what they will be listening to.

Week 3: Question 2

One concept from the reading that I found interesting was in Chapter 3 where the book went over the “Characteristics of Listening”. I really liked how the book broke up the task of listening to a speech into 7 aspects. I thought that it was pretty interesting to read about the aspects that make up listening that we practice without even knowing it. The most enjoyable characteristic of listening to read about was it being thought of as a dynamic process. I thought it was pretty neat to read about how it is a good thing to be tired after listening to speeches because that means I’m listening to the speeches correctly!

Week 3: Question 3

For my demonstrative speech, I will be giving a speech about how to tie neckwear, and in particular, ties. I have been researching the many different types of knots used to tie a tie. Before doing research on my topic, I was only familiar with two different style knots that I use commonly, but I have found that there are a few more that are worth knowing as well. Each style of knot will be a main point in my speech. I plan to first give a overview of the many different ways to tie a tie, and then move into explaining about what knots are commonly used in certain places. For a visual aid, I plan to wear a collared shirt on the day of the presentation and demonstrate on myself, but I also plan to have computer displayed visuals showing the motions because it could be hard to see what I am doing up front.

Week 3: Question 1

The last time I had to conduct a research interview was in my senior year of high school. The topic of my research was the effects of stress on teens, and I had to interview one doctor as well as the high school’s psychologist. I believe that both interviews I had went generally well. I asked fairly open ended questions where I would get more then a “yes” or “no” answer, and with those questions the interviewees could really open up and speak their mind about the question giving me more information. The thing that I wish I would have done both times was to tape record the interview. I tried to take notes using a pen and pad and I quickly found that the interviewees had more to say then I could keep up with. I remember having to sit down after the interview and go back though my notes trying to patch holes so that I had most of the main points down. If I had used a tape recorded, I could have probably spent less time trying to recall and remember facts.

When conducting another research interview, my 2 cents of advise would be to generate open ended questions where you don’t box the interviewee into a simple “yes” or “no”, forcing you to move onto the next interview question. I believe that when they can talk for at least a minute trying to answer the question, you get much more information out of it. And last but not lease, ask to see if you can record the conversation…it saves the hand!

Week 2: Question 2

I really liked watching the Speech Buddy videos. The 2 videos from the WATCH It series can really help to freshen up the book readings a day or two after I’ve read them. Since they are short, it was really easy to get through and the videos get straight to the point. The bullet points at the beginning of the Speech Buddy videos were also really helpful as well because they were basically like a Powerpoint slide outlining things like visualization, relabeling, relaxing and ways to overcome fear of speaking.

The Intro Jessica video was also great because of the way Jessica tied everything together in her speech. Before I watched the video, I read the short description of the video which gave me an idea of what her speech would be about, and then while watching the video, I could really concentrate on how she integrated everything into a fairly short speech.

Week 2: Question 3

One of the most useful concepts I pulled out of Chapter 4 was the information on how to brainstorm on possible speech topics. I know that when I tried to pick a topic for the demonstrative speech earlier, I really struggled with what I could talk on as well as demonstrate.

I really like how the section on “Brainstorming from Possible Topics” has so many examples of ways to find a topic. The book lists things like taking a new route to a friend’s place, listening to new music, or just spending time in a different hang out spot, even if that’s a new coffee shop. I would have personally never thought of those things, and when I need to come up with a speech topic, instead of going outside and doing different things, I sit at my desk, trying to rack my brain for a topic.

The 3rd paragraph really helped me pick my demonstrative speech topic. After reading it, I realized that the best demonstrative speech topic would be something that I’m very familiar with, something I could execute rather quickly, all while being informative. I decided that a speech on how to tie a tie would be good because I go through that routine practically every day I go to work.

Week 2: Question 1

What makes you apprehensive about public speaking?

I believe that biggest thing that makes me apprehensive about public speaking is the fact there is an entire audience keying onto your words, concentrating on only you. It feels as if the focus of the entire audience is on you; listening to what you say, how you say it and how you look while saying it.

When speaking, I feel like the entire event is geared around perfection, and anything less then that is easily spotted by the audience. I feel like I have to actively think about addressing all the points in a speech while keeping it the appropriate length in time, and while doing that, making sure everything flows smoothly so that the audience does not see any break in continuity.

Introduction

Hi! My name is Andrew, but I also go by Andy. This is my 2nd year at San Jose State majoring in Business Management. I am a commuter student who lives in the neighboring city of Santa Clara. When I am not playing the role of a student, I also work full time as an analyst for a research company where the primary focus of work is on corporate mergers & acquisitions, as well as employee feedback management...topics that can put many to sleep :)

Public speaking and myself...

I would say that my public speaking skills are average in many cases. I seem to have a harder time with public speaking when the subject is academic related, compared to if it were to be business related. I think that the main reason I feel this way is because I find that I do not encounter time constraints when dealing with public speaking outside of school. Many times when I've had to speak in front of an audience at school, I feel like I worry more about making this speech long enough, rather then communicating the key points across.

My first and foremost goal for this class is to just learn more about public speaking. I've never had formal classroom teachings on public speaking, and have had to self-teach since I've entered the workforce. I would like to be a more effective communicator and at the least, I think this class will show me the aspects of good communication and how I can improve my own.

The biggest fear I would like to overcome is the fear of ending a speech short of the required speaking time. I've had so many speeches at school where I've practiced the timing for days, only to cut it very close when it came time to present. That feeling of trying to fight time really distracts me from other things, and I think if I were to overcome that I would be much more comfortable.