|
|
Post by StarFall on May 17, 2015 19:53:31 GMT -5
I think I'm going to need somewhere to decompress and vent about the final class I have to take to get my second degree, so I might as well vent here. The class is Intro to Public Speaking, and it starts tomorrow. Six weeks of class, four days per week, two hours per day. With the break for Memorial Day it works out to 23 days, or 46 hours. Before it's done I will have to give around five speeches/presentations.
I have dreaded this class for a very long time and I didn't want to save it for last, but that's how the schedule worked out, so here I am. The butterflies in my stomach are already fluttering.
0 hours down, 46 to go.
|
|
|
|
Post by puppet on May 18, 2015 14:27:16 GMT -5
What are you studying?
"Public Speaking", just reading that makes me want to run. ^^
Good luck!
|
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 19, 2015 0:44:20 GMT -5
What are you studying? "Public Speaking", just reading that makes me want to run. ^^ Good luck! Thanks puppet, I can use all the luck I can get!  Also, I am studying accounting. It doesn't seem to me like public speaking should be part of accounting, but for some reason the school feels the need to emphasize written and oral communication. |
|
|
|
Post by puppet on May 19, 2015 1:01:13 GMT -5
Accounting? I don't see why either.
Well, putting aside the stress and anxiety it will cause, I think it has its benefits to know how to address a group. Even if it's only some little tips. I have a hard time with that. (but, yeah. Although I'm saying that I would probably hate it ^^)
Good luck with your first lesson!
|
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 19, 2015 1:02:59 GMT -5
Day 1: I expected we would do an ice breaker to get to know each other, and I wasn't wrong. Fortunately it was one I had done before so I was somewhat prepared. I had to tell two truths and one lie about myself when my name was called, and the class had to guess which was the lie. I'm so glad I had a few ideas of what to say just in case this ice breaker came up, otherwise my mind would have gone blank and I would have struggled to think of anything.
It looks like there are more advantages to taking this class in the summer, besides being done in six weeks and having a smaller class size. One is that the teacher eliminated at least one speech from the schedule, woohoo!! The other is that because this class is a hybrid online class there are three days where we don't have class, just online stuff, which to me means I can immediately cross off six more hours from my total number of hours done, yay!
This brings me to:
8 hours down, 38 to go.
|
|
|
|
Post by ura on May 19, 2015 13:19:47 GMT -5
Not going to lie, that sounds dreadful, I had to give one presentation to a group of 20 who I knew during my college year and I had such anxiety building up to it, it was undescribable, I knew the exact date and everything and leading up to it, I was incredibly nervous.
|
|
|
|
Post by skyhint on May 19, 2015 14:17:04 GMT -5
I find that as long as I'm well prepared and rehearsed speaking in front of a class is easy.
|
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 19, 2015 18:58:53 GMT -5
Not going to lie, that sounds dreadful, I had to give one presentation to a group of 20 who I knew during my college year and I had such anxiety building up to it, it was undescribable, I knew the exact date and everything and leading up to it, I was incredibly nervous. I know exactly how that must have felt. For me the anxiety is almost overwhelming and it makes it tough to concentrate on other stuff that I have to do. |
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 19, 2015 19:03:38 GMT -5
I find that as long as I'm well prepared and rehearsed speaking in front of a class is easy. I am very jealous. I've had to give presentations in the past (though none were worth an entire test grade like these are) and I've found that all of my practice and preparation flies right out the window as soon as I see all those faces staring right at me. |
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 19, 2015 19:52:57 GMT -5
Day 2: Today we had to bring in a current newspaper article to share with the class. We formed a big, spread out circle and randomly shared our articles. I finally got the courage to speak up and share mine after five people went before me. For once I didn't end up going last, success! However, there were three things that stood out to me today: 1. While I'm in the moment and talking, I think what I'm saying makes sense but I can hardly recall what I've said once I'm done. This terrifies me because it calls to mind one time when I was about 10 or 11 and we did an impromptu spelling bee in my class. My word was "hammer". Easy to spell, right? I was so nervous to be spelling it in front of the class that I have no recollection of how I spelled it, but I got it wrong. Later my friend told me that I spelled it in an extremely weird way, like adding letters that didn't even belong. Ever since then I've been paranoid that my nerves will cause me to speak jibberish and I won't even know that I'm doing it. 2. I guess we were all supposed to respond to at least a few of the other students' articles because the teacher made a comment at the end that she knows who the talkers are and that the rest of us need to make more of an effort. I even thought of some things I could have said as others were talking and yet I just could not make myself speak up. It's not as though making a comment would have been much different from sharing my own article, but it was like there was a barrier in my mind preventing me from doing so. 3. I realize that this is a communication class, which means it's all about talking, and this means I'm going to have to actually say things, but I hate that it dredges up a bunch of feelings I used to have about being worthless because I'm a shy person in an outgoing and extroverted world. In recent years I was actually starting to see the good in being quiet, that being shy doesn't mean I don't have strengths, they're just different strengths from those who are talkative. But this class takes me right back to the attitudes I've encountered before - that it's not okay to be shy, that you must become outgoing or you are a complete and utter failure.  10 hours down, 36 to go. |
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 27, 2015 19:04:50 GMT -5
Day 3: Today we talked about what we read in the chapters, then we had an impromptu mini speech where the teacher handed out about five cards with topics/questions on them to each student and we had to pick one of the cards and construct a speech about it on the fly. Of course my brain shut down. I ended up going last because I couldn't think of much to say and really wasn't confident in my topic (if you could be American's most wanted because of a certain skill, what skill would you choose?). At least the teacher gave us the choice of standing at the front of the classroom, standing at your seat, or sitting in your seat to give the speech. I chose to sit.
However, when she asked the class what symptoms do people have when they're nervous I got up the courage to share one, so that was a mini victory for me.
Tomorrow is our first official speech in front of the class, a speech of Introduction, no longer than 3.5 minutes, no shorter than 2.5 minutes. The first line must be an attention grabber, and the end must link back to the beginning. I have already changed my topic three times. Ugh.
12 hours down, 34 to go.
|
|
|
|
Post by puppet on May 28, 2015 13:12:20 GMT -5
I wouldn't know what to say about this topic even now without the pressure..  Keep it up! Good luck with the speech! |
|
|
|
Post by StarFall on May 29, 2015 0:59:14 GMT -5
Day 4: Well, I thought my speech went well, despite my shaking, but then I realized I totally forgot to say my attention-grabbing opening line. *facepalm*
I hope I don't get too many points knocked off for forgetting that. At least I was within the time limit.
14 hours down, 32 to go
1 speech down, 3? to go
|
|
|
|
Post by puppet on May 29, 2015 12:42:49 GMT -5
That's typical from me. I always forget some parts of my speeches (when I had speeches to prepare). I just can't think clearly in front of an audience. For that reason, I try to know as much as possible by heart so I don't have to think.
Crossed fingers for the marks!
|
|
|
|
Post by Stranger on May 30, 2015 19:28:01 GMT -5
Also, I am studying accounting. It doesn't seem to me like public speaking should be part of accounting, but for some reason the school feels the need to emphasize written and oral communication. I feel your pain, but I'm also curious to know what they're teaching you. Even as a code monkey I occasionally wind up needing to present something, and it would help me to pick some better presentation skills. Granted a presentation for presentation's sake is going to be different to one where you're actually imparting information or trying to entertain someone, but I can completely see that somewhere down the line this pain could be one that makes you stronger. Best of luck; you're about halfway through already! |
|
