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Post by StarFall on Jun 1, 2015 22:16:51 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! Thanks puppet! I also try to memorize my speech as much as possible (even though my textbook says not to). It's just easier for me that way, even though I still end up forgetting some things.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 1, 2015 23:14:58 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! Thanks Stranger! Most of what we learn is from the textbook, which talks a lot about preparing a speech (doing proper research, having a clear thesis and strong supporting points, etc.). It also talks about movement during a speech, wording a speech, different kinds of speeches and on and on. Sometimes I wish we could practice the different aspects of a speech the same way an acting class might do lines and actions over and over. I'd probably freak out if we did that, but sometimes I think it would help. I really would like it if this class makes me feel stronger after I've taken it, hopefully I'll actually be able to remember some of the tips.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 1, 2015 23:28:24 GMT -5
Day 5: Today we talked about outlining a speech, then spent a lot of time talking about our upcoming group presentations. I was really hoping she would put us in groups of three or four people, but she put us in groups of two instead. We have to do what is called a Pecha Kucha presentation which will consist of 20 PowerPoint slides at 20 seconds per slide for a total speech length of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. We only have three hours to meet in our groups this week and then the speech will be presented next Monday. So, that's three hours to pick a topic, divide it up, find 20 pictures to go with it, create the PowerPoint, and be prepared as a group to present it (unless we find time to meet outside of class). Our topic has to be something interesting that we both have in common and neither of us could come up with anything today, hopefully we can come up with something tomorrow.
16 hours down, 30 to go.
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Post by puppet on Jun 1, 2015 23:28:57 GMT -5
I hope it does help you get stronger.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 4, 2015 16:25:36 GMT -5
I've been busy working on the next speech so I've gotten a little behind.
Day 6: We were supposed to spend half the class time working in groups, and the rest was to go over some of the chapters we've had to read outside of class. But when we all met up for the second half of class the teacher asked if we would rather use that time to work in groups, and that's what we chose to do.
Day 7: We spent the full two hours just working in our groups. It's a weird dynamic working with someone I barely know. We seem to get along okay but I find it hard to speak up sometimes and argue my opinion for why we should do something one way instead of another. It reminds me of being at work (which I guess this is supposed to prepare us for).
Day 8: Today the teacher let the class use the whole time to work on the group presentations again, so we got to skip whatever impromptu in-class speaking practice the teacher originally had lined up, yay! However, our group presentation will take place on Monday, and we still have not finished our speech, nor have we had time to practice it. This means we have to meet outside of class time, boo.
22 hours down, 24 to go.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 8, 2015 17:40:53 GMT -5
Day 9: Today we had our second speech. We picked numbers for which order to go in and my group got 3rd, which was fine. The class thought our speech was interesting (it was on some local history) and the teacher really praised our transitions, so that made me feel good. All the group presentations only took up the first hour of class, so the second hour was spent talking about our next speech, which will be a demonstration speech. 24 hours down, 22 to go <----- Over halfway done!! 2 speeches down, 2? to go (the teacher hasn't mentioned if she really will make us do the special occasion speech or not, currently it's listed as an activity for the last day of class, in which case it would be 2 speeches down and 3 to go)
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Post by puppet on Jun 8, 2015 23:37:58 GMT -5
It seems to be going well. Good job! How did the group preparation outside of class time go?
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Post by StarFall on Jun 9, 2015 17:03:46 GMT -5
It seems to be going well. Good job! How did the group preparation outside of class time go? It went really well. We were able to actually practice our speech several times and edit it until we were sure it was going to fit in the time allowed. Plus just practicing it over and over again really helped us feel more prepared for the real thing. Even so, we ended up meeting again right before class started to practice it one more time.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 9, 2015 17:30:31 GMT -5
Day 10: From the high of yesterday to the low of today. When the teacher (any teacher) asks the class a question I am one of those people who is content to sit by and let others answer for two reasons. 1. My brain has gone blank or 2. I just can't seem to make myself speak up. It's like there's an invisible wall preventing me from talking. Some days I'm able to scale it, but most days I can't. The teacher was asking the class a lot of questions today and the usual people kept answering them which prompted the teacher to lecture the quieter people about how "this is like practice for your speech" "wouldn't you rather get experience talking from your chairs in this "safe" environment?" etc, etc. It made it feel as though she was accusing us of being lazy, or uninterested, for not voluntarily answering questions. Truth be told I did want to answer some of them, but it took me so long to work up the courage to say something that someone always jumped in ahead of me. Plus, the more she lectured on how the quieter people needed to participate, the more nervous and self-conscious I became. In the end I didn't end up saying anything, but there were at least two others who also didn't talk.
For the rest of class we talked more about our demonstration speeches, then she had our groups watch the video she took of our speeches from the day before. At least it was kind of blurry and from far away (it was really weird seeing myself up there presenting). And at least she didn't have too much criticism of our speech as far as improvements for next time.
26 hours down, 20 to go.
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Post by skyhint on Jun 9, 2015 18:06:24 GMT -5
Ooo I feel compelled to answer whenever a teacher asks the class a question. I don't understand those non-shy people who can say nothing in response to a question when they know the answer and the room has been silent for more than 3 seconds. I have found that I dominate classroom discussions despite being clearly the shyest person in the room.
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Post by ura on Jun 10, 2015 14:38:33 GMT -5
It depends on the size of the class, I had one tutorial which I ended up just giving all the answers for because I had done that level of maths in secondary school.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 10, 2015 17:48:59 GMT -5
Ooo I feel compelled to answer whenever a teacher asks the class a question. I don't understand those non-shy people who can say nothing in response to a question when they know the answer and the room has been silent for more than 3 seconds. I have found that I dominate classroom discussions despite being clearly the shyest person in the room. HaHa! I'm totally one of the people who will have the right answer and not speak up. Good for you for answering questions in class! It's always been one of those things that is hard for me.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 10, 2015 17:52:13 GMT -5
It depends on the size of the class, I had one tutorial which I ended up just giving all the answers for because I had done that level of maths in secondary school. That's cool that you were able to do that! How big was the class? I find I have trouble speaking up even in a small class, and the anxiety gets worse as the class gets bigger.
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Post by StarFall on Jun 10, 2015 18:12:43 GMT -5
Day 11: Today started off with a hiccup, but ended on a good note. We had to bring in prepared questions to survey our class about our demonstration speech topic. When it was my turn to ask the questions I had to restart four times because someone would interrupt to ask questions about the previous person's questions, or the teacher had to tell the person who just walked in what we were doing, etc. Finally the fourth time I just waited until everyone was quiet and they were all staring at me so I knew nobody was going to interrupt.
After that we watched some online demonstration speeches and critiqued them. At the end of class the teacher informed us we would be doing another impromptu speech. She let us choose a slip of paper with two topics on it and we could choose one to talk about. The universe must have been smiling on me because the paper I chose had two topics I felt I could work with. I ended up choosing "You are a mad scientist - tell us about your latest invention." The nice thing about that topic for me is that I could use my acting skills and become a different person for a minute or two. I think the class liked it, they laughed a little, and I was able to bring out parts of my personality that are usually only seen by the bathroom mirror. Plus I managed to fit all the criteria the teacher wanted into the speech. Her only comment at the end was that the class was learning so much more about me since I'm usually so quiet, and something about being on stage/theater (the nerves were flooding back as I walked back to my chair so I can't quite remember what she said, but I know it was positive). Yay!
28 hours down, 18 to go.
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Post by ura on Jun 10, 2015 18:24:56 GMT -5
It was a tutorial so there were only 15 people in it, otherwise I wouldn't have the confidence to speak up, had the room been larger.
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