Chapter 5 Concept

One concept I found most useful or interesting in Chapter 5 is Developing Credibility with Your Audience. In the book, it shows a diagram, Figure 5.2, that shows what surrounds the speakers credibility such as competence, trustworthiness, dynamism, and sociability.

For competence, when the speaker is talking about a particular topic, they obviously need qualifications for that topic. The audience never wants to be mislead or lied to, that's why trustworthiness is very important during a speech. The audience perceives the speaker to be honest with them along with being sensitive, ethical, and reliable. Dynamism percepts to the audience the speaker's activity level, which meaning appearing confident and fluent by how they speak and give their ideas. Sociability is another importance of credibility. The audience has to be able to connect with the speaker, so the speaker needs to be friendly and responsive. These four qualities to credibility well help any ones speech to start off strong and end strong.

Importance of Audience Analysis and Audience Adaptation

In Chapter 5, it discusses the importance of audience analysis and audience adaptation in the speech development process. The importance for audience analysis is that you obtain and evaluate the information of an audience in order to meet their interests. In order to do this you have to create a strategic plan in order to keep the audience’s undivided attention such as using summary statistics and direct quotes. The importance of audience adaptation is adapting to the setting which includes the location, occasion, and time. In the location you want to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of the place so you can better prepare yourself and have confidence. How I would plan on using audience analysis in my speech is to prepare myself for my audience’s response/feedback and use a strategy to respond to them.

Speech Buddy Videos

In the video, “Light Pollution” by Courtney, she states the main points very clearly that are needed for the speech. What Courtney did well was in the introduction of her speech she told her audience what she was going to talk about. In the video, “Drinking” by Matthew, he discusses about students drinking just to get drunk. His effort is to have his audience become responsible drinkers. He gave statistics of driving accidents because of alcohol. He provides the statistics through his speech and on an over head. What Matthew did well during his speech was, when he caught himself messing up he paused for just a moment then went back on track. He didn’t use any “umm” in his speech as well, which is always a plus. He projects his voice, speaks clearly, and goes at a steady pace for everyone to understand.

What I can learn from watching “Light Pollution” is to state the main points clearly to my audience so they’re aware of what my speech will be about. What I can learn from watching “Drinking” is to project my voice, be clear, and speak at a steady pace, just as Matthew did. Also, noticing he recovers from his mistakes by not using “umm” and rather by pausing for a slight moment, I could do just the same.

Chapter 6 Concept

There are PLENTY of helpful concepts that were presented in Chapter 6 that I found useful or interesting. Being a business major, in the near future I’ll probably have classes that require me to interview people in that industry. Noticing that Chapter 6 provides a concept on conducting research interviews, I thought I could soak up more ways of conducting a great interview. I have discussed in Week 4 Discussion 1 that I have little experience conducting research interviews, but I would love to improve my skills. The chapter listed six major steps:
1. Determine the interview’s purpose
2. Select interviewees
3. Develop questions
4. Organize the interview
5. Conduct the interview
6. Integrate the information
I agree that these are important steps take when having an interview. The chapter goes in more depth for each step which gives you a more precise idea on what to do!

Speech Buddy Videos

After watching the Speech Buddy Videos I found helpful information to use in the preparation process for my speeches in this course. What I found helpful was the tip to go to the library because you can find numerous types of sources that will benefit for your speech. Also the people who work at the library are there to help if you have difficulties finding something. The library provides different types of sources such as magazines, books, encyclopedias, newspapers, interviews, and much more. People should take advantage of these resources because it will strongly support their speech and give them confidence because they know so much about their topic. This semester I have been going to the library a lot lately because of the work load from school and found it very helpful when looking for information or just doing homework!

Experience with Conducting Research Interviews

I don’t really have that much experience with conducting research interviews. I only experienced this during my sophomore year in high school. We had to write a lengthy paper on a career we were interested and interview three people in the field. I chose Marketing for my paper and since my dad was in that business, I had connections to interview his friends. Some of the interviews I had to do were over e-mail due to their busy work schedule, but was glad they took the time to answer my questions. I felt comfortable during the interview because I have met them throughout the years I was growing up. What went well was that they were very resourceful and responsive. If I haven’t had met them before, what I would need to improve would be to be calm and outgoing to an interviewee who’s a complete stranger to me. Hope that's helpful!

Chapter 2 Concept

A concept I found interesting was visualization, relabeling, and relaxation from chapter 2. For visualization, it discussed the sequence of events thought out in a positive, step-by-step way. If I were to visualize my speech it would help reduce my speech anxiety and build confidence the same time. Discussion of relabeling was about replacing negative words with positives in order to become confident and fight off anxiety. I like the example it gave:

“When your voice quavers a bit and your hands shake, attribute those sensations to your body and mind gathering the energy they need to prepare for and present the speech. Say to yourself, ‘I’m really excited about giving this speech!’ rather than, ‘I’ so nervous about this speech.’” Pg. 39-40

That could probably work in most speech cases. Relaxation techniques are very helpful when it comes to giving a speech. I have learned about diaphragmatic breathing and meditation breathing from Stress Management, so I can definitely put it into use!

Speech Buddy Videos

After watching the 3 Interactive Videos, I took in the information to use all senses and to focus on what would go right than thinking about what could go wrong. I also learned strategies to cope with speech anxiety as well such as breathing techniques (diaphragmatic, meditation) and Janine directed on how to do them. In the other video, Janine and Anthony discussed their fears when it comes to public speaking and how to cope with them. Anthony’s biggest fear was the place he was speaking in and what I found helpful was the thought of visiting the place and visualizing the speech. What I found useful was his tip of knowing the introduction and conclusion of your speech very well. I found useful tip, from Janine, in preparation for my speech, was to know what the audience will evaluate and how the teacher will grade. Using these tips and applying it to my speech will help bring confidence and cope with speech anxiety.

Being Apprehensive with Public Speaking

When public speaking comes to mind, I feel pretty apprehensive towards the idea. I worry about making mistakes and not having the confidence to present in front of my audience. In past experiences, I have spoke very quickly in speeches and my speaking ability definitely needs to be worked on. Most presentations involve the use of PowerPoint. Last semester, in my Stress Management class we had to present a PowerPoint and it didn't work due to the version it was; the teacher's computer couldn't configure the data. Just as Chapter 2 reading brings up "uncertainty about technology" and that's exactly what had happen. With technology mishaps, I makes me very nervous because I feel all eyes are on me and people are waiting on me to give my presentation/speech which was basically technophobia.

When I know there is a speech to be presented in front of a class, I become uneasy while waiting for my turn and when approaching the front of the class. I feel as if my heart rate increases and my hands become very sweaty. Luckily, if I'm working on a topic I feel very strong about, I can be more at ease when giving a speech. My senior year, I had to write a term paper about a problem in the world that needs to be fixed. I chose the topic of the meat industry and had a very strong thesis. Being a vegetarian for many years and knowledgable about the cruel world of the meat industry, I felt confident with the subject. My teacher insisted we dressed formally, which I did by wearing a summer dress and curling my hair. It helped bring some confidence when I gave my speech. I got evaluation from my teacher, and she told me I needed to be stronger when I spoke, such as using different tones to keep my audience interested. I hope to conquer every public speaking fear I encounter!