Chapter 15 Concept

One concept from the assigned reading that I found useful/interesting was using reasoning effectively. There are four types of reasoning such as deductive, inductive, causal, and analogical. Deductive reasoning is from general principle to specific case. The strength is that it relies on established formal logic, but the weakness is invalid premises leading to false conclusions. Inductive reasoning is from specific examples to general principle. The strength is that you visualize and personalize the argument, but the weakness is the lack of representation, sufficiency, and relevance. Causal reasoning is one event causes another. The strength is it’s useful for explanation and prediction, but the weakness is the incorrect cause-effect link. Lastly, there’s analogical reasoning which draws similarities between two distinct cases. The strength is that it links the unfamiliar with the familiar, but the weakness is the key differences are ignored.

Persaude Others to Accept My Point

A recent discussion I had in which I tried to persuade others to accept my point of view was vegetarianism. Since I am a vegetarian, it’s ALWAYS brought up that I should eat meat, or I convince others not to eat the animals. The most recent discussion was for lent where my roommate had to decide what to give up. I convinced her to give up meat by telling her the ugly truth behind the cruel meat industry and the healthy aspects of living without meat. She decided to give it a try, and ever since lint has been over, she has still not eaten meat! So I believed my reasoning worked really well =]! GO VEGETARIAN PEOPLE!!

Speech Buddies Videos

In the video “Schooling: Pro” shows Dixie giving a speech about the pros of home schooling. The types of appeals used were the attention getter and clearly stating the main points. She also uses the three elements of claims, evidence, and reasoning. She speaks at a steady pace and clearly for the audience to hear in order to connect with them. In the video “Schooling: Con” shows Robert doing the con side of home schooling. Robert uses evidence to justify his position on the topic and every speaker needs to strong supporting material in order to be helpful in their presentation.

Sea of Persuasion

How we are immersed in the sea of persuasion is through media and the people around us. Many of the speeches we listen to are persuasive and a majority of us have received this in high school from guest speakers. They persuade us to get more involved with the topic they’re presenting. Since guest speakers are doing public speeches, most I’ve encountered were the persuasion of enrolling in programs such as Heald or FIDM. Another persuasive speech many young teens have heard is saying no to drugs. Mass media context is the one persuasion no one can avoid. You’re surrounded by it on a daily basis through viewing television, magazines, internet, and more. It can persuade you to buy things to losing weight to a social status. What you can do to become a more critical consumer of persuasive messages is figuring out what’s most important to you and what you need in life.

Next Speech

The main points for the next speech are: behind the meat industry, the healthy living of a vegetarian, and what if we continued to consume and mistreat animals in the future. How I plan on beginning my speech is by either asking a question that makes the audience think or making some comments that relates to the audience. How I’m going to persuade my audience towards my point of view is giving them the real and cruel truth behind the meat they eat. Another way to persuade is by also telling the audience the many advantages of being a vegetarian or even a vegan.

Chapter 14 Concept

One concept from the assigned reading that I found useful/interesting was persuading different types of audiences. The different types of audiences include negative, positive, divided, uninformed, and apathetic. A negative audience, also known as hostile audience, is the type of audience that holds an unfavorable view of the speaker’s position. The way to persuade this type of audience is to establish credibility, take a common-ground approach, visualize topic in positive ways and anticipate and address objections. A positive audience holds a favorable view and strategies include incorporating narratives, relying on engaged evidence to reinforce commitment, using vivid language and images, and suggesting action. A divided audience is half being favorable and the other half being unfavorable. To persuade these audience use the strategies that’d be used towards negative and positive audiences. An uninformed audience has no opinion, but you can persuade this audience by motivating them to learn more about the topic and using repetition and redundancy. An apathetic audience is having no interest in the topic but the speaker has to gain the attention and interest and take a one-sided approach.

Speech Buddies Videos

In the videos, there were many helpful things to use towards my speech. Anthony talked about engaging your audience with language. You have to use audience centered language so they feel you're speaking to them and connecting. He gives examples of pronouns you can use so the audience feels as if they're part of your speech. Humor can help bond and catch your audience's attention, but remember to use it in a way that won't offend or bore them. Erin discusses how to effectly use language in your speech. She gives a list of guidelines that can also be founded in the book. The next video, Janine and Anthony show effective and ineffective vocal delivery. I like that Janine tells you that your voice is a key component. You have to pay attention to your volume, pitch, rate, variety, articulation, and pronounciation. David gives his speech very well with the usage of variation of voice volume and catching the audience's attention. Lisa projects your voice with the perfect volume to be heard. With the last video, it helps to see each speech buddy demonstrate how they practice their own speech as well as give tips.

Flickr

In the text, it is just brought up how a certain gender can look at a phrase differently from the opposite sex. Men tend to think that women self-doubt themselves when they use specific words in a sentence. For instance in the sentence, "Our team effort likely led to our success." Men would think the word "likely" indicates the self-doubt. Many misundestandings can be made when it comes to language. In the discussion on the popular website Flickr, people are discussing the 'sexist language' that may be used when labeling pictures, and labeling people in general as well. I think it really just all depends on the person, and how hey comprehend it.

Chapter 12 Concept

One concept I found useful was how to manage your voice during your speech. There were four points under this section: speaking loudly enough, vary your rate, pitch, and volume, avoid vocalized pauses, and articulate your words clearly and pronounce them correctly. It's a given that once you start your speech you must speak so that your audience can hear you. You don't want to have your audience straining to hear you or be overwhelmed with such loudness. One way you can practice having volume is having a friend sit in the farthest corner and project your voice until they can hear you. Its good to have differences within your level of voice because it stands out. Having a fast rate and higher pitch comes across as excited and lots of energy while softer and slower is a solemn tone. Never speak in monotone because it'll bore the audience plus shows you have no interest in the speech you're delivering. Don't use or avoid vocalized pauses (umm, ah, you know?) because it shows you are trying to think about what you'll say next. Last but not least, when pronouncing words use them correctly then having it in slang terms such as "gonna" when it's going. Keep the speech in proper English and always practice!

Self-evaluation

Second speech done; one more to go! I believe I did pretty well achieving the purpose of my speech was the impacts of media on society. Comparing to my first speech, I honestly didn’t feel as confident or comfortable during my speech. When I moved onto my next point, I kind of forgot to move onto the next PowerPoint slide so it would show up a little later after I have mentioned the point. If I had to do it over again, the changes I would make is to remind myself in my note cards when to move onto the next slide. For delivery I thought I wasn’t as strong as I was compared to the first speech. One thing I was proud of was that I didn’t speech as fast as I normally do when giving a speech. I went at a steady pace and was able to accomplish the time frame.
One goal I have for improving the content in my next speech is get more in depth information. I felt as if I didn’t give enough to the audience to really be drawn in and gain more knowledge on my topic. One goal I have for improving the delivery for my next speech is to maintain a strong, projected voice as well as keeping eye contact! I need to not rely on my note cards so it proves to the audience I know my information very well. For the last speech, I plan to go all out, meaning to not look to my note cards and show passion about my topic to keep the audience’s attention.
What was specifically different from my last speech was how fast I talked. For the first speech, when I get very nervous I speak very fast and luckily, met the time frame just by a few seconds. This time, I was able to keep myself relaxed and speak at a steady pace so that would be a good thing. What was bad was I relied on my note cards more than I did with the first speech. I don’t think I did anything distracting from what I remember, so it would have to be an improvement from my last speech. How I would rate my eye contact on a scale from 1-10 would be a 7. I think I looked at my note cards more than I did with making eye contact with the audience.
On a scale from A to F, the grade I would give myself based on my performance would probably be a C+ or B-. I didn’t do that great compared to the first speech. With less eye contact and strength in voice that’s why I think that’s the grade I would receive. The amount of sources I mentioned in the speech was four. I clearly stated the sources so hopefully the audience caught that. This speech was not better than the last speech; at least I didn’t think it was. I state this because of me relying on my note cards more and not having such a strong presence. I really need to work on that and will definitely have a better speech delivered!

Speech in Front of New Audience

I chose to present my speech to my mother, father, Kourtney, Brittany, and Sophia at my house. I basically invited my friends over for dinner and before we ate that’s when I presented my speech. The strengths they said I had were I projected my voice well enough to be heard and got their attention in the beginning. The weaknesses they told me I needed to work on were keeping their attention than fading throughout the speech. When I presented my speech first, to the class, nerves tend to hit me during the middle of the speech and begin to focus more onto my note cards plus making a couple mistakes. But, when I presented the speech in front of my parents and friends, I felt more comfortable and didn’t use my note cards as much. I wasn’t as nervous probably since they’re my best friends and my parents. I felt I improved more just not relying on my note cards as much and keeping a strong voice to keep their attention. If I had to do the speech again, what I would do differently is just keep on practicing. Practice makes perfect and that’s the number one thing I need to work on to deliver a strong speech. Feedback is the best to receive, because you’re obviously told what you need to work on. So hearing my parents and friends feedback it helped me find other ways to prepare for my next speech. The exercise is very useful and I also was told if I feel passionate about the topic, I will give a wonderful speech!

Chapter 11 Concept

One concept from Chapter 11 that I found useful or interesting was the tips for using presentation media. The key points stated were considering your room and the audience, practice with your media, and speak to your audience, not your media. For considering your room and the audience, you want to be sure the media is displayed at a height and distance that makes it easy visibility for the audience. Remember to avoid turning toward the screen where the images are displayed and face the audience. A speech can go more smoothly if you practice with your media. You are able to learn to integrate them smoothly and it’s helpful to have note cards to remind you when to use your media during the presentation. It helps to arrive early to make sure you have no technological difficulties and keeps you organized and prepared. Takes planning and practice. When you speak to your audience remember not to speak to your media. Focus is to remain on the audience and helps keep the audience’s attention.