Video Response

During Matthew’s speech, I thought he did a good job. You could tell that he was really nervous throughout the speech but he got through it while delivering a lot of interesting and meaningful information. I liked how he had used the overhead and made the facts stand out to the audience. His introduction was also interesting. He really adapted his speech to the audience but giving facts particularly to “the under 21” group of people, that make up of most classrooms.

For Courtney’s introduction I thought that she talked really fast, but she still did a good job. She was also nervous, but I can’t blame her because I talk really fast when I’m nervous too. She outlined her speech for her audience and told them exactly what she was going to talk about. I liked that part about her speech a lot! Her introduction was not too strong but it was informative and it appealed to the audience because she talked about things they knew something about (about how they talked about littering).

Audience Analysis and Adaption

2). Discuss the importance of audience analysis and audience adaptation in the speech development process. Also, discuss how YOU plan on using audience analysis in your speech.

Audience analysis is important because it can really help a nervous speaker when delivering a speech, and I am most definitely a nervous speaker. When you use audience analysis you get to know your audience a lot better and think of how to make them positively react to you. Since my speech is on basketball, and I'm sure everyone has seen a basketball game (on tv or at the local park) I plan on talking about the basics of the sport. With audience adaption, it is important because if you are able to find out any information about who your audience is, you should use it to keep them interested and engaged. I have mentioned basketball in several of my blogs, previously, and when my classmates commented they sounded interested in basketball too. So I'm really excited about that!! I am going to use the comments they gave me to develop my speech and keep them interested in my topic! =)

Audience Research Questionnaires

One topic from the reading that I found interesting was the development of an audience research questionnaire. I have had to make a questionnaire before while I was in high school. This was a project for my government class about the differences between democrats and republicans. We had to poll forty people on their opinions and we decided to use both open ended and closed ended questions, so we combined the two. I learned more about the characteristics of both open ended and close ended questions while reading this chapter. Personally I prefer to use open ended questions because they tell me more about the person who is answering.

Research Interviews

At my high school, during my senior year we had to do a project called senior exhibition. For the project we had to present a 30 minute presentation and have 10 sources of information, 3 of them being interviews. This is my only experience with research interviews. My topic for the project was international adoption. I interviewed two people who were internationally adopted and one social worker who had found many homes for children who needed to be adopted. I thought all of my interviews went extremely well because I was well prepared for them. I asked a range of questions, both open and very specific, that I had written down before hand and practiced asking. Improvement was needed in my phrasing of the questions; on one or two questions the person I was interviewing was a little confused. I recommend that you come well prepared and calm to the interview. Also, that you present yourself in a professional, well-dressed manner. Good Luck!

My Speech Progress

The preparation for my speech has been going well. I decided to demonstrate how to properly shoot a basketball. Basketball is a topic I am very familiar with and that is why I chose to demonstrate shooting. Since basketball is such a popular sport, there are many people who teach different ways to shoot correctly. So, this has made researching a little more difficult. However, I remember the way I learned to shoot so whenever I find someone whose method is similar to mine, I will most likely stick with them. The main points of my speech will be the simple steps that need to be taken in order to shoot the right way. I will also probably give some background on basketball, and possibly some of it's great players. I plan on bringing a basketball to class so that I can actually demonstrate what I am talking about.

Visualization

While I was reading Chapter 2 I thought that the concept of visualization was really interesting. I have always used visualization whenever I play sports. I use it, for example, when I am shooting freethrows: I imagine the shot going in, just over the rim, and then the audience applauding for me. Or in soccer, I play out (in my head) performing a move successfully right before I actually do it. But, I thought it was really interesting that I could use the visualization technique while making speeches as well. In the book, it describes the visualization steps I should go through in order to "control my feelings" and so that I don't get too nervous. I was actually kind of excited when I saw the visualization technique because I already know how to use it. Hopefully imagining or visualizaing myself "walking to the front of the room, presenting, listening to my applause, and answering their questions" will help me successfully perform when in front of a real crowd!

What makes you apprehensive about public speaking?

Public speaking has always been a major fear of mine. I am someone who usually studies and prepares a lot for assignments; but for some reason whenever I get in front of a crowd, I tend to forget everything I was planning to say! Sometimes it can feel so frustrating and nerve-racking for me to speak in front of other people, even though . My main reason for being so apprehensive is because I'm scared I am going to mess up, or pronounce something wrong, and everyone will notice. Although I am not normally a shy person, I do have my moments when I am not the most confident woman in the world. But sometimes, when I am talking about something I am passionate about (like my family, friends, and basketball) I tend to feel a lot better, more relaxed, and do a better job because I'm talking about someone or something I love and know a lot about.