Question#3

3). Pick on concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.


A concept that I found interesting from this weeks reading was “Why We Use Presentation Media”. The text says that an audience likes for media resources to be used in a presentation. Using media in presentation can be the core mark of a speech. Presentation media presents the audience with a more clear understanding of the speech. It provides visuals that enhances the audience’s imagination and makes sure that they get the full meaning of what is being presented. The book also says that the we can use media presentation to draw the attention to your topic, illustrate an idea that can’t be fully described by words alone, stimulate an emotional reaction, clarify a key point, support your argument with a graphical display of facts and figures, and help your audience remember your main ideas. This was very helpful and I will use it to prepare for my next speech.

question#2

2. Reflect on a public speaking event that you have attended recently, or one that you recall particularly well, in which the speaker used presentation media. How effective was the speaker's use of presentation media? How did the media add to the speech? Were there ways in which the presentation media distracted from the speech? How might the speaker have improved his or her use of the presentation media?

A public speaking event that I have recently attended was at work. I work for a hospital in Monterey, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. Last month I attended an employee meeting where the director of our department gave a presentation regarding changes in employees’ benefits. Our director had a power point presentation as a visual aid. Her power point presentations seem real cluttered. She did not talk about everything she had on the power point. This affected the audiences focus on the speaker. We were all trying to read off the power point and ignored the speaker. Our director was well prepared, but her visual aid was a little too much. It had too much information that was not talked about. The speaker could have kept her presentation a little more simple.

question#1 week of Oct 26-1

1). Speech Buddy: Review the following Interactive Videos, 11.1 and 11.2 on the Interactive Video Website. Respond to the ideas in the videos. What did you learn that could be helpful in your next speech?

Interactive video 11.1 was very useful. It talk about the guidelines for visual designs which are being simple and uncluttered, emphasizing key ideas, show what you can say, use close ups, limit number of pages, variety and coherence, and using large images. Good visual programs to use in a presentation are PowerPoint, and keynote, they provide with many things to try out. This video gave me helpful tips that I will use to prepare my next speech. Interactive video 11.2 showed the different visual aids that each person used. Some used overhead projectors and others used simple 8x11 papers to poster size visuals. They all sound well prepared, way better than I would be. I will use this videos to help me prepare for my next speech, they gave important information.

Question#3

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful for interesting and discuss it.

Chapter 9 was very useful in preparation to writing a speech. In this chapter it talked about developing an introduction and conclusions. The components of what makes an introduction and a conclusion were addressed. The book says that having a good introduction will get your audience ready to listen to what is that you, the speaker, is trying to present. The concept that was interesting was “GET YOUR AUDIENCE ATTENTION”. An audience is most attentive at the beginning of the speech; therefore, the audience tends to remember what the speaker is talking about. Making a good impression is very important, and this is the way you grab your audience’s attention. I will make sure that I have a good first impression so my audience could be interested in my speech.

question#2 Week of Oct 12-18

An introduction in your speech consists of getting the audience’s attention, indicating the purpose and thesis, establishing credibility, and finally previewing your main points. Making a good first impression counts a lot because it will either grasp the audiences attention or not. Now that you have the audience’s attention it is time to present the purpose of your speech. Establishing credibility in your speech will show your audience that you have authority over your topic. I will use these components in my speech to help me get my audiences attention. Following these guidelines will make me feel more comfortable presenting my speech.

A conclusion consists of reviewing the main points of your speech, reinforcing the purpose, and proving closure. One can highlight the importance of ones speech by reinforcing the specific purpose. The book says that by reinforcing your purpose, the audience will capture your message and will strongly be in thought of the audience. Reinforcing is something that I will definitely try to apply to my speech so my message can strike the audience.

question#2

2). When do you find facts and statistics are most effective in a speech? When are facts and statistics not as effective?

According to the text a speaker relies on facts and statistics when making a logical appeal. The speaker relies on the authors’ credibility to influence the degree to which the audience think the information is accurate (Coopman, Lull ). Source credibility is very important for facts and statistics. Facts and statistics can be wrongly interpreted; therefore, the speaker must be careful when using them. Facts and statistics are more useful in persuasive speeches because the audience finds these supporting materials more convincing.

Week of October 5-11 question# 1

1). Speech Buddy: Review the following Interactive Videos 7.1, 7.2, 8.1 and 8.2 on the Interactive Video website. Respond to the ideas in the videos. What did you learn that could be helpful in your next speech?

The speech buddy videos that I watched were useful toward developing my next speech. Video 7.1, selecting the best supporting materials, talked about the six different supporting materials that one can use in their speech. Narratives, examples, definitions, testimony, facts and statistics, and presentation media are all supporting materials that we can use in our speeches to help get our points across. Each supporting material has its advantages and disadvantages, so when I get my presentation in process I will consider all of these different supporting materials and use the best one that fits my speech. What I learn from video 7.2, evaluating media credibility, was that you can use media sources in your speech, but we should carefully access their credibility, reliability, and relevance. Video 8.1 and 8.2 were very useful in regards that I choosing a pattern of organization for your speech depends on the type of speech one is presenting; with this said, I will keep this in mind wile preparing for my speech.