Discussion Question 3

What I am going to take away form this class is probably going to be the skills I have learned in preparing a proper speech. In the years that I worked for Wells Fargo I had spoken in front of an audience many, many times. However, in those speaking events I had notes on what I was going to say, but did not realize there are so many ways I could have made each one of those speaking events more impactful for the audience. Just in an introduction there are so many crucial steps a speaker must follow to insure he is successful. For example, using an attention getter is crucial. This step is what is going to capture the attention of the audience. Without capturing the audience’s attention, the speaker might as well be speaking to a wall.  Next, establishing credibility, this step lets the audience know that you are an authority on the topic. Which again is crucial in capturing your audience’s attention.

Discussion Question 2

My favorite speech would probably have to be our last one, the persuasive speech. I picked a topic that I really cared about and had some knowledge on. I think that allowed me to believe in what I was trying to persuade my audience to do.  Therefore, enhancing my effectiveness.  Furthermore, I really hope that my speech might actually have persuaded at least some of the audience members to become more involved with in our political system and vote.  Considering my grade, I think the time and effort I put into the speech paid off. Furthermore, some of the feedback I received from the audience would lead me to believe that my speech might have actually had an impact on some of my classmates.  Also, I think the content of my speech is something that most people can understand and relate too.  Therefore, making it a bit easier for me to connect with the audience and keep them engaged though out.

Discussion Question 1

The concepts I found to be most helpful in preparing for my speeches were use of facts and statistics, and creating a captivating introduction. After listening to the numerous speeches presented by my classmates, I realized if they did not grab my attention at the beginning I rarely was engaged in their speech. The main thing that I made sure I did well was an appealing attention getter. I found that capturing my audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech made keeping them engaged much easier. In my opinion, a speech, which provides information that enables an audience to make a logical connection to the presenter, is the defining factor for a successful speech. The use of facts and statistics is what creates this experience. I think there can be numerous times or areas one can present a fact or statistic and have it be impactful. I believe in an informative or persuasive speech beginning with a fact or statistic can establish creditability, engage audience, and create an attentive audience.  

Discussion Question 3

Understanding argument: Using Evidence Effectively. The evidence one presents in a speech is the foundation for justifying the claims that have been made. The introduction of evidence is essential for the audience to understand and begin to accept the presenter’s assertions. In presentation of evidence the speaker relies on the four varieties appeals: Logos: Appeals to Logic, Ethos: Appeals to Speaker Credibility, Pathos: Appeals to Emotion, and Mythos: Appeals to Cultural Beliefs.  The appeal to logic is often a very effective structure for presenting evidence. “Logical appeals rely on appearing reasonable and rational to influence an audience” (Coopman 307). This form of evidence is often easily verifiable, therefore, very receptive by the audience. Commonly this type of appeal is in the form of current statistical data, facts, definitions, or expert opinions. One thing to consider when presenting this type of evidence it is important NOT to present a “Long lists of facts and statistics that can overwhelm your listeners and cause them to lose interest”(Coopman 308).

Discussion Question 2

I can recall a recent conversation I had with a friend discussing the needs (addition of players) of a particular football club. The 2012 NFL draft just commenced on Thursday evening. This is the time where NFL teams select college athletes who they think will help their organization be successful in the coming football season. The discussion with my friend quickly turned into one person trying to persuade the other to see things from their viewpoint. Both him and I, being football savvy, bombarded one another with statistics of the prior year in relation to the positions we felt were crucial for the team to address. Now that I am familiar with the steps in developing an argument, I can relate the things I said into those steps. For example, I stated the Carolina Panthers needed major support within their offensive line. (Claim) Next, I explain how Carolina, in the 2011 season, was ranked 24^th in rush yards allowed. (Evidence). Finally, I inferred that with added support on the offensive line, Carolina would be able to stop a rushing attack. Therefore, increasing the strength of the team. (Reasoning)

Discussion question 1

The first interactive video discusses the importance of making a good argument in a persuasive speech. It reviews and highlights some of the elements of an argument. Argument formation consist of four basic elements: Thesis, claim, evidence and reasoning. Your thesis is a single sentence that captures the focus of discussion and clearly demonstrates the intention of the speech. You will support your thesis by the follow three steps, claim, evidence and reasoning. The claim is simply your position on the subject and what you want you audience to accept. Next, you provide evidence and reasoning to support your claims. The evidence one can use can be examples, statistics, quotation, analogies etc. Finally, reasoning is the step one would use to link the claim to the evidence. Different methods of reasoning can be employed to obtain a different effect. For example one can use deductive reasoning.  These are simple yet effective step I will take in constructing my arguments.

Self-evaluation 2

            The purpose of my speech was to inform the audience of the events that lead and contributed to the late 2000’s financial crisis. Overall, I believe I did well in achieving my purpose. The feedback I received from my classmates led me to believe they found my speech informative and constructive. Considering the amount of time I spent on practicing the speech, I felt very confident during my presentation.  The fact that I have had years of experience on the subject gave me some added confidence. If I had the opportunity to redo my speech I would probably spend a few moments and made sure the spelling on my powerpoint slides were correct. This was the only feedback I received that was negative. I think the content I provided within my speech was well researched and effectively presented. I spent a great deal of time in gathering the data I presented. I believe my hard work paid-off considering my grade on the speech and the feedback I received from my peers. Some students’ comments stated how thorough they thought my research was, and how the graphs and charts I included complemented my speech very well. Therefore, I plan on spending just as much time necessary on my next speech to produce the same quality of data.

             I believe the delivery of my speech went very well. I managed to stay within my time frame and effectively used an extemporaneous speaking style. I believe all the time I spent practicing my speech is what allowed me to successfully use an extemporaneous speaking style.  In comparison to my Demo speech this speech was more successful. Specifically, my Demo speech I lost points for unnecessary movement and leaning on the furniture.  I did not make those mistakes during this presentation. Furthermore, in my Demo speech I did not effectively site enough references during my presentation. I did not make that mistake on the Info. Speech. Although considering the content of this speech it was much easier to have numerous references, I still made sure I had ample resources for info, and also made sure to cite each one during my presentation.  Audience engagement is an important part of any speech. It is what drawls your audience in and creates an appealing environment. With something as simple as eye contact this environment can be created. I believe I did well in ensuring I was constant with my eye contact with the entire class. I made sure to rotate from left to right slowly to ensure I engaged the entire audience. On a scale of 1-10, I would give myself a 10 for eye contact.  As I mentioned above, I made sure to include numerous reference in this speech. I had a total of five citations during my speech. In conclusion, I deem this speech to be a greater success compared to my prior speech. I felt more comfortable in presenting. Furthermore, the grade I received, a 95 percent, also indicated that this speech was more successful.