What I've Learned

I think I've come a long way since the beginning of class, and my grades reflect that. Each speech has gotten a little easier. For the first speech, I was super nervous. By the time the final speech rolled around, it was walk to the podium, take a deep breath, and jump in. My organization of ideas has even gotten better as the semester wore on. I don't jump around as much, and each idea has a connection to my message.

I know I still need to work on watching my time. My visuals could still use some work, but that will only get better with practice. And I know I need to curb my pacing habit. During the first speech, I paced because I was nervous, and when I sat on the table, I felt more focused. I didn't budge during the decond or third speech, and I got more nervous because I was concentrating on not moving. During the fourth speech, I walked back and forth at some point because I was getting into my speech.

Before this class, all it took to change my mind was a good speaker, and for me to be on the fence about something. Now I'm more apt to listen for the key points and arguments, instead of just the way the speaker presents an idea.

A few suggestions for next semester, if I may:
- a digital stopwatch set to the maximum time on the podium for each speaker
- a blank sheet/chart attached to the syllabus so students can keep track of their grades for each assignment, and make an informed decision about which items to sacrifice. I made one for myself mid-semester and it helped a lot.

Overall, the class was fun. Admittedly, the material was boring, but you had a way of making it fun (the videos, group presentation, etc). The course was perfect for both people who want an A and for people who just want their 3 credits. I wish you taught the other Com classes I'll be taking over the summer semester (1 or 2, not sure yet, but I think they're both lower level).

Speech IV - No Child Left Behind or No Child Left In School?

There was quite a bit of research involved for Speech IV. Both sides of the argument were readily available in equal amounts, I think. The hardest part was trying to figure out who was making informed decisions and who…well…wasn't. Doing both an audience analysis and an audience impact analysis was helpful. It gave me the chance to work on narrowing down my arugment to a specific demographic, while still keeping in mind other audiences. Making the PowerPoint and writing the speech were a breeze. I believe strongly in the argument I presented, so sounding convincing and persuading the audience wasn't a problem. The handout was easy as well. I embellished on ten arguments I've heard against NCLB, then realized it sounded a lot like Jamie Kenzie's "17 Reasons Why NCLB Must Go," so I slapped his name on there to make it seem more authentic.

My audience could have really been anyone, but I picked my primary audience to be the policy makers. It was hard to couch my message in terms that wouldn't bore policy makers, but also wouldn't be too complicated for my secondary audidnces (teachers, tax payers, parents, students, and advocates). However, I think being relatively passionate in my delivery made up for what my speech might have been lacking in intellectualism.

I think I did pretty well on the speech. I worked hard on the whole thing. I did my research, I developed good speech points, and I monopolized the double-mirror on our bathroom for two afternoons. I was worried I went over the time when I saw you check your watch a million times. But if I went over, it could have only been by 30 seconds max, because I hit a seven-minute timer on my cell phone just as I started the speech, and it went off just as I was telling the audience what I wanted them to do, and that was only, like, three sentences.