Lizbeth Pedre Post 1

 Lizbeth Pedre 

I sat down in front of my computer Tuesday morning. I logged into class like I always do. But this time felt different. This time I have a presentation. I remember my stomach began to turn. My mouth was extremely dry. I skim through the pile of flashcards sitting beside me and began reading word for word of the flashcards. As it gets closer to the start time of the presentation. I couldn't help but run to my kitchen and grab myself a tall glass of water. I was extremely nervous my tongue became numb. The presentation begins and I hear a soft voice speak on the screen. It's one of the students from class. She begins with her introduction. I sat quietly and listened as she spoke about her chapter. Her clear pronunciation and focus made it easy for me to engage with her topic. As it got closer to my presentation time I took a deep breathe and reviewed my speech one more time. As I reviewed I made sure to have my slide open to the flashcard it pairs with. The nervousness builds up more and more and finally it is my turn to present. I turn my camera on and some how start speaking without actually knowing what I was saying. As I go along with my presentation I slowly come back to reality and focus. I start to speak slower and make sure I hit all the main points on my topics. But the awkward silence between me and the class makes me even more nervous. All I can think of is wanting to finish my presentation as quickly as possible. I try and keep my cool and continue. When I finally finish I say my thank you to the audience and turn off my camera and mic. I feel an large weight lifted off my shoulders. After my presentation their are still many others left so I sat down quietly and continued to focus on the presentation. Through out the presentation I have learned a significant amount of information about speech. And what I could do better for my next speech. I noticed that I did get tongued during my speech. I also noticed my lack of information with the chapter I had. Lastly my delivery was a bit confusing and all over the place. I sat and thought to myself what are some thing I wish I could've changed about my presentation. Although I had a significant amount of information it was not enough to inform my audience on the topic at hand. Also the order of which I gave my speech was not the correct form, which caused me to get confuse and mess up on the delivery. I noticed when giving a good speech their are many different factors that play big role in delivering one. My first initial observation was effective communication. When making a speech, it's crucial that you make your argument clear and keep the audience interested. Effective communication ensures that the message is delivered to the audience in the desired and appropriate manner. Communication is unsuccessful if the recipient is uninformed of what the sender is about to say. During the presentation, as part of the audience I felt informed about each topic presented. I also took notice of how well organized everyone was during their presentation. In order to present a speech it is important that your speech is well structured. Disorganized presenters are less likely to be believed to be trustworthy or credible by audiences, who are also less likely to grasp their lectures. I feel when you have your speech organized and in logical order not only does that help the audience understand the information it helps delivering your speech less challenging. Another observation I made was everyone difference in linguistic. There a different forms of speech styles. Although I have heard of speech styles before getting to experience it is different. For those who do not know what is a "speech style" it can be described as the vocabulary, grammatical structures, loudness, tempo, pitch, and intonation, which are only a few of the linguistic qualities that make up speech style. When giving an oral speech your pitch, tone, tempo and loudness is important. For example, if you are speaking a to fast your audience will have a hard time comprehending your topic. Also if you speak to low your audience will not be able to hear you. Speaking in a groggy or aggressive tone may change the way your audience perceives you and your speech. Through the presentation, I also observed was the different communication styles. One can choose their communication style. We may influence people by the words we use, the volume at which we talk, the time of the discussion, and other means. These decisions have an impact on whether or not others hear what we're saying or become sidetracked by our actions. It is important that you are focus on the main point of your speech. If your speech is to broad it may not only confuse your audience but yourself included. Also venturing or sidetracking makes you lose the main point of your speech. Communication styles are significantly influenced by culture. There are numerous individuals in the class with different backgrounds. Each one of us have different cultural backgrounds, religion, and beliefs. Different ways in which cultures might influence communication. In terms of phrases, words, gestures, and languages utilized, for instance, it could have an impact on communication patterns. Additionally, culture can have an impact on communication styles and attitudes toward conflict. Time management is another important factor in speeches.  Being under the impression that we don't have enough time can be highly stressful. When giving a speech giving you do not want to go on and on about one of the parts of your speech, instead you should aim to give an effective and time managed speech. If you find your speech looking a bit lengthy then you should try summarizing your points. This helps you not lose focus on the main point and saves you more time to get into a different topic.