Week 15 Question 3

I think that the most helpful thing that I learned during class this semester was the different breathing techniques. They really helped before and after the speech when my adrenaline was running high. It was a big help to me. The other thing I learned is that not everyone is judging me when I'm speaking. I always thought that I was being judged. The comment cards helped me to realize that people are just listening attentively. Interestingly, I have also noticed through some of my comment cards that there are actually students in the class that genuinely care about how my speech goes. People have been very supportive. That was a huge revelation. The hardest part was the preparation of myself right before the speech. The help of my classmates, the breathing techniques and the overall ability to just try led to me being a better public speaker. Not perfect speaker, just a better one.

Week 15 Question 1

 In my future endeavors, I plan to take with me the ability to actually speak in front of people. When this semester first started, public speaking was something that I was so scared of, all I wanted to do was run away. Now I have a better understanding of how to use the skills I have learned to apply to my everyday life. I have learned how to just take a deep breath, breath normally through a speech and soon it will be over. This last speech I remember seeing the 1:30 card and the 5:30 card. That must mean that I blanked out on most of it. Oh well, at least I tried. That has been this entire semester for me. Just try! I have also learned that not everyone is staring at me or judging me even though it feels that way. Most people are just scared about giving their speech like I was a moment ago while sitting at my desk.

Week 15 Question 2

I think my favorite speech of this semester was the tribute speech. I liked that it was something that I could apply to my personal everyday life. I'm not sure that in my line of work that I would have much use for the other types of speeches such as the persuasive or cultural. The tribute speech showed that you can outline and prepare a really good tribute to someone. They were also very meaningful speeches. A few of us got choked up while speaking about a loved one. This speech just had a heartwarming feel to it that I really enjoyed. It was really awesome to see the different emotions that were invoked from the tributes. It was a very meaningful speech. I also liked that it was very easy to prepare, short and sweet. The outline was pretty simple and self explanatory. It made it a very easy assignment.

Question 2

When having a persuasive conversation I tend to always use the problem and solution method. I mostly speak with my husband about things like that and him being a guy, tends to respond better to me giving him a problem and then a solution. He has no problem with debating it with me but in the end, I tend to persuade him that what I want to do is best. My reasoning seems to always work. It makes me wonder if my speech will be the same and if I will have the same ability to persuade my audience. I think that this speech will be by far the hardest of my life. I can only hope that my reasoning for knowledge of one's health can win over the audience. It's a topic that I am passionate about being in the healthcare field, so I want that to come through in my presentation.

Week 13 Question 3

My persuasive speech is all about The Informed Patient, so I thought that this week I would talk about The Uninformed Audience. I feel like my topic is not something that many would think about if they weren't familiar with the healthcare field. I intend to show that my topic is important and show the audience that I have expertise on the subject. I have many personal experiences that I intend to speak about that will help with my credibility. I will address both sides/perspectives of my topic as well as be subtle with my persuasion. I want to inform people about my issue, then let them know that there are ways to inform themselves that they should maybe be doing what I'm saying instead. I just want everyone to know what they are asking for when they go to the doctor, not just say something because Dr. Oz said it was right. He doesn't always have all the details. He is more of a persuasive speaker on his shows but he tends to be more one sided. I will show both sides.

Week 13 Question 2

A sea of persuasion exists all around us at all times. My neighbors have been hinting that we should replace their side of the fence for weeks. That we are choosing to ignore. I watch quite a few shows on TV and they all have commercials saying that their product is the best or tastes better or 'if you use this you will have...' All of these things are trying to persuade us to do or buy things. Even on the news with some big stories, they only tell you one side, and they say that side is right. You have to be a critical consumer or you won't have any money left. If you see something you really want to try then go ahead and try it. Just don't try 20 different things with the entirety of your grocery budget. One must have great willpower in this day and age. There are even people that come to my door trying to sell me things or tell me their religion is better than mine. I remain strong and true to myself while politely telling them I'm not interested. I just try to pick and choose things that are out there. I make sure not to be bullied by anyone while they are trying to persuade me.

Week 13 Question 1

While I like the idea of the Monroe Motivated Sequence, for me personally I will be using the Problem/Solution organizational pattern. Monroe seems to be a bit more invasive to me. It requires that you capture your audience in a way that makes them want to change whatever it was you were speaking about. P/S is more my speed: to inform and persuade the audience to consider my opinion. It seems more like a show of opinion than an actual task. Because of those reason I feel like the Problem/Solution organizational pattern would be better for me. I like the simpleness of it. Problem solving is a main point in many conversations and I think that many people would better understand me if I used that pattern. "Clearly establishing that a problem exists provides the foundation for persuading the audience that the solution should be implemented." This is the plan...