Journal #4
I think that the biggest thing that I learned from this speech is that the process of creating and delivering a speech is more complex than I might have thought at first.
We all have conversations and talk with friends, family, acquaintances, and other people all the time. In general, I think that we don’t put very much thought or planning into these conversations most of the time. When we are composing or delivering a speech, however, I am learning that we need to have a more deliberate process.
I had worked on my ‘’dry run” speech and I found the process to be an important part of creating and delivering a speech. We started with writing a narrative to tell the story. We were then asked to create an outline that we would use to deliver our speech. Through this process and when I made my first few attempts at the “dry run” of the speech I found some challenges.
I did find that word choice, grammar and sometimes content may need to change. When we write something, we may use a certain style of writing. We may choose certain words and frame them in a certain order. When you actually begin to use them for a speech, though, I found that it affects the flow and content of the speech. What looks good on paper may not come out well in a speech.
The peer feedback was helpful. I watched my “dry run” video and I felt it was OK. I did feel that I could definitely improve, but I thought it wasn’t bad. The peer feedback made me consider some areas upon which I could improve. First off, I generally have a fairly flat tone of speech. The feedback pointed to trying to “liven up” the speech. I did try to do this in my final speech.
I do think that my final speed is better overall, although there is still room for improvement. I think that as the class progresses, I can improve, and I look forward to developing better public speaking skills.
Frank DeMers
SPC -100
