Friday, February 19, 2010
Discussion for Week 6
As we spend these past several days on this assignment, let's think critically about these second presentations. Which speeches do you tend to remember? Why? What aspect of them stands out most? What makes these presentations credible? On that note, what challenges have you encountered, if any? Have the presentations begun to ease up for you, remain the same, or increase in difficulty...note that there is no right answer; in fact, different opinions can make this an interesting discussion.
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The speeches that I tend to remember the most are speeches that discuss a topic I am unfamiliar with. Many of the speeches that have been given talked about things I already knew about. It was fun to see what everyone chose as a visual aid since we were not allowed to use PowerPoint.
ReplyDeleteI have gotten more comfortable at speaking and it is becoming easier. Rehearsing my speech ahead of time is the best way for me to prepare and conduct a smooth presentation. I will often rehearse my speech 4 and 5 times to make sure I say everything in the correct order and use my transitions properly. It also helps me create a speech that is within the time constraints and it overall just makes the speech sound good and flow well.
Like Jared said, I tend to remember the speeches that are presenting new material to me. I think not being able to use PowerPoint really let us be creative and it was fun to see how everyone used their visual aid.
ReplyDeleteRehearsal was a big part of preparing this speech. I feel that I was much more comfortable and relaxed while I was giving the speech since I did rehearse. Again, like Jared said, it helped me determine where I was standing in the time category. I originally was going to have three main points but after practicing once, I knew that wasn't going to be feasible. I think since this speech was worth more points, people may have put more time into it than the first one.
I kind of feel that the topic isnt really the decididing factor in how memorable a speech is. For me, it is the way I feel about how the material is presented. Even if I am really interested in a topic, I can put up the mental blocks if the speaker isnt engaging enough. To the contrary, if a speaker was talking about how to quilt and was really excited about it, I would be more likely to focus on the speech.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I know that I can be a little boring myself. I try to seem excited about my topics, but my anxiety gets the best of me. I also try to give my speech in the same tone I would talk to my peers. I do this because I want the audiance to feel like im talking with them and not at them. However, when I use this method my enthusiam is low and therefore I dont think my speeches are very memorable.
For me the speech that I remember the most out of the last set was the last one because it was the most interesting to me. I don’t really know much about aviation but when he was speaking about the 2 planes that left at separate times and collided in mid air over the Grand Canyon, I found it pretty interesting. The content of this is obviously what I thought stood out and I believe that it is credible because this isn’t something you can just make up and have that much information on. The challenge that I encountered with my speech was that I was not able to actually get the software because of licensing and copyright agreements so I had to make do without it on my speech. As for the presentation itself, I thought that this one was much easier to prepare for and do all together.
ReplyDeleteAs far as other presenters, I've found that the ones the have demoed software tended to be the most memorable. When they show the software features, my mind automatically starts taking notes "oh that's helpful" or "yeah, I have no idea what he just did" and it makes it easier to say that I can definatley use what it is being shown. Not to say that other presentations weren't memorable, its just that its hard to identifiy with a pdf document rather than actuall working software.
ReplyDeleteAs the presentations go on, they've definatly getting easier, now if only I understood what I'm allowed to use in my presentation (lol). When we are moving to the persuasive speeches, I feel like they will be the easiest, because fact gathering/checking isn't the worst thing in the world and I find it easier to convince an audience rather than inform them.
As the presentations were given, those who had high energy and very clear pronunciations stood out to me the most. They seemed to captivate me and keep me interested in their topic. Their energy and passion for their topic made me want to learn more and more about it. These speeches also seemed to flow along the best, and, to me, had the most comfortable presenters. Everyone does a pretty good job of keeping a nice level of enthusiasm, but a few really stand out in my mind, and keep repeating this enthusiasm in all of their presentations.
ReplyDeleteThe presentations that stand out the most to me are the ones the have excellent delivery. The topic can be exactly what I want or need to hear about, but if the speaker does not draw me in, the chance of it impacting me is somewhat low.
ReplyDeleteAs the presentations go on, the preparation becomes more difficult, especially when we are not allowed to use power-point. In a sense of comfort however, they are becoming easier for me. This is because of the comfort factor. I'm getting to know the faces and personalities of my classmates so I'm no longer speaking to random people.
I think the presentations went well because so much confidence can be gained by talking about our main interests. The extended time did not seem to be a problem for the majority of the class. To me it seemed nobody had a problem with time because they knew their topics really well. Not being able to use PowerPoint did not seem challenge but one of many presenting options that wasn't available.
ReplyDeleteI also tend to remember the presentations that were about topics I was unfamiliar with and something I would possibly use. Since I didn't know much about the topic it grabbed my attention because I wanted to learn more. The presentation that first came to mind was the one with the Mario visual aid because that was really creative and awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest ones to remember are the ones who can take an interesting topic and really project it to the audience. A good visual aide really helps with that, especially if it is well prepared and interesting to look at. An easy-going, relaxed approach is always easier to listen to as well, at least for me. I loved this change from the normal powerpoint, too.
ReplyDeleteThe presentations that I remember the most tended to be those that relate to my field and those that had visual aids that were well thought out. As far as the presentation goes this time around, I feel that I'm becoming a lot more comfortable presenting to the class now. I gave myself much more time to prepare, which I felt helped out greatly.
ReplyDeleteI think that visual aids can make a lot of difference regarding the memorability of speeches. For example, the speech I remember the best out of any of them is Kyle's, because of that Mario-themed visual aid with its very innovative way of conveying the information. As far as what stands out the most in speeches is concerned, I would point to smooth delivery, energetic/conversational speaking, and visual aids.
ReplyDeleteI got the impression that everyone had credibility regarding the subjects they discussed. They often had chosen something from their own area of study or expertise or something that was naturally of interest to them. In some cases specifically demonstrated their familiarity with what they were discussing, like when software was demonstrated. All in all, they indicated to me that they knew what they were talking about.
My main challenges in the last presentation were similar to the ones with the previous one. I find it difficult when "under pressure" to think of what I am going to say next, perhaps due to constantly losing my train of thought when nervous about whether or not I will do well. My mind tends to blank out easily, and I need to recover quickly every time it happens during a speech. In general, I seem to be a fairly slow, one-track thinker, even if I am capable of thinking deeply/thoroughly about things under the right conditions. Other difficulties I have include moving sufficiently (I don't think I have ever naturally used gestures much when speaking, and I need to force myself to do it during speeches if I want to fulfill requirements), keeping eye contact, and refraining from doing nervous things like stroking my chin. Also there is the issue of being able to think about all these things at the same time, which seems fairly necessary in my own case.
Nothing much seems to have changed between the two informative speech assignments in overall difficulty, as the conditions of each assignment were very similar aside from the visual aid (which I found easy to make) and the time limit. The longer time limit may have made it a bit easier for me, since it is difficult to fit anything into the first assignment's 3-to-4-minute time limit and since I always seem to run overtime myself. Also, I may have done a bit better in some ways in this one than in my first one, due to experience. For example, I probably managed to keep myself (at least mostly) from stroking or pinching my chin when speaking in the second one, and of course the second time I made sure my visual aid was working.
I think that the speech was easier for me to approach. I’m trying to loosen up and get comfortable speaking in front of the class and I felt less anxious about the actual presentation. I practice several times before I give my speech, so I know what I’m talking about. But I still have trouble remembering my place in the outline, so that causes me to use several filler words instead of a more fluid speech. I’m also trying to get out in front of the audience and not spend the whole time behind the computer doing a demo of the software. I think that doing the demo or having good visuals is what makes a speech memorable, so I try to incorporate a visual into the entire speech.
ReplyDelete