Final reflection

This I believe

            Public speaking, a class that my parents wanted me to take during my Post Graduate Year.  They said this class would help me immensely in the long run.  My parents said this class will help me get used to talking in front of big groups and that it will help me speak clearer when giving a presentation in a classroom or in front of a company.  When getting into class on the first day of school I wasn’t sure how was going to like the class.  Speaking in front of a new group of people that I haven’t met was something that I really was not looking forward to.  Starting with the icebreakers to get to know each other turned into a lot of awkward laughter.  This not being a bad thing, it showed what the class was like.  There were going to be the awkward times but the awkwardness would not be forever because it would be shadowed with laughter. 

            I am speech.  This one the hardest of them all the reason being because it is the first speech in front of this new group that we were just getting to know.  There was a lot of practice leading up to the final presentation of the speech and with each practice it only became easier.  The class on a whole was coming closer together and the awkwardness and nerves were gone.  The final presentation of the speech came quite easy for all with just little experience.  One of the flaws with the presentations was the lack of memorization, that being said each speech spoke for itself getting a sense of where each kid came from giving you a background on their life.  Having this speech be our first one helped the class come together.  Getting a sense of who the person was and why they were here at Cheshire Academy.  The I am speech put us now on a new personal level with each other.  It taught me not to fear of speaking in front of a group of people because it only last for a short amount of time and being relaxed during this time makes it a lot easier.

            The next segment.  The debates, these were very helpful.  Debating on topics with very little research time and not much time made us have to be persuasive as possible.  Being put on the spot talking about a topic that you researched for maybe five to ten minutes could make one very nervous.  Through the first couple times we did these mini debates I feel that I was very edgy and had a tough time speaking the words that were in my mouth.  With more and more practice it became a lot easier, being more persuasive and getting you to believe why something is better than something else when it truly wasn’t.  This helped me tremendously because it made me speak of my brain and make it sound fluent and not choppy.

            Finishing my final speech in public speaking I feel that I have come a long way from where I started.  The nerves of getting up in front of the class to speak have completely vanished.   Yes, it is a small class but it is great practice to get rid of those verbal and physical ticks that I once had (ums and swaying).  Therefore if I had to speak on a larger scale in front of a bigger group I feel that it would not be too hard for me.  I have accomplished a lot in this classroom since the beginning of the year with some things that I still can work on but I now know what I have to look for.

             

final project reflection

Thus far I would say that my progress with my final speech, the This I Believe speech is going very well.  I was able to think of my topic of what I wanted to write about very easily.  Being able to present my first draft was very helpful.  I received a lot of good feedback from my classmates.  Also you helped a lot with the beginning of my speech saying what to change to make it sound different that the other students who like to talk about the same topic.  Changing the beginning helped me change things in the rest of the speech so it was not repetitive and sounded like an original speech.  I feel that I have improved a lot of areas of the speech since the first draft.  It is a lot different than the first draft going in more depth of how I had to work for a lot of things in my life and how everything was not granted to me.  At this point with the speech I feel that I am pretty much complete with it.  I feel that I fix the things that I needed to, to make it a all around better speech.

This I believe Speech

For my final speech i am going to talk about my family and how they have gotten me to where i am today as a person.

There are many high school kids that talk about how their parents were too strict or how one of their siblings was extremely annoying and the hate they had towards them.  This is the opposite for me.  My family has made me the person that I am today.  Yes my parents were a little strict as I grew up but this was for the better.  They were strict to where they got the point across that I shouldn't do something, other than that they let me make a lot of decisions on my own.  They raised me forcing the act of kindness into mind telling me to be kind to others and you will only receive kindness back.   Growing up in my house wasn't the hardest thing but my parents were always on me to get my school work done or to get better with my athletics.  I had to work for a lot of the things that I received, I was not just granted everything.  If I wanted to purchase something for myself I had to use my own money.  This led me to my first job when I was 16 years old, I have had this job since then working summers when I had time on top of baseball.  I also had to do a lot around the house which many kids do not have to do.  In the spring and summer it was cutting the lawn, the fall raking leaves every weekend till there were no more and then in the winter I would have to shovel my driveway, my walkway and deck.  I feel having a job and having to work around the house has helped me today to make me a hard worker.
It is not just my parents that have helped me get to where I am today.  My older sister Jess, my only sibling that I have has helped get me here today.  With sports she has pushed me more than my parents have.  She played softball in high school and then in college so she knows what it takes to get there and how hard you have to work.  She would always talk to me and tell what I am doing is not enough and that I have to do more if I want to play and succeed at the next level.  I know I can count on my sister to be there for me whenever I am in need of something no matter how mad I can make her sometimes.  We have gone through a lot of ups and downs and no matter how low the downs are we always seem to come back together and become best friends again.
My family has gotten me here today and I can not thank them enough for this.  They have been so helpful shaping my life to what it is today.  I love my family and wouldn't want them to be any different.

Reflection

What I have learned from the speeches that I have read today are that they can be really about anything.  They two that I read talk about past experience and how they have overcome that.  The writer makes you feel for what they have come from and how they achieved what they have.

What makes it good?

• Strong start (introduction, state your name and what you're going to talk about)
• Points out all the details in the speech 
• Talking about an interesting topic, you don't want to bore the audience 

What makes it bad?

• Weak topic
• Weak intro, not introducing yourself
• Not making eye contact with the audience 
• Making sure the speech is clear