Bethany Robba - Blog 1

         "Mastering the art of public speaking"

      "My experiences presenting in small groups"

              An overview of iSpeak chapters!

 

Introduction:

      These past few weeks, my classmates and I have been working on chapter summaries of the iSpeak textbook. Each chapter dove into a specific type of public speaking. For example, my section was chapter 11, persuasive speaking, in which was discussed ways to form a persuasive argument, what to look out for in persuasive arguments and many other important notes to start off my knowledge of public speaking. 

      This opportunity to be collaborative with my colleagues has made a difference in how I view public speaking and presenting to an audience. This assignment really eased me into the idea of public speaking and presenting work for others and makes me very excited for the future course work! 

      Being open and honest, I struggled deeply with anxiety through most of my teenage years but as I've gotten older and socialized with different groups of people, I adapted and got better and talking! Despite my improvement, I still stumble over my words and freeze up sometimes when speaking but Im trying to normalize that in myself. It's important to remember to be kind to other and be respectful because at the end of the day we are all people. 

                         My first impressions.. 

   Initially, I was overwhelmed by the idea of a presentation so early in the year, especially with people I’m not too familiar with yet! When I began working my part in the presentation, I was overthinking about my quality of work, the possibility of tripping over my words or just not making sense. Speaking with a few of the other people in my group did ease my nerves though, and made me realize this was a shared experience! We all have something to gain from this assignment . 

                Getting into the presentations..    

      Upon seeing the beautifully organized and descriptive presentation given by group 1, I was very intrigued in what they were teaching! They spoke about the 7 components of public speaking, how to ease your nerves and stay calm during a speech! They were detailed, clear and concise through the slides. They really made me feel comfortable with the idea of going up there and presenting my work for the class! The creative formatting of the presentation added points in my brain when I was watching their presentation. I loved how interactive they were with the audience. Though the presentation was beautiful I do believe the behavior displayed could have been improved upon. It is okay to laugh and have fun but it's hard to take a lesson seriously if the speakers aren't serious either. I believe this might have just been a nervous thing, so I don't want to push it too hard. :)  Otherwise, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of their work and am excited for future presentations from them!

       I unfortunately was absent on the day that group 2 presented their bold and beautifully work, but I was able to review it from my house via the file they sent! Group 2 discussed chapters 5-9 in an easy to read and digestible manner. The speakers went over topics such as how to identify appropriate supporting details, how to outline and format a presentation, how to find sources to use and even just why we benefit from research as a whole. The only thing I think they really lacked on was detail. There were certain points where I was a little confused, but they may have given much more detail when presenting their work, so i'm not entirely sure! Otherwise, I understood the point of their presentation and the direction they were headed. 

     Group 3, my group, had a few noticeable hiccups when starting off presenting but mistakes are made and we learned from those experiences as a group! The presentation went relatively smoothly as we all had done our best to plan accordingly. I really enjoyed working with the people in my group and found that their public speaking skills were rather impressive and made me feel encouraged to do well. I believe working in this group setting for a couple weeks was a great bonding experience and caused some personal growth. I found that my group effectively explained their points and did their best to make things clear for everyone! I believe my group could have communicated a little bit better with one another to have one, matching presentation but I'm sure next time there will be no issues like that!  

                                Self reflection 

It's important to remain optimistic about all future assignments, and do my best to not get so worked up by my own anxieties. I think next time I need to look up and maintain eye contact with the audience better and possibly speak a little clearer. No matter how much I prepped myself I still felt a little consumed by my nerves, and struggled to continue speaking at points. I think I could have also maybe expanded my slides to be just a bit more detailed, rather than having to verbalize all the fine details I wanted to include. 

                                Conclusion 

To wrap things up, I believe everyone in the class had alot to learn and gain from this assignment and everyone could probably agree with me on that. A majority of the presentations reflected the hard work and deep understanding of the topics that we were discussing. I found that the information in the presentations was useful, relevant and were quite informative. I personally think that's amazing for our first time doing presentations in this new setting. All of my classmates showed their true potential, I believe, and shows that they're willing to put in effort to succeed. I'm hoping next time everyone is able to communicate affectively with the other students in theor personal groups, as it would make everyone be understanding and on the same page! Overall, I think everyone did well and made the mark when it comes to what we were looking for in those presentations.