After watching my persuasive speech video, I noticed that I wasn’t maintaining enough eye contact as I should have. Mainly when I looked at the board to show the audience something it made things awkward. My stance was fine but I feel like I should have been closer to the audience instead of distancing myself. The change that I notice is, I was more relaxed when talking in front of an audience. I feel that the forced experience of talking in front of an audience several times helps to overcome social anxiety greatly. I feel more confident in my ability to speak normally in front of crowds now. I think my speech was fairly successful in reaching its point but could have been better.  The lack of passion throughout the speech is something that could have been better. Showing the audience that this was something I really meant would have helped to boost my persuasive abilities. After watching other classmates give speeches, I think that it is really good to use humor as a way of keeping the audience’s attention. Also the attention-getter of a speech is very helpful in keeping attention throughout the rest of the speech. The outlines that were written for this course will help me in the future to build well-crafted speeches. I can use the basics of speech giving in everyday life show evoke different emotions. Knowing how to approach large groups on people at a time when talking will help on a job or even in a club. The most important skills taken away from the class was eye contact and stance. Maintaining a confident look all the time when you’re in front of an audience is very hard and this class offered me the opportunity to work on that. Also maintaining the right pitch and using vocal variety is also good. These will help with making sure that I won’t be seen at boring when conversation one-on-one with someone of in front of an audience.

Re-watching my persuasive speech made me look back at the first assignment of the monologue speech, ans see how much has changed. I felt different. The fear of going up in front of the class was almost non-existent, replaced with everything I wanted to present to them. I had moments that I know I can improve on with time, like hesitation and swaying a bit while talking, but overall I’m happy of the overall effect. I think my speech was exploring a topic that at first presents no interest, but when looked at in depth presents interesting points. I tried to present the speech in a way that wouldn’t be overly serious, but easily understandable. Having watched my classmates’ speeches, I feel that they tackled the act of persuading particularly well. For some of the speeches, I felt like I learned new interesting things that made me question my previous opinion on the matter. I am glad I took this course so early on in college. I know that public speaking will be a big part of my time in Baruch and in my career, so the things I learned in this course made me feel more confident about tackling a speech I want to present, and  having new techniques to use while presenting. The most important thing that I have learned would be to approach challenges with excitement rather than fear. My fear of speaking in front of people, has changed to wanting to share what I know with others, and to not be no scared all the time.

• When reviewing my first speech and then watching my last, I saw so much improvement in myself and my delivery.  Physically, it’s visible that I am much more calm and relaxed. This adds to myself looking more confident, and therefore more credible. I used more vocal variety, different pitches, and less vocal fillers. I think that because of the tools I used in my speech, I was successful in persuading my audience. I feel that I did my best to establish credibility and seem confident enough to win over the audience. When watching my classmates speeches, a noticed a few key elements that seem to work. Natural hand gestures, accompanied by a strong stance is key. Also, the less vocal fillers, the more likely I, as an audience member, am to be persuaded by the speech. In the future, I plan to use the same skills as vocal variety, different pitches and speaking more slowly  when presenting formally during a school or work related presentation or just in person to person interactions to better communicate with others. Most importantly than the skills I’ve learned through this class, I’ve grown more confident as a speaker which is  amazing.

Looking back at my previous speeches, I feel that I have improved a lot as a speaker. My confidence for one has gotten better. Early on, I used to be nervous and shivered a bit out of that nervousness. Fortunately, my confidence increased and now I can give a speech with self-assurance. I think that my persuasive speech was quite successful in winning over my audience. I think that I got my points through to them and helped them familiarize with the problem that I was talking about. I feel that my pacing of words was quite effective in the speech. However, I do feel that I was a bit reliant on my notes which I shouldn’t have been. Other than that, I am quite satisfied with my speech. In my opinion, a successful persuasive speech has got to consist of ethos, pathos and logos. If one can utilize their knowledge of the subject matter and make an emotional connection with the audience while at the same time giving rational reasons, their persuasive speech will be very effective and successful. I see myself using the skills that I learnt in this class in future business classes, or any class that requires me to present and when I eventually work for a company where I will have to give presentations for whatever is required to do so for. I think the most important skills that I would take away from this class are keeping one’s audience interested throughout the speech, showing confidence before an audience and preparing effectively for the speech. With the combination of these three skills, I believe one can make a brilliant and successful presentation no matter what the topic or form of speech is.

When I watched this last video of my persuasive speech, I noticed a lot of change from the first one. For example, I looked and sounded a lot more natural. As the speeches went on, I relied less and less on my notes and I became more comfortable speaking in front of everyone. Each time, I felt less and less nervous. I remember the first time I had to make a speech in this class, I was borderline panic attack right before. However, this last one, I not only felt more prepared, but I was much more calm and collected, and I think that was reflected in how I gave my speeches. Although my voice still seems small and nervous, I think it’s an improvement from my first speech. I also looked more comfortable standing up there in terms of my physical delivery. I used much more natural gestures and it didn’t seem too staged.

I think my persuasive speech was successful at opening everyone’s eyes towards the clear gender bias in society and the media. I think I had strong points, and good examples, but I probably could have presented it in a more effective way. However, I think that this is a topic we all really agree on anyways, so I think I had the audience from the start.

After watching everyone else’s speeches, I think a persuasive speech requires a combination of many things. Not only should we have a compelling argument, but it also needs to be backed up by many examples. Statistics are very effective in persuading people, because the numbers are right there. Also, it helps to be confident. If you don’t seem like you believe what you’re saying, no one else will.

I can definitely see myself using the skills learned in this class in the near future. This school offers many leadership opportunities for clubs and activities, and having a leadership position in a club requires a great amount of confidence in your speaking abilities. I think the most important thing I’ve taken away from this class is that it’s important to be confident when you’re making a speech. It not only helps the audience believe what you’re saying, but it also helps you feel more comfortable speaking in front of a group of people.

After watching my persuasive speech and then comparing it to the other videos, it was clear there was a big change in my delivery.  In my other videos I realized that the hand gestures I was making and my posture looked very awkward.  I looked uncomfortable and you can tell I was nervous right off the bat.  In the persuasive speech my hand gestures flowed better and were a lot more natural.  My posture was definitely stronger in that unlike the other videos where I kept swaying back and forth, I kept the moving to a minimum.  I definitely use less vocal fillers than in the other ones.  I was also louder.  I remember watching the older videos and not being able to hear my self because of how low I was speaking.  Even though I think I could have been louder, I was a bit better at volume during the persuasive speech.  I’m going to have to keep working on the volume.

I think I was successful somewhat.  The feedback I got from the class was positive.  I also think I was able to win them over mostly by my use of pathos in the speech.  Another factor had to have been that a lot of them were surprised that this was actually a pretty important issue in regards to the amount of people it effects.  This caused more interest in what I had to say.

After watching all the speeches, I think one of the most important things you can do to make a successful persuasive speech is by getting the audience involved.  When someone talks for a while just throwing numbers and facts out there, it makes us lose interest.  That causes us not to care about what that person is talking about or trying to persuade us.  I also think that when certain people in the class used pathos, it was more of an incentive to listen and it was more likely to move me in their direction.

I’m going into marketing as a major and I believe going for a job in that field will require at some point to give some sort of presentation.  Now that I have taken this class and learned the necessary skills required to give a successful speech, it will be much easier for me.  I think the most important skills that I have learned is how to keep the audience’s attention.  First and foremost, if you don’t have the audiences attention, then there is no point in you standing up there and giving your speech.  In order to get your ideas across, you need to make sure they are paying attention.  Another important skill that I think is important is being able to look at the entire room, left to right, making eye contact.  Before I took this class I was sure never to look any one in the eye, and only to look at one point on the back wall.  Without this class I would have probably kept doing that.  I am really happy I took this class because I know this is one of those classes that will benefit me later in life.

The main difference I noticed was in my tone. I had a louder tone that I kept throughout the presentation. My vocal tone also had a wider range, compared to the first few where it was monotone. As far as physical delivery goes, my stance was a lot better. I kept my feet grounded and stood rigid, this led to a better feel and delivery.

My persuasive speech wasn’t too successful at winning over my audience. I did not have enough reason for the audience to give up a product that they consider a regular commodity. My persuasion was too factual. As a result my speech wasn’t properly digested in the heads of my audience.

I think a successful speech should be simple. Watching my classmates’ speeches, I noticed the ones that kept it focused on points came across stronger. It was easier to keep up with them. Apart from this, a good speech should also know the views of the audience. This is important to touch upon, because once the audience’s views are successfully disproved, the process of persuasion is halfway done.

I can definitely see myself using the skills learned in this class. Next semester most of us are going to be doing presentations in our business class. The practice we got in this class will be very useful. My biggest lesson in this class was definitely perseverance. I learned that the only thing that stands between me becoming a great speaker is practice. I learned that is is also important to evaluate your mistakes. The fact that we had to constantly reflect on our presentations allowed me to notice and observe the learning process behind public speaking, and learning in general.

Upon watching all my videos I noticed some stark changes. I think my vocal variety is much more prominent and I have developed a stronger speaking stance compared to my first speech. I think overall I learned to become more poised and I follow through with my speech much more effectively than I have in the past.
I honestly think I didn’t do too bad on my speech in terms of rhetoric. I don’t think I persuaded too many people in the audience. Looking at the peer feedback I got some pretty harsh comments. Perhaps it was my own fault for not emphasizing that I wanted to restrict the NSA more than I am against national security. I am all for national security and I didn’t want this to be an issue of what we have to give up; privacy or security. I thought my plan and benefits would illustrate what I wanted to do much better however, due to time restraints I had to move past it, as I had to do with many slides.

I think the most successful speeches were told extemporaneously with a good pace, strong stance, and had a organized approach. I think  I successful persuasive speech targets what the audience is interested but at the same time considers the bigger issue too. Most of all I think a successful persuasive speech will make even people opposing what you are arguing say, “Oh that is a good point.”

This class has improved my speech delivery skills tremendously. Watching the videos, constantly receiving feedback, analyzing others, reading and writing speeches, I think it was safe to say that we became immersed in the art of public speaking. One day I plan to be a lawyer, if you can’t persuade, or if you can’t talk in an organized manner conveying your argument then even the most brilliant minds will lose the case. I think this course has helped me learn techniques to improve my persuasive speech. Also throughout my career at Baruch we will be given so many presentations, taking this course has given me an edge on completing those challenging tasks. I think the most important skill I have taken away from this class is to be confident in what you have to say about a topic, to regain composure even if you lose it, and how to prepare a speech that works for the individual. Overall I owe a lot to this class and it was fun learning and delivering speeches.

After watching my persuasive speech video, I was able to analyze my speech in my physical and vocal delivery. The delivery was similar in my past videos. I would follow my speech with an introduction with a loud voice, but stiff body. The tone and volume would remain loud, but I was worried that I couldn’t enunciate my words properly. I think my rate in speech was normal without any pacing. I noticed the rate and volume remained stagnant throughout my speeches, but my habit of staying stiff never changed. Also, I believe it might be difficult for my audience to hear my words due to my enunciation of my words, which may make it difficult for my audience to hear my speech. I think I was about 50% and above in my persuasive speech in winning over my audience. After reading my speech review slips, a majority circled a 5 meaning that they were persuaded. A persuasive speech is a speech where a person can make powerful evidence in logic, strong emotions when speaking, and establishes strong credibility in their argument. I was able to witness this throughout my classmate’s speeches. I can witness myself using these communication skills in my future occupations. I would be able to perform stronger business deals, create better connections, and make new colleagues with my communication skills. The overall most important skill that I was able to take away was confidence. I never was too sure if I could speak in front of an audience until this class. This was my best achievement gained through the course.
Will Ng

Since the beginning of this class i feel i have actually grown as a public speaker, I no longer have that crack in my voice when i talk or that monotone stance. Looking at my most recent video to my first i see that i am much more comfortable and more enthusiastic as i speak to the audience. Thanks to my statistics and the car example i used i feel i did a pretty good job trying to convince my audience. I think my classmates did amazing with their presentation and we also were able to make longer speeches without getting nervous or pausing for too long. I feel this skill will help greatly not only with future classes in Baruch but for when I hopefully get a job in Law or even business, its definitely something  Ill be using for a long time