Over the course of speech class, I feel like I have grown so much. I remember when we had to do the monologues. During the practice I froze up, but as the semester went on, I grew more confortable standing in front of the class. The difference between my persuasive speech and all my other speeches is that I was much more confident and comfortable with the delivery. It was a topic that I cared about and I was happy to share it with the class. In my delivery, I had eye contact with the audience, but I feel like I still glanced at the cards too much. I wanted it to be more conversational. What I liked about it was that I wasn’t moving around too much, which can be distracting or show a lack of confidence. I also didn’t use too many vocal fillers. With the feedback that the class gave me, it seems like I persuaded most of them and I think what I did that was successful was show the need for the research although I lacked pathos and ethos. Overall, I think most of the speeches were very persuasive due to the way that they presented the facts and their tone to show that they actually cared about the topic. What wasn’t successful was when they spoke too slowly or had too many vocal fillers. I feel like this takes away from the message they are trying to convey to the audience and persuade them about. I feel that this class has helped me to overcome most of my stage fright. I’m sure I would still get nervous with an unknown audience, but for the most part I have no problem giving a speech anymore. The most important thing I will take away from this class is that the audience is not there to judge or put you down you. In the end, they would have listened and the worst thing that could possibly happen would be that they don’t clap. Even if you make mistakes, they understand.

Mark Komar

Overall, I think my group did well in the way we presented our speech. We were organized in the way that we knew who had to go at what time and transitioned from each other’s topics well. One thing that would have made the presentation better would have been better synchronization of the slides to the speaker. We used the visual aids to not only show the paintings and photographs that we were referencing, but also the time period we covered. I think that helped the audience more in understanding exactly how the time period influenced the artwork. One time that I could have used more visual aids was when I began speaking about Homervilles. I could have had a picture on what one actually looked like and compared it to the painting of the rich women. Upon looking at my group’s speech, I noticed that at some parts during my speech, my posture became a nervous stance. I began to go back to my old habit of leaning on one of my legs. I did try to use hand gestures and referred to the power point a few times to point out what I was saying. What I wasn’t satisfied with was the way I actually delivered it. I did get the content out, but it times I stumbled on my words and paused for too long. I feel like I made it too obvious when looking at my notes, and I felt like I didn’t look at the audience as much as I should have. My goal is to work on my delivery skills and try and use more vocal variety. What I enjoyed about all the speeches is the actual content. I like the history involved and the research that they put in to find out more about an artist.

Mark Komar

The thing that was most different in performing these two oral presentations would be the emotions involved. For the monologue, you had to try and guess what the emotions of the character were. With the personal speech, it was easier to portray because we understood where it was coming from. The personal speech also allowed for us to share with the class something we’ve dealt with that’s changed us. It also gave insight to who we really are based on that experience. Listening to my speech again I asked myself: “Is that how I really sound?” I noticed I had good eye contact with the audience, but I swayed from side to side. It’s something I do when I’m nervous, although I shouldn’t be. I’ve talked to almost all of the class and I would say, for the most part, I’m comfortable. However, it was the idea of being put on the spot that made me nervous. I should have practiced more because I looked at the cards more than I thought I would have to. Also, at certain parts I was stuck on words and it took a while to recover from the pause. I felt like I could have done more with my gestures and I didn’t need to stand in one spot. I could have paced, but no excessively. Overall I was dissatisfied with my own speech, but the class had some great speeches. They had great introductions, which quickly got my attention on what they had to say. I also wanted to listen more because of how personal some were. Although the emotions I felt were nowhere close to what they experienced, it gave me a good idea of what the experience was like. I liked the jokes that some speeches had. I felt that was a good way to keep the audience interested. Some things that didn’t work were that some speeches were too slow with too many pauses, and others were too quick to keep up with. Also too many vocal fillers broke down the central idea of what the speaker was trying to say. The picture included represents me being put on the spot in front of everyone.

Mark Komar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoVM9nm42E

Jimmy Valvano’s ESPY speech is one of the most inspirational speeches that I have ever come across. Valvano established a strong connection with the audience through his use of humor and anecdotes. The message he conveyed in his speech is one that isn’t directed towards a specific group of people, but to everyone. He shares what he believes to be the key to a wonderful life and encourages everyone to make the best of theirs. At the time of his speech, Jimmy was battling cancer. He, with the support of ESPN, launched the Jimmy V. Foundation for Cancer Research. He stated, “It may not save my life. It might save my children’s lives. It may save someone you love.” As a listener myself, even after twenty years, I still feel the urgency that he once had.

At the end of his speech, he received an outstanding ovation. Some audience members were even reduced to tears. Although my goal isn’t to make an audience cry, I want to be able to form connections with the members. I want them to fully understand what I’m attempting to say. Jimmy lost his battle with cancer. But with those strong words, his message was heard. The Jimmy V. Foundation has given over one hundred million dollars to cancer research and has helped to save many lives. Although he is gone, he was right in every way when he said “Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul.” His legacy will continue to live on in the Jimmy V. Foundation and all the lives it has helped to safe.

Source:

“About Us.” The V Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.jimmyv.org/about-us/our-story/>.

“Jimmy’s 1993 ESPY Speech.” YouTube. YouTube, 28 Sept. 2008. Web. 29 Aug. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoVM9nm42E>.