Jackson has changed a lot throughout this communications course. He used to have a lot of nerves when presenting in front of people. Although he still does tend to get nervous when it comes to public speeches, constantly practicing in this class has really helped him become more accustomed to it. He seems to have gained more confidence when speaking to an audience. He doesn’t become shy anymore. Jackson started off having a neutral feeling about public speaking but is now that feeling has become more positive. Jackson has formed a new habit of standing still with a strong posture when presenting. He also stopped fidgeting as much as before. Prior to this speech class, he would always move around during presentations and would only make eye contact with spot in the room. He has since learned how to scan the audience to make eye contact with everyone present in the room.

I believe that the most important aspects of effective public speaking are maintaining eye contact and having a strong physical delivery. Without these two aspects, even if you know what you are talking about yet are stuttering over every sentence, the audience will have a difficult time understanding what you are trying to say. Maintaining eye contact is essential to engaging the audience and allowing the audience to remain interested in what you are saying. One observation that I have noticed over the course of the semester that surprised me was the fact that it doesn’t really matter how many people there are in the audience to which you are speaking, people still tend to get nervous.

As a communications major, this course has equipped me with the necessary skills needed to progress in this field. This course has helped me get over my nerve of speaking in public, as well as teaching me methods to help me better get my message across to an audience. This course has also helped me outside of the classroom in everyday conversation as well as professionally.