Speech Videos

It is very interesting to watch other students like myself in a speech class, the first video on Light Pollution was very organized and was like a problem/solution type of speech, the only critique i have for her is that she moves her hands way to much which can come of as very distracting and may take away from her speech. The video on Drinking had a very catchy beginning, however it was clear that the guy had not practiced his speech and his visual aid wasn't the best it almost takes away from the speech because it was all things that he could have said verbally so the visual aid was pretty redundant. I think in terms of volume both speakers were very audible and had pretty good eye contact.
Watching these videos can help me be more aware of little things that I do that may distract the audience as well as make me want to practice more so I wont look as ill prepared as the Drinking speaker.

Chapter 5 reading

Psychographics is a new concept that I had never heard of before reading this book. I think it is a great concept to learn about because i have always been the type of person to try to look at things from another person's point of view, but i didn't know that it was a concept that could be applied in public speaking, i always used demographics or my target audience to guide my writing or speaking because that is what i was always taught to use. Especially because I am from San Francisco which is probably just as or even more so diverse than San Jose, I guess I never thought about all the research that goes into speechmaking but after reading about this concept and how it is applied makes me look at people differently and now i see why some people are great speechmakers, they probably have a great handle of psychographics.

Speech Update

My speech topic is: How to make Spaghetti. I haven't done much research because I already know how to make spaghetti but I do plan to put a brief history of spaghetti in the beginning of my speech. My main points will be:

1. A brief history on spaghetti
2. Its cultural significance to me
3. What ingredients are needed to prepare it
4. How to make spaghetti sauce.

I think it is great that many people are doing foods because I love to eat. For a visual I will probably bring some spaghetti into class.

Aristotle's Rhetoric

Last semester I took English 1b with Professor Miller. It was actually one of my favorite courses at SJSU so far. The focus of the course was rhetoric, and up until that time the only way i heard that word being used was in "rhetorical" as in a rhetorical question. I never knew it was a writing/oratory skill. Well, Professor Miller never mentioned Aristotle in our rhetoric courses but we did learn about and use logos, pathos, and ethos appeals in our essays, so I have a grasp of the concept. I think it is really cool that this are some of Aristotle's ideas because he is one of my favorite philosophers. Also his concept of audience centered communication is great because that was also a concept that was emphasize in my class and it makes sense because connecting with the audience is very important. A great example of rhetoric is Martin Luther King's Letters from a Birmingham Jail.

Interviews

I wonder if anyone knows what an ethnographer is? It is basically a person (usually an antrhropologist) who studies specific cultures. Well a huge part of this person's work is to observe and interview. Back in the days, when I was in 8th grade a Stanford grad student came to my middle school, among others, to recruit a small group of assistant ethnographers. For some reason i thought it would be cool and I joined the group. My job was to watch student interactions and take notes. Also i was to setup interviews with students and some teachers. This was my first experience in interviewing, and i was even given a little tape recorder to record the process. This was 8 years ago, and for some reason I forgot about the whole experience until about a year ago when i was bored, i decided to check my name out on the web to see what would come up. My name was credited to the report that was done by the Stanford grad students. To check out the report click here.
Interviewing can be fun and if you ask the right questions you will be able to get a lot of information out of the subject. My advice to anyone who is conducting an interview is:

1. be prepared
2. take note of the answers to your questions
3. lastly be interested and lively, if you are dull and unattached the interviewee may fell uncomfortable and you wont be able to get the maximum amount of information you want.
   

Speaking Flash back

PHEW.... it is burning HOT outside.... been this way pretty much all week. Fortunately I work at an ice cream shop, so i will stay cool at work. This online course is a little bit more confusing than i thought because I keep misreading things. I think i am getting the hang of it now though... So... to answer the question about apprehension with public speaking, I would have to say that it doesn't apply to me. Honestly I have no problem speaking in front of people and I am quite used to speaking out loud...especially in class. However, I am not perfect and I am aware that I do have some things to work on, most importantly-my volume. When I was in high school I was on my school's mock trial team, and I played a defense attorney. At auditions I must have done well because I was awarded a major role- defense attorney. I was even chosen to do the Closing statement, which was a big deal. Too make this long story short.... i ultimately ended up trading my closing statement with my co-attorney, to do the opening statement. I was told I didn't have enough punch, and a closer has to be loud and most importantly remembered...every practice I thought i was loud but the cold truth was that i just couldn't get my points across loud and effective enough.

Happy Birthday to ME

YES!!!!!!!!!!!! today i am finally 21. Legal to do anything now. I bought my first margarita, and hung out with my favorite person in the world, my best friend and boyfriend....he is the light of my life. This was one of my best birthdays in years and now i am eating my happy birthday ice cream cake...which is very delicious! It is great to be off from school and work and not have to worry about either one..