Nathalie Lora Reflection #1

 

Nathalie Lora
SPC2608 9:50am
Professor Sinkoff

Chapter Presentation Reflection #1 Review

Group 1 (Chapters 1-3 and 5)

Looking back at Group 1’s presentation from a few weeks ago, I still remember how much information they packed into it. They covered several chapters which included, “The evolving art of public speaking”, “Building your confidence”, “Listening,” and “Adapting to your audience”. Their presentation was extremely informative, and it was also clear that they highlighted the main key points. They explained also how public speaking is a life skill and form of art that will be cherished in life and your own success. One thing I really appreciated was how they emphasized listening as well as confidence. Furthermore, this topic goes in with the awful thing that many of us commonly struggle with, which is speech anxiety. The videos were truly informative as well as entertaining, making the material more easier to grab and take with you. The tips and techniques given to build confidence really helped me focus and reflect on myself to build my own confidence. Life, for example the use of meditation taking deep breaths to calm nerves really does help bring out the confidence we have inside. Another important part was the adaptation to your audience; this is the true key to holding your audience’s attention and interest in listening. Overall, I definitely learned a lot from this presentation and how truly important these topics matter in being a better speaker.

Group 2 (Chapter 4, 6-8)

Looking back on Group 2’s presentation from a few weeks ago. I remember how much information was included in the presentation. They covered Chapter 4 on Developing your purpose and topic, Chapter 6 on Researching your topic, Chapter 7 on Supporting your ideas, and Chapter 8 on Organizing and outlining your speech. For the most part I remembered it was easy to follow and was organized for the most part. You could definitely see the effort as well as the originality between the slides. Some information that stood out the most to me was the avoiding plagiarism and building a personal outline. It really stuck with me because it is truly easy to rely too much on resources, instead of focusing on making your work more authentic and personal. I just liked how they tied that idea to growth, since a big part of becoming the best public speaker is the originality aspect of it. Another topic Group 2 emphasized that stood out as well was the discussion of narratives. I did not comprehend how many types of narratives there truly are or even how powerful each one can be in connecting with an audience. It really shows how a plain speech cannot compare to personal stories. Even though there was too much information in sum of the slides I still think it was a very informative presentation throughout and I left that day with so much useful information in helping me become a better public speaker.

 

Group 3 (Chapters 9-12)

When I reflect back on Group 3’s presentation, I remember how balanced it felt and to the point. They covered Chapter 9 – 12, which included beginnings and endings, effective language, integrating media, and delivery methods. One of the most interesting topics that grabbed me was about euphemisms. I had heard the word before but never truly understood the meaning behind it and how it worked in public speaking as well as communication. They further explained how euphemisms soften language to make it sound less harsh or strong, which made me realize how much it is used in real life without even one noticing. Another topic that was memorable was the primacy and recency effect which basically, how people usually remember only the beginning and end of a speech most of the time. It gave me a whole new perspective on the importance of those specific two moments in a speech and how u can grab and leave one after a speech. They also demonstrated the importance in media and visuals in a presentation of a speech. As well as the different tools that we in our modern day have access to in improving our speech in general. They also go further in explaining the different methods of delivery which I took into consideration, like, memorized or impromptu. It helped me understand the strengths and weaknesses of each type of method. Group 3 slides were very easy to comprehend without feeling overwhelmed with too much information. Overall, it is very informative and walked out without many different tactics to maybe try in the future.

Group 4 (Chapters 13-17)

Finally, thinking back on my group presentation, I really feel proud and admirable of the teamwork shown and how we handled the presentation. We covered Chapters 13-17 which discussed mainly Informative speaking and the different types, Persuasive speaking and studying the different types of audiences, understanding arguments and the different steps to form a complete argument and side, Distance speaking and media appearances, and lastly Special occasion and group presentations. Through reflection of groups performance, I think we did amazing. We all collectively faced our fears together presenting in front oof our class and did a flawless job giving the nervous state we were in. We created note cards to keep us on track and worked together to make sure we were all organized and presented our topic. Even with our nerves showing a little we still pull strong as a team and delivered an excellent informative presentation. On a personal note, I noticed that my group pushed each other to become leaders and be public speakers. I noticed that I would stutter here and there but I push through so my team can feel confident and that it is an easy to stand there and deliver speech. With this experience it showed me that mistakes are normal and human, and the important thing is how you reflect from it as well as improved from it. Overall, I think we were very informative and had a lot of character in our presentation.