Camila Marrero - First Blog

 Summary of Presentations & My Opinion

Camila Marrero

SPC 2608

 

On our second class, we did presentations for all chapters. Each Groups had the choice to present different chapters. Since I was not present on the first day, I was unable to chose a chapter of my own. Instead, I picked out the key parts of those presented in my group and made a presentation on that. Everyone did great including my group. We all covered very important points when making a speech.

 

Personally, I liked my group the most because well for one it was my group and two we all did very great. My group did chapters 4,6,7, and 8.

Chapter 4 which was presented by Isaias was very important in the sense that you need to establish which type of speech you are going to give before writing it. There are different things for example; persuasive speech, informative, and special occasion. These things need to be established beforehand so that when it is done you don’t leave your audience confused. In case you are unsure, an informative speech is when you are informing your audience of something they may have not already known, examples include: a speech about current world events, a speech letting your audience know that there has been a new medical discovery, or a speech about what types of food alternatives are better for you. With persuasive speeches you are attempting to convince your audience or in other words “persuade” them to agree with your statement. Examples of this can be: A speech about your opinion on a certain political party, a speech where you attempt to convince your audience to donate to a cause you see as special, or a speech where you try to get your audience to make a change, like trying to pass a new bill or law. Lastly, a special occasion speech is a speech that is given in a specific setting or “special occasion”. These places may be a wedding, a funeral, a work gala, etc. This speech is neither persuasive nor informative it is more so for example you talking about how you met the groom in a wedding or in a funeral you speak about the life of a loved one. It is supposed to be a special speech.

For chapter 6, which was presented by Javier, was one of the most important ones. He talked about Researching Your Topic. You always have to make sure you use reputable sources when doing research for your speech. You should stay away from sources like Wikipedia, or blogs which can be very opinionated. Rely on sources like MDC, science.gov and etc. You also have to make sure you do not copy other people’s speeches, this is called plagiarism. It is something that is done pretty commonly but is not allowed whatsoever. It is the act of copying word for word someone else’s paper or speech. This can get you in very serious trouble, if the speech or the paper is for your school you may get kicked out or you may fail the entire course. If it is a speech that you are giving in a meeting you may not be allowed to do it again or you may be marked as untrustworthy. This is something very serious that should never be done.

Chapters 7 and 8, which were presented by Fahima and Jessica are also very important. Chapter 7 is What does it mean to “Support an Idea”? This chapter explains why it is important to have evidence to back your ideas. You always need to have facts incorporated, the reason being when your audience sees you have the supporting evidence, they are more likely to see you are being truthful and that you are not making anything up. It always depends on what your speech is about, but you need to have the facts to make sure it goes how it is supposed to. Chapter 8 was about Organizing and Outlining your speech. When you are setting up your speech you need to treat it like an essay or like a paper, always start off with the basics. You have to start with an introduction, your introduction has to catch the audience’s attention so include a “hook”. In this first part you will be stating your thesis and establishing credibility. The next part will be the body, it is always the longest part, this is where you will state all of your points and give the supporting evidence. Next will be the transitions, you always need transitions because you can not just switch from one topic to the next with no indication. Lastly will be the conclusion, in this part you will review your main points, restate your thesis and give your audience closure.

 

Another group I liked was group 3, they did a very good job with their presentation and spread their point across effectively. They touched on chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Chapter 9 was presented by Liz Valdes, the name of this chapter is Beginning and Ending Your Speech. This chapter is pretty important, it touched on the organization of your speech but more in depth. She talks about what should be in your introduction and conclusion specifically. As stated before, it is important to catch the audience’s attention at the start to keep them hooked. They will mainly remember the beginning and the ending of your speech. She also touches on techniques to grab your audience’s attention. I really liked how she added a video at the end, it kept all of us interested.

Jimmy Pierre Louis presented chapter 10, it is called Using Language Effectively. This is highly important when giving a speech. Everyone knows that giving a speech is important as you are most likely doing it for a reason, you need to show your audience that you are professional. You should never use slang when you are making your speech, it can affect your credibility. Your audience needs to see that you are serious about your topic, this is why you need to speak correctly and professionally.

Chapter 11, this chapter was presented by Kevin Castro. The name is Integrating Presentation media, this is something that should mostly always be done when giving a speech so that you can keep your audience involved and not get bored. You can incorporate media into your speech if for example you are on a stage that has a projector, you can stream a video or show pictures to back up what you are talking about and to keep their interest. You can also show them graphs that support your speech.

The last chapter this group talked about was chapter 12, it was also presented by Kevin Castro and by Katerin Barrieri. This chapter is about Delivering Your Speech. This chapter has several parts, the first being Selecting a Delivery Method. You have options when it comes to actually giving the speech, either you can memorize it, or you can read it off of your notes however you desire. Next is Factors Influencing Delivery, this is more or so things you can’t always control like, your voice and your gender can influence perception and delivery. Then comes Managing your Voice, when you are talking to an audience you always want to make sure you are controlling your breathing, you manage your pitch, pronounce words clearly, and manage your tone. Managing Your Body, while stating the obvious I will say you need to make sure you are dressed adequately and appropriately, you need to make eye contact and engage with your audience, your posture is important never slouch, and be sure you use facial expressions, don’t keep a straight face. The most important point for me was Practicing The Delivery of Your Speech. This will ensure that you are confident and ready to talk to your audience. This also gives you a chance to correct any mistakes you may make at that time. Overall it was a great chapter and they both did a great job when making this presentation.

 

In the end, I enjoyed everyone’s presentation but I am not going to go into detail of all of them because I will spend the whole day here, but I focused on the two that I enjoyed the most. Obviously my group was the best in my personal opinion, but everyone else did a magnificent job presenting. I liked how everyone was confident and spoke very clearly, they certainly got their points across and made sure we all understood the chapters clearly.