Journal #3 :
I read chapter 11 right before composing my speech for the week and I am so glad that I did. This chapter was all about organizing the speech and planning it out. I found out that there are supposed to be between two and seven main points. I had no idea that there was an ideal amount so this is very helpful for me to figure out how to plan the upcoming speeches. I also learned the difference between coordinate points and subordinate points and how to balance them in the amount of weight they are given. I don’t want to hover and focus on little details that don’t matter as much as the main point so it’s important to know the difference. I also liked the list of transition words to use. They gave me some good ideas for upcoming speeches and even essays I will have to write later in my life and showed how to transition from one idea to the next.
Chapter 12 was also helpful, as I am assuming all chapters that we read in the future will be. This was all about the different types of speeches that people can give.I had no idea there were so many different types. Spatial, for example, sounded really interesting and I had no idea it existed. I’m a tour guide so talking about building to building and things in proximity to each other comes so naturally to me. It’s interesting that this is a type of speech. I think personally, my favorite type of speech is the narrative. Those to me are always the most interesting and the easiest to follow. They are the telling of a story and who doesn’t love a good story? Chronological speeches are also very easy to follow but to me they don’t seem as interesting to follow. I hope I get to try at these types of speeches in the future and understand which work best for me.
Journal #4
This speech was interesting for me because I got to share a piece of myself with others and show the world a bit about myself that not that many people know about. I think the speech was organized fairly well. I started by introducing my object and building up to why it was important to me. I actually added a conclusion this time which is something I did not have in the last speech. As we go through the speeches I am learning more and more on what to do and what not to do. I really enjoyed that we did the feedback, it honestly helped a lot for me to have the dry-run. It helps see the things that you might not have seen and have a second opinion. My group members gave me some good ideas and tried to incorporate them into my final draft as best as I could. It also made the speech much smoother as we had far more practice. I think I still need to work on my speed because naturally I talk very fast and then also focus more energy and time on the most important points in my speech. I think I also need to work on not pausing which happens sometimes when I lose my train of thought. I think that will come with practicing my speech more and more.
