Kevin Fernandez BLOG 1

    

Blog #1 

Kevin Fernandez

        Firstly, our first very big assignment in Introduction to Public Speaking with Professor Sinkoff, was about taking a chapter from the textbook and then presenting. At first, I was uneasy having to work with others since I have had bad experiences in the past, yet it wasn’t bad at all. The project overall was Intended to teach us not only the basics of public speaking but Aswell as getting comfortable talking and working with others. It was kind of hard because we haven’t even known each other for more than 2 weeks, but it was a good way to start since, we were presenting in a smoother/ less pressure type of way. My group is group two, and I was paired with Krystian Garcia on chapter 4 to work together. We both divided the work evenly and I would present the first half, and he would present the second half.

    

    Next, the part of the presentation I did, I mostly focused on identifying the purpose of speech Aswell as how to pick a topic. An extremely important part I stated was making sure to choose the right topic because it affects the interest of the audience you have. If as the speaker you aren’t interest in your topic neither will your audience that’s why it’s so important to pick the right one. A good reasonable and strong topic should be something not only the audience can relate but also the speaker cares about Aswell as something that can be researched without causing too much difficulty. If you pick something that is too broad it can be confusing however if it’s too boring, it can cause the speaker to lose the audience’s attention.

    Furthermore, something that can be very helpful when preparing a speech is brainstorming. Its good because you as the speaker through brainstorming can write down as many ideas as possible before choosing the best one. It’s important to do this step because it helps avoid picking a topic too quickly and to also helps narrow down ideas. I also mentioned that when brainstorming no idea is bad idea at first. This helps when writing down everything so you as the speaker can see the patterns and figure out what topic will work best for their speech. Overall, this part of the chapter showed that not everything has to occur at once but taking the time earlier can just make the process easier.

    In addition, another important thing is the section where I explained the general purpose of the speech. In the chapter I did it explains how most speeches have an objective such as persuade, entertain or even inform. This means that knowing what the purpose of a speech is it could help guide how the speech is delivered and written. I decided that to focus more on persuasive speeches because they are more common and require more of a strong preparation. These types of speeches influence what the audience not only does but also thinks which means the speaker not only needs to be confident but also clear in what he is saying. If you don’t do the steps right/ a clear purpose your speech will feel unorganized and confusing. So this shows that a good presentation requires planning not just talking about whatever comes to mind.

    My classmate and group leader Krystian followed up my section by presenting the other half of Chapter 4. Krystian went into more detail on how to not only narrow a topic down but also to create a more clear thesis statement. He stated how the thesis is the main idea of the speech and doing this helps the speaker stay focused Aswell. Not only does it help the audience understand but they also know what it is about from the beginning that’s why a strong thesis is important. His section did a good connection with mine because once a topic and purpose are chosen, the thesis will help complete everything else. I think we did a good job together with our presentation because we explained that a speech is a step-by-step process and each one of those steps builds on the one before it.

    When I first started my presentation, I felt kind of nervous because I was worried of messing up but I tried to stay focused and calm. I think I’m not the only one who feels that way since a lot of people don’t know each other so we are basically presenting Infront of strangers. Although its different since the presentation is online it still can be very stressful because it’s still public speaking just through a screen. However, I made sure I was speaking clear and also at a steady pace. I also made my slides simple and colorful to keep my audience focused and to not make them feel overwhelmed with a lot of information. I wanted my audience to still listen to me instead of reading, so I made it somewhat short, so they paid attention to what I had to say. After I finished, I realize I had a few moments where I stumbled over some word which always happens to me and it’s not ideal. Overall, it’s good that I realize though for when I need to do another presentation in the future I don’t stumble as much and I still considered my points clear and straight forward.

    Moreover, another big part of this presentation was watching the other groups present. Group One presented Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5, and if I had to change something on their group I wouldn’t because they did a great job overall. As an audience I felt like it was organized, I say this because each speaker seemed prepared and confident Aswell as little to no stumble. I liked how clearly; they explained their topics and how clean and simple their slides looked. I think it’s the best to present first since you are the first one to set the standard although it can be nerve racking it was still done very well and set a strong example on how it should be done for the rest pf the groups. 

    In conclusion, I think this assignment was a perfect way to start off the class. Not only was a good learning experience but it also helped me understand how important it can be to do preparation in public speaking. It also gave not only me but others a chance to practice and working with Krystian showed me how working with someone can make the presentation feel less stressful and better. Seeing others present opened my eyes to new strategies and also on how I can improve my own speaking skills.

Thank you for reading:)