Jamiah Head

 

Hello to any person who takes time out of their life to read this blog. I just want to start off by saying that as someone who is very shy and has anxiety, speaking in public is absolutely one of the things I will always dread in this life, but this class has already taught me so many important things about public speaking. It has only been about two weeks since taking this course, but I already feel 50% more prepared to speak in public than I did before taking this course. With the career path that I have chosen, speaking in public is something that I will eventually have to do. In class, we had four groups give valuable information about public speaking. Each group had a different topic, and I would like to put my two cents in. I will talk about every group, including my own.

Group one had a very aesthetically pleasing presentation. The yellow and blue colors they chose created an incredibly happy vibe, and I found myself smiling at some of the pictures they included. They began by discussing public speaking as an evolving art and provided definitions of what exactly public speaking is. They even went into detail about the foundations of public speaking, such as the five arts: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. This is something I paid close attention to because I have unbelievably bad memory for a 19-year-old. One of the biggest reasons I have anxiety about giving a speech is the fear that I will forget everything I prepared and embarrass myself in front of a crowd.   This is why I was glad they mentioned tips on building confidence. They offered helpful advice for getting unstuck, such as focusing on memorizing the important topics in your speech and concentrating on the audience rather than just yourself.  

Also, always have a positive mindset.  

The second group focused on how to start research, how to gather that information from the research you did, and making sure this research is legit. This group was smooth with transitioning into their topics, and it was easy to follow them and understand them. They really made sure to emphasize their section about avoiding plagiarism. As a college student, this was especially important to listen to. I know all about Chat GPT and the many other Artificial Intelligence tools that people, especially students, use. I am not ashamed to say that I have used this tool for things to help me, and I personally believe using Chat GPT for effective use like getting some ideas for a project or something in that area is fine. I know a few people who have gotten in trouble with their professors for using Chat GPT irresponsibly so when this group explained the dangers of using this tool irresponsibly, my mind immediately went to those individuals because group two did an excellent job explaining and these students would have learned a lot from listening to this presentation.  

Now, on to my group which was group three. 

When we first got into groups, I will admit it was a bit awkward for us because obviously we did not know each other, and this is an online class so when we got into breakout rooms, it was silent for about a good five minutes because nobody had on their camera and also, nobody wants to be the first person to speak (anyone who did online classes during the peak of Covid-19 knows how that goes) but eventually, I was able to get everyone's phone numbers and I made a group chat for us to communicate about how we will split up the sections in our project. After texting for a bit, everyone warmed up to each other and I was glad to see that the entire group had a sense of humor, and I am proud to say that I am happy that this is the group that I was put in. Everything went smoothly when it came to planning. For our project, we went the comical route and had funny GIFS and pictures in our presentation. We thought that by doing this, it would make people pay more attention because humans love comedy and that would keep them focused and interested in what we had to say. The main purpose of our presentation was to talk about preparing for a speech. We started off by talking about how to start off your speech. After that, we went into how to end your speech. And then we talked about how to communicate with your audience and how you need to be mindful of things like gender and languages. A good chunk of our presentation emphasized how important it is to focus on your audience and keep your speeches audience centered. The last part was about delivering your speech which was a long section that another group member and I worked on. I am proud of my group and the way our presentation turned out, especially with the little time we had.  

And now on to the final group.  

Group four's main point was to explain the many different types of public speaking. When listening to this group present, it made me realize how much public speaking is in our daily lives. When you watch the news, listen to podcasts on radio, watch YouTube, you are watching or listening to someone publicly speak. This was an eye opener for me because when I hear the words “speech” or “public speaking’ I think of someone standing behind a podium in front of a public crowd. In modern times, public speaking comes in many different forms.  

         All four of these presentations were educational and well done. I was able to learn so many tips to prepare me for the near future. I am impressed with every single one of these presentations. As I said earlier, I am a shy person and I know this world is not built for shy people so if I want to be able to go further, I will have to speak to groups of people and give a speech eventually and I am positive this course will prepare me for that.