Make-Up Day: Extemp/Impromptu Speech

I was actually extremely nervous for this speech because there was no way I could have practiced what I was going to discuss before the actual presentation. I did try to practice outlining random topics at home so I would at least be prepared to organize my thoughts quickly with whatever topic I was given in class.

I was given a slip of paper which simply read, "IMMIGRATION". I was actually a bit relieved because it was something that I could relate to. I started off trying to relate to the audience and open up about myself being an immigrant in the United States. I thought it added a personal touch and made the audience immediately be more tuned in because they know that the subject is something that matters to me, the speaker. I simply tried to show the audience that there was a problem with immigration and present a solution. That was the only thing that mattered to me.

In order to explain my stance, I tried to use as many sticky phrases as possible. "America itself is a melting pot", "Aren't we all technically immigrants?", "Educate society and then make laws" are just a few examples. I also tried to tell a story so the audience could relate the topic to their own lives.

The one thing that I could have improved on was prolonging my speech. I did not really have a sense of time while I was speaking up in front of the class and then realized I did not reach the time that we were allotted. I did try to say as few "UM"s as possible, but there were still a few that stuck in there. It's really interesting to see how nervous I was given that impromptu speeches are something that we do everyday of our lives. For aren't conversations always impromptu speeches in a way? But, the fact that we were given a topic to talk about made a huge difference and calling it a "presentation" added more butterflies in my stomach.

I think that if I make myself care for the topic and take a passionate stance on it, any impromptu speech that I'm forced to give will turn out fine. As long as I can truly show my audience that the topic is important and that it matters, I will be completely fine as a speaker. I hope I'll be able to lose the inhibitions I have in an impromptu speech, because in the end, it really is just a normal conversation with a group of people.

TED Talk

I really did not know what to expect when it came to Plab B scenarios. All I could do was cross by fingers and hope that I wasn't given something that would completely sabotage my presentation! Alas, I was given the dreaded "Elevator Pitch" situation and had to pitch my ideas to my audience as she walked to her car. She said she totally forgot that I was giving a presentation and she actually needed to catch her flight to Tahiti.

At first, I was really confused because I thought Julie had pointed outside the classroom so I was ready to walk out in the hallway of Hodson with her. Turns out, she meant we were headed to the window and when I finally understood what we were doing, I went into the elevator pitch mode. It took me extremely by surprise so I was a bit off in the beginning, but I definitely went into it without feeling to nervous once I knew what I was supposed to do. By the end, I knew exactly what the Plan B scenario was and I felt in the zone. I do believe I made Julie a little uncomfortable because I had no idea what I was expected to do in the first 15 seconds of my presentation. Sorry.

I really tried to give a brief synopsis of my entire speech so that the audience would know why they should care and keep in contact with me after an awesome time in Tahiti. One thing that I would take back is when I stated that I was sure they would see a lot of homeless individuals in Tahiti. A wealthy benefactor would never want to hear those words uttered as they are off to sip their margaritas on a beach. I made sure that I was cordial even though I had technically been blown off and I think that I made it known that they would be hearing from me again.

My topic actually was not about helping the homeless with funds actually. It was a discussion on discrimination against the homeless we see in the United States today. But, I went with the flow and because I only had 30 seconds to talk, I changed it so that Julie was at least hooked and would hear me out after her wonderful vacation in Tahiti. I figured someone on their way to a jet plane would not want to hear about such melancholy affairs and tried to keep my conversation as upbeat as possible.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to use my slides and it wasn't really a TED talk, but I had a great time being given something so unexpected. At least I didn't have to prolong my speech, right?

Discussion: Meatless Monday

I had a great time leading my discussion on Meatless Mondays here on our campus and vegetarianism in general. I know that some thought that the topic was a bit difficult to discuss, but I thought that the entire class had something to say about the topic because of personal choices and because it is an issue that applies to those who have a meal plan at Hopkins.

I thought that I did a nice job in facilitating the discussion by asking questions to direct the conversation to a certain path. Having people argue back and forth was great to see, but in the end, I made sure that we all came to a consensus. But, I think I made sure that I was not too overbearing and controlling of the discussion either. I was very fortunate to have an audience that was engaged and ready to take different stances on the issue. I thought it was much more interesting when there were numerous viewpoints and we had to settle through each one piece by piece. After all, a discussion is a great time to share stories and get people involved and invested in the topic. This definitely makes the message sticky and isn't that the reason why people present ideas?

In this discussion, I really wanted to show that even though we were talking about a really specific topic like vegetarianism, it is a fantastic example of the fact that it really is about how you present something to an audience. If vegetarianism and Meatless Mondays were presented in a better fashion around campus,then I'm sure those programs would have a greater influence and see more results. This also applies to creating presentations as well. The way we word our ideas and the manner we pitch our proposals means a lot. I thought that everyone in the discussion definitely got this sticky message.

"How-To" Speech

I thought that it would be a good idea to discuss how to tie a tie. After looking at the video footage, I can say that I saw lots of great things and some things that still need to be worked on. First, I was glad that I brought in a tie so that the audience could be engaged and they could attempt to follow the instructions and digrams on the screen. However, doing this made my presentation seem very reliant on the slides and I needed to keep turning to see my own slides.

Although I practiced trying to do the various knots myself, when I got up to present, I started fumbling around could not repeat the steps myself when it came to the more difficult knots. Next time, I will try to be the total expert before giving a presentation on how to do something...

Despite this minor problem though, I thought that I engaged the audience well and had the right amount of confidence to have them listen to me, without sounding obnoxious. I refrained from too many "UMs" and really made great eye contact with everyone. Hopefully, I will be able to continue being so comfortable with the audience and be able to engage them so they will leave with a clear message in their mind. Perhaps, I should make my slides more of an enhancement to my presentations rather than have them be central to my speech. That way, I can use them from time to time instead of looking up at the images and digrams the entire time I am presenting. This would definitely help with the hair-flipping and if I just focused on talking, I will also probably stop using sentence fillers like "um"!

Impromptu Speech

COULD NOT ATTEND CLASS. MAKING UP THIS SPEECH ON MAKE-UP DAY.

Impromptu Speech Practice Session

The impromptu speech practice session was definitely an eye-opener for me. I can definitely sense that I can't talk about a topic that I either do not care strongly for, or disagree with in reality!

I really loved speaking about the exploitative credit card companies, but when it came to defending my years at Hopkins- I shut down. Hopefully, I will get a topic that I will be interested in talking about. When I gave the impromtu speech about the credit card companies, I thought I did well in delivering my message clearly and connecting with the audience. I know that using examples from my own mistakes with credit cards let the audience feel less like I was lecturing them on financial responsibility and feel more like I was keeping them aware of the topic through my experiences. I also was more comfortable and could keep myself organized while I was giving my speech.

However, when it came to talking about why someone should come to Hopkins, I know I had a difficult time. I need to practice being able to keep my personal emotions separate from a speech, especially if it's required of me to defend the topic against my will. I sensed that I said 'UM' a lot more in this second speech because I needed to think about what I wanted to say as I was presenting. Although my experience at Hopkins wasn't the perfect nor ideal college experience, I should be able to carry out a message that is necessary to carry out with certain audiences. It would be horribly offensive if I said everything on my mind regardless of who my listeners were! I sincerely hope that I will be able to control my genuine feelings and stay more neutral even though I may not necessarily agree with what I am obliged to say in the future.

Hopefully, the graded impromptu speech this Wednesday will be an improvement since I am aware of how I react to different topics!

Mock Interview

I really enjoyed this assignment because I am going to be going through real interviews very soon after graduation! I tailored my interview for the Scholarship Application because it was the perfect fit for what I would need to do in reality.

We can start with the good things about my interview. After reviewing the video footage, I thought that first and foremost, I looked professional enough. Good posture, clean outfit, and composure were all there. Next, I thought I have full, to-the-point answers to all of the interviewers' questions. I thought it was very easy to answer their questions because my reasons for wanting the scholarship are really genuine. I also thought I asked a good question to the interviewer because it showed that I read the requirements for the scholarship very carefully and reminded that I am a candidate that fit their criteria perfectly at the same time.

Bad things- I still say "UM" too much. I can definitely tell that I said it less when the interviewers asked me questions that were more personal (i.e. What made you decide to go into law enforcement?"). I also am really working on doing something about my hair...I know I've been working on not touching my bangs, but I can see that I do an unconscious hair flipping movement sometimes. Perhaps, I'll wear a headband...

I really enjoyed this assignment and I was happy to hear the the interviewers thought they would choose me for the scholarship if it was being awarded in reality! I really do want to become Police Chief one day and I really hope that this course is going to hone my public-speaking skills before that day comes. It is going to be crucial that I can deliver a great speech whether it be to the public about a crime spree, the department about budget propositions, and even the Board when it comes to officer evaluations. I hope that I will be more comfortable with public-speaking by the end of the semester and really learn how to send a take-home message that sticks to my audience.

Technical Speech: The Physics of the Violin

I really enjoyed giving this speech because I was given the chance to talk about something I love! Most people do not think about technicalities in music and I really wanted to show that people our age need to learn more about classical music and instruments like the violin. It also calmed my nerves knowing that I could tell you about the violin for days on end. Knowing that I had the background knowledge to back up my presentation made me feel a little less nervous than I have felt in the past presentations this semester.

Overall, I thought that my presentation went very well. I always love engaging the audience, especially in this class because I learn so much about everyone every week this way. It also helps me feel like my presentation is getting through to the listeners! I definitely practiced a lot more for this speech and didn't use notes so there was no possibility of me looking down at notecards. I did have to look at the screen though because I needed to point to different parts of the violin, etc so I decided to move to the other side of the classroom so I could still make constant eye contact. Overall, I thought the class enjoyed the presentation and they really saw why the topic was important and why it was being presented. :)

I do still need to work on refraining from saying a billion "UMs" during my speech though. It slips out so easily and I don't realize how annoying it must be to hear it every 5 seconds when you're in the audience. I also think I could still practice a lot more just so I know my slides without having to look back to the screen for confirmation. However, I think that sometimes slides are there to be referenced in one's speech and I definitely needed to point back at my slides to go through the different aspects of the violin to the audience. I think that you just need to use really good judgement and depending on the topic of your presentation, use common sense and gauge how much referencing you need to do to your slides. Giving a speech is never going to be a process that can be duplicated identically every time you do it. I can definitely sense that you have to see where your audience is that day and how they are reacting to what you are saying. I'm really enjoying this course- the psychologist in me has so much fun trying to get a "feel" for the audience every Wednesday!

Technical Speech Practice

No Video Footage Available For Post.

Presentation Zen Speech: Crafting the Story

First, I just have to say that I had a great time putting these slides together! I love looking up pictures and playing around on Powerpoint. I really focused on trying to get the essence of PresentationZen and tried to make my slides as eye-popping as I could get it to be.

I definitely think I have improved from my first speech. I was more prepared for what I was going to say and didn't look down at my notes at all until a little bit at the end. I still came across as confident (probably because our class is such an inviting audience) even though I always get the jitters on the walk to the front of the classroom.

In terms of being prepared- I thought my slides were pleasing to the eye and were great supplements to my oral presentation. I tried my best to make them relevant AND interesting so the audience would unconsciously stir up some emotions while I was speaking. I also tried to give as many examples and stories as I could in order to drive my points home.

I could definitely spend more time practicing, however. I need to improve the process of how I go through my presentation from slide to slide so that I am always actively interacting with the audience. Finally, I need to cool down on the "UMs"! I didn't realize I say "UM" so much while speaking. That is one thing I will work hard on fixing by the end of this semester. I think I use it as a filler word while I am gathering my next burst of speech. I may need to record myself while practicing now so I can count how many times I say it before my next presentation...

Baseline Speech: how many of you hate children?

So considering that it was the very first speech of the semester in front of an unfamiliar audience (and it also being my very first day in the class!), I thought that my baseline speech went fairly well. I have always heard that I am a bit aloof and more "rigid" when I get nervous and I could definitely tell that I myself was trying to play it cool when I was up at the podium. Deep down, I'm desperately hoping that the other students won't be judging me for the way I talk or look. First impressions mean a lot!

My very first speech was on how some parents needed to control their children and learn when and when not to lug your kids around. I'll start with the negative elements (as always). I definitely could have been more prepared for the actual speech-presenting part by practicing more! By the time I got to the second page, I lost track of where I was on my paper and had to improvise a lot more than I had planned. Being more prepared and having the speech memorized would have made me look down less and be greeted with a mouthful of my bangs. It definitely took a toll on my audience interaction since it was a) distracting and b) I lost my eye contact with them!

However, I thought there were a lot of things that went well too! Looking back at the video footage, I can tell I sounded confident about the topic and was personable. The speech was easy to understand and I kept asking the audience questions to keep them interactive. I was happy that my hook was humorous both times the audience heard it and caught their attention. Finally, I think that my topic was interesting to a lot of people because it was unexpected. We usually are inclined to love children and think they are the most precious things on Earth, but it was fun to take a different stance on the little ones for once! I hope that the speeches to continue this semester will be better and I will be able to get to know my audience quite well. I'm really excited to see what the end product of this course will be, but I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy this. :)