Final Paper: Public Speaking

Final Paper – Public Speaking

One of the biggest fears for American people is public speaking. People fear this more than heights and spiders. Yet, public speaking is required as a professional adult. Public speaking may not have to be in front of thousands or even hundreds of people. Public speaking can be an exchange between a store employee and a customer. It is being performed in a public place and speaking is taking place. People may not realize that that is a form of public speaking and it may come natural.

In school we are taught how to properly speak in front of crowds. I recall through my school years that it was always encouraged for the students to present their projects. This prepares the young American into the real world more

than I believe any other course. When presenting amongst friends may make it more simple for some, but tougher for others. Some people may have anxiety.
In Speech 151, we were given the assignment of conducting four speeches amongst our peers. The speeches would consisted of an informative, persuasive, impromptu, and a special occasion speech. The special occasion speech could consist of various small speeches for example a welcome speech, prayer, tribute, farewell address, and various others speeches. The speeches are conducted through the semester and presented by the students.

The informative speech was one of my favorite speeches.

It was a speech were I was presented with various topics to learn about. Also took time myself when performing it by setting up a structure for it. The structure that I used was split into five ways. I had it structured by having set up with an intro, five main points, and a conclusion. The main point structure I learned in class.

Main points of a speech are the quick sections of the presentation that the audience hears. They are ideas or arguments that are presented with some detail, but not too much detail as to bore the audience. The parts that I created were for an informative speech on a sensation called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response or ASMR for short. Since ASMR is a topic that people were not familiar with I provided a definition of the topic and provided an example to make it clear to the audience. The next parts were what triggers that caused the event to happen and what a person may feel. Followed with the origin, scientific research, and pop culture of ASMR. The main points are presented with a length of no more than one minute. Putting too much time behind the main points will bore the audience and not get the information

across.
What I learned about myself as a speaker was that I felt more comfortable presenting in front of people.

At work I have presented in front of others to show new capabilities of systems that we are in charge of. I have also taught the system to service members and have felt comfortable in front of them. That was in an environment that I was comfortable being in since I knew the system and could teach it. Was able to answer all the questions the service members had and also had an experience in the field with the system.

The first time that we were told to read in front of the class I was nervous, but the laughter of my peers quickly helped me call down and get through the first in class assignment. During my first presentation there was a glitch with my presentation. During the initial part I was nervous, but trouble shooting made me forget and was able to provide a decent

presentation.
For the Impromptu speech, I performed off a funny clip called the Trust Tree. The video is about a couple that is having issues and goes to a counseling session. In the Session the therapist gives the line that the video is named after. He tells the couple that they can speak and that no one in the room is going to judge them. Well the husband proceeds to talk about is curiosity with a female waitress and what kind of under garments she may be wearing. This causes the wife to be disgusted, but the therapist reassures them that it is okay that that no judgment should take place. I used this video because it was light hearted and my attempt was to motivate other to present their speech. To motivate my peers, I told them a stupid story of mine that was embarrassing and this was motivation enough for a few people to have the courage and present an Impromptu speech of their own.
For the Persuasive speech, I decided to tackle a subject that was upmost in my mind. It was the net neutrality rulings that were taken place at the time. I was motivated by a video segment on a show called “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” The show tackles issues in a comical way and dumbs it down to where the audience understands. The video that motivated me was posted before the rulings, so it was out dated by a year. Net neutrality is a subject that does not get covered much, but it would affect the way that we view data. In my home I only have internet. This means that I stream, so the internet is really important part of my lifestyle. The proposal was to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow the internet providers to add a surcharge to sites that used up extensive data. This ruling would have affected the price of the content that I purchased.
Presenting the Persuasive speech required that I separate the speech into main points that were easy to understand and that would affect the recipient in an emotional state. This was part of the Maslow’s Hierarchy pyramid. I was trying to have my audience engaged as to affect them in a safety needs way. Making them feel that was proposed would affect them by making it unsafe and dangerous towards their wallet and their free will. Did this by explaining what net neutrality was and was proposed. Showed them that what we are being told is not the truth because as a powerful country we do not have much of a choice when it comes to internet services and the prices are really high. The final part was a bill proposed by congressman that had campaign contributions paid by the telecommunication companies that wanted high costs. While it was a tough subject to cover in a short period using main points I was able to get a message across.
Overall, I feel more comfortable as a presenter. I do not have the will power to present in front of thousands. I would if it came down to it. Like gun to head and no other choice, but in a situation like that who wouldn’t? Hope to develop more as a presenter and get my messages across, but for right now I am glad the class is over and that summer is around the corner.