Informative Speech: American Sign Language

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For my informative speech for Comm 2500 Section 18, I spoke about American Sign Language. I chose this topic because I started taking American Sign Language classes here at Clemson last semester as a freshman, and I really enjoy the beautiful language and way of expressing ideas. I believe that all people should be exposed to and experience American Sign Language and Deaf culture.
Writing my informative speech was very exciting for me because I really enjoyed my topic and was very happy to be able to inform people about American Sign Language. I was initially nervous about this speech because it was so much longer to have to speak to people; however, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. As I sat down from my speech, I felt very satisfied and relieved that it was over. I felt very proud of myself that during my speech itself, I did not feel super nervous and definitely not as nervous as I did before giving my speech. I think that this was true because I am a kinesthetic person and learner, and for that reason, when I move and sign, I feel more comfortable. I am a dancer and a sign language student, and when we give presentations and performances, I am nervous before but when I begin moving, everything is at peace. However, when I speak orally, I get much more nervous even if it is just reading a text for the …show more content…

I also think I improved the conversational aspect of my speaking voice. I am extremely proud of my introduction when I signed and spoke at the same time because in American Sign Language, you only sign. By combining these two acts, I not only engaged the audience by forcing them to look at me, but I also explained to them what I was saying and did not leave them confused. I believe my thesis could have used some further work to clarify my main points. I think my speech was easy to follow as a listener due to my organization of ideas and

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