Diaz Adriana Blog 1

 Reflecting on my public speaking presentation, I think the experience helped me understand more about how much preparation goes into giving a good speech. Before this presentation, I knew that you needed to have a topic and information to talk about, but I did not really think about all the steps that happen before actually presenting. Learning about developing a specific purpose, creating a thesis statement, brainstorming ideas, and making a working outline showed me that being organized can make a speech much easier to present.

One of the main things I learned from this chapter was the importance of having a specific purpose. A specific purpose explains what I want my audience to learn, think, or do after listening to my speech. I learned that a speech should not just have a topic. It should also have a clear goal. For example, if my topic is social media, I need to decide what I actually want my audience to learn or think about social media. Having a specific purpose makes the speech more focused and helps me avoid talking about too many different things.

I also learned about the difference between informing and persuading an audience. An informative speech is meant to teach the audience something, while a persuasive speech is meant to influence the audience’s thoughts or encourage them to take action. I think this is important because the purpose of the speech changes the way you present your information. If I am trying to inform people, I need to focus on explaining the topic clearly. If I am trying to persuade people, I need to give them reasons to agree with my point of view.

Another important thing I learned was how to create a thesis statement. A thesis statement is basically the main idea of the speech. It tells the audience what the speech is going to be about and can also give them an idea of the main points. I learned that a thesis should be clear and not too long or confusing. This is something I can use in my other college classes too because many assignments require a thesis. Having a clear main idea makes it easier for both the speaker and the audience to understand the purpose of the presentation.

The brainstorming part of the chapter was also helpful. I learned that when brainstorming, you should first write down as many ideas as possible without immediately judging whether they are good or bad. After that, you can look at the ideas and decide which ones are the most useful. I think this would be helpful when I am having trouble figuring out what to write about. Sometimes I try to think of the perfect idea right away, which can make it harder to get started. Writing down different ideas first could make the process less stressful.

I also learned about grouping ideas into categories. After brainstorming, you can take similar ideas and put them together. These groups can become the main points of your speech. This makes the speech more organized and helps the audience follow along. For example, when the book gave the example of choosing a college major, the ideas were divided into practical considerations, academic resources, and personal considerations. Seeing how many smaller ideas could be turned into three main points helped me understand how an outline is created.

Creating a working outline was another part of the chapter that I found useful. A working outline is not necessarily the final version of the speech. Instead, it is something you can use while researching and developing your ideas. I learned that the outline can change as you learn more information. This makes sense because sometimes research can give you new ideas or show you that certain points are not as important as you originally thought. Having an outline can also help prevent the speech from becoming disorganized.

During my presentation, I also learned more about actually speaking in front of people. Even when you know the information, presenting it out loud can feel different than just reading it or thinking about it. I had to pay attention to how I was speaking and make sure I was not going too fast. I also had to make sure the audience could understand the main points. This made me realize that public speaking is not only about having good information. It is also about how you communicate that information.

One thing I think I could improve is my confidence while presenting. Sometimes I can focus too much on whether I am saying everything correctly instead of focusing on the audience. I think practicing more before a presentation would help me feel more comfortable. Instead of memorizing every single word, I could practice the main points and use short notes to remind myself what I want to say. This would make my presentation sound more natural instead of like I am reading directly from a script.

I also think I could improve my preparation. I learned that most of the work for a speech happens before you actually stand in front of the class. Researching, organizing, practicing, and deciding what information to include all make a difference. In the future, I want to start my presentations earlier so I have more time to practice. This would also give me time to make changes if something does not sound right.

Overall, this presentation taught me that public speaking is more than just standing in front of a class and talking. There are several steps that help make a speech successful. A speaker needs to choose a topic, create a specific purpose, develop a thesis, brainstorm ideas, organize the ideas, and create an outline. I learned that having a clear structure can make presenting less difficult because I know what I am trying to accomplish and what points I want to discuss.

I believe the skills from this chapter will be useful beyond this class. Public speaking is something that can be used in college, jobs, interviews, meetings, and everyday situations. Being able to explain an idea clearly and confidently is an important skill. Even though I may still feel nervous sometimes when speaking in front of people, I think practicing these steps will help me become more comfortable. This presentation gave me a better understanding of how to prepare for a speech, and I know I can use what I learned in future presentations.