Diana Ema's Blog Post #1

 

Dear Professor Sinkoff,

 

I had a great time taking part in and attending each presentation. I was a member of group 1, which completed Chapters 1,2,3,4, and 5. Chapter 1 was about the evolving art of public speaking, which was one of my favorite chapters because it talks about how to become a better speaker and how to effectively connect with the audience. Chapter 2 talked about “building your confidence.” I consider myself to be rather confident, yet I get anxious when I have to speak Infront of a big group of people. I liked how this chapter provided concrete examples of how to develop speaking confidence. Chapter 3 talked about listening and how individuals should be listening to, understanding, interpreting, evaluating, remembering, and responding to speakers’ messages. Effective listening techniques were also covered in Chapter 3, which I found to be incredibly helpful since it helped me realize that, as someone who is often distracted, being ready for distractions can really help me stay focused. Chapter 4 which was about “developing your purpose” discussed how one will need to brainstorm for topics, evaluate possible topics and gives examples/tips on how to paraphrase the thesis statement. Chapter 5, which my partner and I reviewed. This chapter was truly enjoyable to read, and every detail was perfectly described and detailed. The main purpose of unites 5,6,7, and 8 was to provide insight into the process of developing an audience. Together with my group, I had a great time finishing this assignment. Everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful.

Group 2’s presentation was very well done. Chapter 4,6,7 and 8 had been completed by Group 2. The way Fabian dissected chapter 4 was amazing. Both his explanation and the pictures he included were quite illustrative. He flawlessly explained each unit in his own words, he didn’t just paraphrase the book verbatim. Chapter 6, written by Elizabeth, was excellent. Although I believe she should have included more images on her slides, she did a great job explaining everything. She provided an extremely helpful list of preparation tips for researching your topic. She also made the point which I absolutely agree with that Google is not the primary information source. Chapter 7 Unit 1 completed by Mia, was good but I feel like she could have added some color of photos to make he slides stand out a little more. Her description on the chapter and examples she used were perfect. Daniel did a great job on his slides.  Chapter 8, which was completed by Fabian was short and sweet. H explained everything perfectly and did not take the words directly from the book. He added images that went with what he was talking about, which was “Organizing and outlining your speech” Steven’s summary was well-written overall. All the topics covered in the presentation were highly important. I feel as everything that was discussed will be useful to me in my daily life.

   Group 3, Chapter 9, 10 and 11. The first unit of Chapter 9 discussed the Primary and Recency Effects, which describe how likely individuals are to retain information better when it presented at the start or end of a series, respectively. Which was stated by Iver. I enjoyed how she explained her units’ using examples from her own experience. Chapter 10 discussed “Using Language Effectively” which explained why its important to pick the right choice of words when crafting a speech. Meaning that using different words or phrases can change the overall message and how it is received by the listeners. Chapter 10 Unit 4 “Spoken versus Written Language” and Unit 5 “Audience- centered Language” was another one of my favorites. Jada explained everything perfectly and used images that went with everything that she was talking about. Chapter 10 Unit 6 “Guidelines for using language in your speech” which was also explained nicely by Jade. Overall group 3 talked about what it meant to use the correct vocabulary when it comes to talking to audience and the type of speeches one can give. This presentation was great I learned a little more of the specifics, not just the general topics. Chapter 11 Units 2 talked about “Understanding the Basics of Visual Design” for example text, images and colors are used to create a clear and attractive message which I feel like everyone used during their presentation. Overall, this group did a great job.

Group 4, Chapters 13-17. Shadelle did a good job explaining Chapter 14 Units 1-3. She spoke clearly for everyone to understand. She did copy words from the book when she did her slides, she put the information in bullet points so it can be easier for us to understand. The chart she made for Chapter 14 Unit 4, Persuading Different Types of Audience was very useful to me because although she explained everything, just looking at the chart alone helped me understand what was being said in this unit.  Chapter 15 was very well broken down. “Understanding Arguments” was a very informational chapter for me. Logos, Ethos, Pathos were introduced to me my freshman year of college, so I was a little informed about what they meant. But after listening to Madelyn, I got a clearer understanding. I feel like she could’ve added her own examples when explaining her chapter. She could have talked about how Logos, Ethos, Pathos was helpful to her. Chapter 16 was another one of my favorites. In Johann slides he added color on the background of his slides, pictures, bolded his words. That stood out to me the most. It made me want to be more engaged on what he was talking about. Angie did an amazing job. The tone of her voice, speed in which she was talking and the way she was explaining everything was perfect. As she was explaining Chapter 17 “Special Occasion and Group Presentations” I liked how she compared it to our class presentation. She listed some great facts on how to get the audience’s attention when giving your presentation.  This group did an excellent job!!