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    The group project that I’ve recently done for this public speech class has really informed me on how to approach a speech for the future. This is a skill that I think everyone should value because it really does help with social anxiety and learning to be more comfortable. Whether it be a speech for school, a presentation at work, or at a community event, learning these skills is valuable. In the beginning, I was worried about my group being unresponsive and having to do everything because this had happened to me in the past. However, everything has gone pretty smoothly so far. In this blog, I’m going to be reflecting on the group presentations that were done recently. Everyone in the groups seemed knowledgeable and confident in the topic they were presenting. I learned a lot of different tips from listening to everyone and even from my chapter. 

    Group 1 talked about various things such as the importance of public speaking in society and how to cope with anxiety. They also brought up different types of listening and how to build a connection with the audience as a speaker. One of the parts that personally stood out to me from that presentation was the part focusing on how the Greeks and Romans were the ones who established the foundations of public speaking around 2000 years ago. Aristotle was the one who established the three appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. The part of how to deal with speech anxiety was definitely the most important for me as it’s something I struggle with so the tips were very needed like to make sure to rehearse because that will make you feel more confident when giving your speech as you’ll be more familiar with what to say when the time comes. This can be done by either practicing in front of a mirror, recording yourself, or rehearsing in front of a friend or family member. Doing this has definitely helped me improve in how prepared and assertive I feel before a speech. 

    For group 2 (my group) some of the topics included how to select a topic and do a proper search for it as well as many other things. In my chapter, I learned about how to organize your speech like the different types of outlines. These outlines are essential for preparation. Creating a simple outline with the intro, a few main points, and a strong ending will help strengthen your speech. The intro should grab the audience's attention and explain what it is you’re going to be talking about. The middle part talks and explains your main points. The last part is to restate your thesis and leave your audience with something to remember. Presenting this chapter made me better retain the information I was reading because for me verbalizing is more effective compared to when I simply read in my head. 

Group 3 focused on body language, different props used, using figurative language, etc. They mentioned storytelling and how it engages the audience. If the speaker can share a personal story or real-life example it will make the message more meaningful and make you seem more relatable and human. The use of figurative language like rhymes and alliteration will help the audience better remember what was said during the speech and leave a lasting impact. Another part of what was said by their group that stood out to me was the tip about speaking loudly and clearly because sometimes when nervous it’s easy to speak too fast. Take your time, pause, and make sure to breathe. Eye contact as well is important to keep in mind and is easy to forget for people who get nervous like me. Looking around the room helps create a connection with your audience. Use of gestures like hand movements can make your presentation more interesting but don’t fidget around too much because that can be distracting. Make sure to show emotion and excitement when speaking so you don’t sound like a robot. Those are the main takeaway points I got from the group.

 Group 4 had a lot of great points about informative speech and practical persuasion. For an informative make sure that the evidence that’s given isn’t super outdated and that you remain unbiased because the purpose is to educate the audience whereas in a persuasive speech, you’re trying to convince the audience to believe something but it should be done civilly and not in a way that will offend the opposing group. Additionally, their group talked about all the types of reasoning that can be used for a speech. Some mentioned were deductive, inductive, and causal. Deductive reasoing being if the premise is true, the conclusion follows. Inductive reasoning uses examples or cases to reach a general conclusion. Casual reasoning is showing that one event leads to another. All these are good to keep in mind for a speech because having good reasoning can show that your points are not just based on opinion but on facts, examples, and logical thinking. This will build trust with your audience and provide a stronger message. 

  

Overall, although public speaking is intimidating I think that as you gain more experience it is for a lot of things in life it becomes less scary and more natural. It’s normal to mess up from time to time. Just pick yourself up, fix the mistake, and move on, don't be too harsh on yourself. It’s easy to put yourself down and overthink but everyone is focused on their own speech so don’t think too hard about it. As a student, I’m put in situations where I have to communicate verbally like in class, group projects, and interviews so taking this class will help me get more comfortable with speaking in public, something that I’ve never particularly enjoyed because I tend to keep to myself. You don’t have to be perfect to be a good speaker, just be your authentic self, many people prefer authenticity over robotic speeches and have fun with it.