Ricky's+Journal+Page

How did your group use the preparation time provided? Did/would having a good plan make the building process easier? How could this help you with writing a speech? Did your group have any misunderstandings? If so, how did that affect the process?

My group (Me, Skylar, Katie, and Morgan) prepared for this project by discussing how we would build what we thought would be the hardest part; the base. My planning made the construction much easier, and I'm sure that the same would apply for writing a speech; the more you plan, the better the product. Overall I think that my group did a great job communicating our thoughts on what we each thought should happen, and we compromised alot of the time. There were little to no misunderstandings in my group; we all listened to each other with open minds.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 Using what the book says about listening, explain specific ways to demonstrate good listening. In what ways are good listening skills different between interpersonal communication (one on one) and public speaking (one to group)? How are they the same? Use examples from your life to support your statements as well as quotes from the book.

Good listening requires you to keep quiet, pay attention, and give appropriate emotional responses. Basically just try to keep "talking, footsteps, whispering, coughing, and street noise" to a minimum. How would you feel if somebody was whispering to their neighbor during your speech? It would probably make you feel self conscious and unable to comfortably give your speech. Paying attention is also a key factor in proper listening technique. It may be difficult to pay attention when you're listening to someone who is mono-tone, has a raspy voice, or someone who paces the floor too much. The key to overcoming this is to feign attention, and though this talent could be useful it isn't something that should be used too often. For example, my mom was ranting on and on about how she told me to clean my room and I didn't, and even though I wasn't all that interested in what she was saying, I acted like I did. (FYI: this doesn't happen anymore, I clean my room every week... usually) This helped to keep me frfom getting in even more trouble. Emotional control is another vital step for good listening skills. If a speaker is "annoying" or uses "loaded words" you will likely not enjoy listening to them which may trigger a negative emotional response. This reaction should be fought off. Try not to let your emotions interfere with your ability to listen.

When listening to a speech as part of a group, you may not have to pay as much attention as you would if it were a one-on-one speech. In contrast, listening etiquette still applies to both types of audiencs and you should always be respectful of whoever is giving a lecture regardless of how 'easy' it is to listen to him/her.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 8, 2010 Mrs. James doesn't like plagerism because it is basically stealing someone else's ideas without giving them credit. One way I could avoid plagerism is to reference my source(s) when I extract examples/information from their works.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 22, 2010 In the video about how to correctly use a visual aid the lady does a good job of staying to one side of the poster. She seems to know what she is speaking about and she looks at the poster only when she is transitioning. In the clip showing the improper usage of a visual aid the lady does a few things wrong. First, she is using a pointer which distracts the listener/viewer. She also looks at the poster too much; she doesn't know her material. The last thing I noticed was that when she would look at the poster she would get right in front of it to where the listener/viewer could not see it.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2010 Although I haven't given my speech yet, I think my preparation techniques have improved. My confidence has increased. I know i'm still not super comfortable speaking in front of a group of people, but i do feel a little more at ease. I also think my movements might be a little more productive.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 3, 2010 Throughout the course of this semester I have learned alot about my person speaking habits as well as what makes a speech worth listening to. Personally, I have learned that I need to prepare better, not only when giving speeches, but in all my classes. I have learned that i speak with alot of volume, which I think is good, and I am more comfortable speaking to a smaller group than to a larger one. The main thing I need to improve on is my nerves. Every speech I gave this year I did everything I could to try to be last. I need to prepare sooner and be ready on the first day of presentation. Although I have learned alot about how to speak in public, and what makes a good public speaker, I believe that I have become more aware of my bad study/preparation habits by taking this class. Thanks Mrs. James!