response 3 classmates

2-David

Share your attitudes, thoughts, and feelings about public speaking. Do you like it, not like it, or feel indifferent about it? Why?

· I have never liked public speaking because I shake and get very nervous and don’t deliver sentences smoothly. If I am reading a speech I also get nervous that I am going to mispronounce a word or lose my place and look like a fool in front of everyone.

Tell us about any prior public speaking experiences that you have had, such as speeches or talks you have given in class, at work, or in organizations. How did these public speaking experiences go?

· I used to be an RA at a community college that I went to and I had to have monthly meetings with the students on my floor to keep them updated on rules and regulations and to make sure that they were all doing well as well as giving them a chance to voice any concerns that they had. I felt okay doing these meetings because it was more informal. After I gave my initial speech I opened it up to questions and it became more of a discussion so that is when I became more relaxed.

Considering your own communication tendencies, please identify at least two of your strengths when it comes to public speaking, as well as at least two types of public speaking skills that you believe you could work on.

· I believe that one of my strengths is that I write the way that I speak so that when it comes to reading a speech word for word it doesn’t end up sounding robotic. Another strength that I believe that I have is my speeches are straight to the point. I try and explain things in the simplest way possible so that everyone will understand what I am trying to say without having to ask me to clarify something. The two skills that I really need to work on are delivery and fidgeting. I do my best to reduce the amount of “um’s” that I say but I tend to not notice them until I watch the speech over again and realize I say it between every sentence. I also have a problem with staying still. I do use my hands a lot and express myself while I talk but I also tend to rock back and forth or pace which I would like to work on so it will be less distracting to the audience.

3-Caitlyn

1. Share your attitudes, thoughts, and feelings about public speaking. Do you like it, not like it, or feel indifferent about it? Why?

When it comes to me public speaking I feel like I shut down, my brain seems to forget what I was supposed to be talking about, I feel like people will judge what I have to say or that I made no sense in what I was saying. I get really shy when it comes to speaking, let alone when I get up in front of people I start to stutter and talk really fast. I wish I didn’t get this way when it came to talking in front of people because it can even be friends or family and I still get the same way. I have tried to overcome anxiety of talking in front of larger groups but, there is something holding me back that I still can’t figure out. If I knew what I could to change it I would and the more I speak in front of people it still doesn’t seem to work.

2. Tell us about any prior public speaking experiences that you have had, such as speeches or talks you have given in class, at work, or in organizations. How did these public speaking experiences go? Feel free to share the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Well last semester I took English 218 it was an amazing class but, for the final we had to present our research that we conducted on the topic we were assigned. Through the whole research part I always had in mind that everyone was going to hear this and it had to be good or they would say something negative about it and I didn’t want that to happen. When the day came that I was assigned to present I felt like I didn’t know anything, I stuttered really bad, my skin was turning red from embarrassment, and all I could think of is just keep going and you can sit back down. When the presentation was over I felt a little better that it was done and I didn’t have to go back up there and talk, yet I was still in an embarrassment stage that I didn’t know what to do ha-ha. After all, no one said anything about the presentation so it made me feel a little better but, not enough.

3. Considering your own communication tendencies, please identify at least twoof your strengths when it comes to public speaking, as well as at least two types of public speaking skills that you believe you could work on.

When it comes to me public speaking I like how I can usually meet all the requirements need and keep eye contact with everyone. I know I need to work on my speaking it can be really choppy and not sound that clear. Also I feel like I need to work on being more confident with my work that I am presenting and not everyone knows what you are saying so if you mess up they usually won’t catch it.