We Made It !

Wow, four speeches at first seemed dreadful.  Dreadful soon turned into to enjoyable and fun, especially this last speech with Courtney.  Drinking and driving is something that struck very close to home with both of us.  More so her with the loss of her cousin, Rodney.  I think the class really paid attention to what we had to say, and they cared.  It felt good to know that they were listening and that hopefully we could save a life by them thinking before acting.  Speech has been awesome and I sure will miss it. It was definitely been an experience like no other and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, even though it was very stressful at times.

Haylee

One more left!

The demonstration speech was the one I assumed would be the easiest to do but I actually found it very hard to do! Its hard to make a three minute speech over something you do everyday quite quickly, like make a flurry.  Its not hard to do but it was sure hard to talk about.

I’m more excited for the persuasive speech coming up that I get to do with Courtney.  I think it will be a lot of fun.  Also, I can’t believe that this quarter is almost over and that it is our last quarter with Candee.  Speech classes next year beware, because she makes it so easy and natural to do I can’t imagine who could take her place.  I am very proud of myself and everyone else for how great we all have done on our speeches so far and how great we will do on the ones to come.

Haylee

My speech topic: Is cheerleading a sport?

Wow, I thought that first speech was going to be rough. After having probably three mini panic attacks and continually moving myself to the bottom of the list it was finally my turn. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous. Once I got up there though things didn’t seem so bad. I looked at my notecards and went absolutely blank. So, I just started talking, which went surprisingly better than I expected. The words started to just come out, and gradually, it started to seem more like a conversation. That took a lot of the pressure off and I relaxed. I think everyone did a great job, and I’m actually not dreading our next speech. This doesn’t mean I won’t make sure I’m last though!

Haylee

Reading Dr. Suess

This first speech made me very nervous.  Reading Dr. Suess especially! I was very glad that I didn’t get tongue tied, or stutter.  I realized a few things in this first speech, one being that three minutes feels like a life time when your standing in front of an entire room of people.  As nervous as I was, the support and smiles of my classmates made me feel much more at ease.  Also, knowing that we were all feeling the same things and had been through the same experiences was nice too.  The comment sheets really made me realize how little eye contact I had made, which I also didn’t realize.  Getting the first speech out of the way was the biggest hurdle, and from here on out I think i will relax a bit knowing that I’m not being judged by my peers, but being listened to and welcomed.  It’s a nice feeling to know that they are supporting me and that I can tell them about things that I feel are important without being judged.

Haylee

A Nice Surprise.

Speech is nowhere near what I expected.  I expected that the first day we would have to be up there, all alone in front of many people we didn’t know,  talking about something we had five minutes to prepare.  I was terrified.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the first day all we had to do was introduce ourselves, and introduce others.  It was a very comfortable and welcoming environment, and not scary at all.

So far, we have done group work, which lets me get to know people better and it makes speaking in front of everyone a little more comfortable as well.  I think that it will gradually get easier to speak in front of people and I am hoping by the end of the quarter that I will be less nervous, more confident, and be a better public speaker.  Confidence is the main thing I would like to take away from this class.  The confidence to get up in front of others and let my voice be heard is something that I would really like to accomplish by the end of this quarter.

Haylee