SPEECH 115 IS IN THE BAG!!!!

I want to start off by saying congratulations to everyone in my class.  WE DID IT!!!  We overcame all our fears and made it through the class.  I really enjoyed this class and everyone in it.  I was amazed at all the speeches we done and not 2 were alike.  I could really tell by the end of the class that everyone had overcome their nervousness and felt pretty comfortable in front of the class.  Whether you did or not it wasn’t noticeable.  I would also like to thank Hannah Z. for letting me do my last speech with her.  It was a really good one!!!  I have nothing but wonderful memories of this class that I will keep with me forever.

I also want to thank Candee for making this class seem easier that I thought it would be.  I know I dreaded this class and put it off till very last but the minute I stepped in the door you made me feel less nervous.  With each speech I gave it became easier for me.  I know Southern State may not realize how much they are losing a wonderful instructor but you will be missed.  With all this said (without getting to mushy) I want to THANK everyone again in my class for making this a wonderful class.  And the best of luck to everyone including Candee, I have faith that you all will succeed.

Annie

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

The end is here.

I honestly never thought those words would escape me as I came into this quarter.

I came in terrified, thinking “How in the world am I ever going to pass this class?” and as some of you remember, I am graduating next Friday and put this class off for two very long years. I guess maybe I was hoping they’d take it off my list of requirements?

I can now say that I’m glad they didn’t. I have learned a lot this quarter. I have learned that public speaking is really not so bad. I have learned how to accept myself and to take what I have to say seriously. Sometimes you think people really don’t care what you have to say, but in all honesty, they do. And they listen. And sometimes what you say can help them and/or even teach them.

There have been so many wonderful speeches this quarter and I , personally, have learned a lot. I never knew what Anna’s Army was, I never knew Patty’s great tips for decorating, I never knew that Jamie howled at the moon, and I never knew that Hannah made such fantastic cupcakes. I also never knew that Clinton was absolutely hilarious, no matter what the speech topic was. I never even knew that I’d actually be interested in what these people had to say because all I was worried about was just making it til June.

Well June is here and I am so glad and grateful to have taken a class like this. I have met some great people and even made a friend or two along the way. I have learned more than I ever thought possible out of one class. I have even learned how to come out of my shell a little bit.

In the end, this class will be one I will never forget. Thank you Candee.

 

Jennifer

Stepped Out of my Box and Gained Confidence

For my visual reflection, I decided to make a box, because in the beginning I didn’t want to take this class, but I had to graduate. I was kinda in a box to say the least and never liked to get up and talk in front of people.  Now however, I am so glad that I took it! Speech class is a lot of fun and like in my reflection it has allowed me to , “step out of my box and gain confidence.” I’m no longer that nervous to get up there and give my speech. My class has helped out a lot and everyone is very supportive.

The demonstration speeches were a lot of fun and I have learned a lot. Everyone did very well. For my demonstration speech I did chocolate graduation caps since graduation is coming up. You take a miniature Reese cup and flip it upside down. You then take a dab of peanut butter and place it on top of that. Next, you take a chocolate covered graham cracker and place it on top of the Reese cup. You then put another dab of peanut butter on top of that. And last you take a fruit roll-up and cut a piece of and place it on top of the graham cracker as a tassel. It is a really quick and easy graduation party dessert.

I am really looking forward to everyone’s last speech and excited to do mine with Shayla!

-Haley

I Consider My Informative Speech a Success and Here’s Why

Today, I gave my third speech today. Boy was I nervous. It was a last-minute topic change…literally.  I didn’t like my first topic so I switched to schizophrenia. I think this was a good choice. The only down fall to this was I had to work on remembering my speech,  and creating the power point and actually writing the speech hours before it was my turn to present.

I feel I did well.  I did stumble on a few parts and my mouth got so incredibly dry that I was having trouble speaking and I forgot a part and started to sweat….  BUT I didn’t pass out and I did okay with little preparation, so I am happy.

While giving my speech I realized that it’s okay to be nervous.  It happens to everyone, some just hide it better than others.  I also, decided that visual aids and class participation really helps the audience understand your points and helps them connect to your topic.

In closing: I consider my informative speech a success because I wasn’t afraid to do it, so in my eyes I succeeded.

Hannah

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

Phew!…..Wait, that wasn’t so bad.

OK, so Tuesday’s speech went so much better than I had thought! I was sick to my stomach after waking up that morning. I thought,  “I gotta put this off, I gotta put this off.” I felt so unprepared and was sure I would make a complete fool of myself once I was up there. Yeah my topic was on Star Wars and Star Wars was something I’ve grown up with my whole life. I know it inside and out (basically).

One of my first fears before organizing my speech was that I would go over people’s heads. I was afraid the topic would go over heads and come across as totally geeky. If it hadn’t been for my meeting with Mrs. Basford the Tuesday prior, then I know I would’ve gone over some heads. She pointed out that what I had planned would go over someone’s head if they had never seen a Star Wars movie before.

So I went home that day and considered how to deliver it in a way that would explain the core of star wars and just leave out all the technical talk. I believe that the speech went well and I’m pretty sure it didn’t go over anyone’s head. Once I got up there I was still very nervous, but it turned out that I actually enjoyed talking to my fellow classmates. I enjoyed looking them in the eyes and informing them on a topic that I found fascinating. I can’t speak for them and say they enjoyed it as much as I did. I did get  positive responsive  from the feedback slips and those are the best encouragements!

Looking back now, if I could change anything I did, I would change all the worry and stress I had before giving the speech. I don’t know if I’ve found my voice yet, but I think I’m getting close!

Gideon Meyer

Now that my internet is finally working!!!

So although this was supposed to be done weeks ago, my internet has been down and between work and school I have not had any extra time to stay at the school and do these blog entries. So I figured, better late than never!

So I have to admit going into this class I was pretty terrified. I didn’t know what to expect or how my professor would act. I had started taking a speech class while I attended the University or Cincinnati Clermont, and that class and that instructor had me scared to death! From day one we were informed that our speeches had to be at least fifteen minutes a piece, and had to follow specific formats, and blah blah blah. And then he informed us our first speech would be due that next class! Needless to say I wanted no part of that, I dropped that class in a heartbeat!

But then I transfered to Southern State, and I love it here. I had put my speech class off entirely way to long and needed to get it out of the way. So I came into this class scared to death, but then Candee introduced herself, and suddenly I became more relaxed. The more she explained to us what was expected of us the more the knot in my stomach loosened. So far I have found the class rather enjoyable, which is a shock considering my preconceived notions about the class due to UC. When we were told we would have to do this blogs I thought oh great!, this will be a pain in the butt. Honestly though after I began typing it has just kind of flowed and came naturally. Had my internet been up and running all this crap would have been on time, considering how easy it actually is!

Amanda

My First Speech

I don’t know why I get so nervous talking in front of people. Our first speech was just a reading, I never would have thought just reading something would be so nerve racking until it was my turn to talk.  At first I thought, hey! I can do this, no problem. But then when I stood up in front of the class, my confidence was gone. But afterwords, I realized that it wasn’t so bad.

I really enjoyed reading my classmates reviews, I learned that I wasn’t the only one that was really nervous. In fact, everyone’s comments really helped boost my self confidence. I originally thought that I would get a lot of constructive criticism, but I was wrong, everybody really  liked my reading!

Alicia

It’s Going To Be Alright

After weeks of worry, speech class is in full swing, and the worry has subsided a little bit. I have completed my first speech, the reading of the kindergarten story, and it wasn’t as terrible as I believed it would be.

Although I was very nervous and scared, I was told afterwards that it wasn’t even noticed while I was reading the story. That definitely makes a person feel better, knowing that even though they are a mess of butterflies inside it really isn’t visible on the outside. It has helped to calm my nerves knowing that I can mask them (the nerves) and I can come across as someone who might not be nervous at all. Faking confidence is what I’m guessing that would be called.

I am still worried though, because the reading seemed to be the easiest of the assignments, which is probably why we started with it.  Reading out of a book wasn’t difficult, but trying to compose my own speech and ideas is another story. Trying to capture the attention of the audience and deliver a good speech with something personal that I have worked on brings on a whole new meaning to having butterflies.

But like I read in another blog, I will just have to get up there and do it. Work through it and get it over with. And I have to remember that no matter what, at the end of the day, it’s going to be alright.

Jennifer

Less traveled by…old men… and darkness

When I was choosing my reading at first I wasn’t going to read any of my own work. I started off just picking from Robert Frost work but I couldn’t find anything long enough so I then added some Alice Walker to the mix and it still wasn’t long enough. Then I decided to make it personal with my own work from my senior year in high school. Which made a lot of difference to me.

By the time I got all of this chosen, it was Tuesday and time to listen/ watch everyone give their speech which I was feeling alright because mine wasn’t until Thursday. Once Thursday rolled around and I watched the three before me go I knew the list was getting shorter to my name. I wasn’t really nervous till it was my turn to stand up there alone not presenting a poster but my own work along with some pieces from Alice Walker and Robert Frost. Once over and reading all of the reviews I felt better. I found that I can take things that everyone commented on into the next speech we have to give and I will be able to give it with more confidence and louder hopefully.

Dottie

My Personal Freedom

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”

I have this passion for words… for writing and reading them. It is hard to explain- you just read something unbelievably amazing and it wows you. It opens up your mind and it really changes you. It makes time stop- your world slows to a halt for a brief moment. That’s why I love words (even though from time to time I tend to forget this).

When we were told to read something that ‘fit’ us, I thought about my writing, but put the idea aside. I thought about it wondering if it was a good or just terrible idea. I decided the day before to read my poetry. Maybe if I didn’t tell my audience until the end that it was mine I could ‘endure the reading’ and not worry about eyes staring at me.

I was nervous… and it was more than a normal kind of nervous. I was afraid of rejection. Writing is freedom for me, those were my words, and they are personal. I was scared of looking into the crowd and seeing their reaction. I was afraid of the thoughts from my classmates that I might not be ‘normal’- because the truth be told my writing doesn’t have happy endings. Maybe because the writers who have moved me influence my work and for the most part their writing is not about rainbows and sunshine. I’m influenced by what music I listen to and I also have this thought that unhappy endings have a shock value that just sticks with you longer than a ‘fairytale’ ending (I’m talking about ‘Disney- like’ endings). No matter, I get this rejection most of the time- these looks that read ‘sub-human’ when I share any of my writing and I was shaking inside. After my first poem, everyone knew it was my writing because I was asked that question, and I answered it honestly.

At the end of my second poem I looked up, realized people were listening, and I wasn’t getting odd looks from classmates. I realized that my classmates were open-minded and cared about what I had written… what I had read. I was relieved. I thank them so much for being so unprejudiced. It meant the world to me and it will make my future speeches easier knowing I’m not being criticized so harshly.

So all I can say is thank you.

-Sabrina

Real Anxiety!!!

The day I gave my speech I was very nervous and scared. I don’t know what I was afraid of.  I have done this a couple times before. Oh!! Now I know I do this every time I am in front of  an audience!!  I just can not figure out why.  I loved the poem I chose because I believe that it rings true in each one of our lives and I believe I tried to state that but I got tongue-tied and when I get tongue-tied then my face starts burning and my mouth becomes dry and sticky. I know I was in the middle of a full-blown anxiety attack.

When I stood up I felt like all the blood in my body was in my head and I could not think.  However when I actually started reading I began to pray and think about some of  the techniques the book advises us of and some of the anxiety subsided.  I will say looking out at faces that seemed interested made a huge difference in my speech.  I don’t think this one ended up bad but I am scared of the next ones because we have to talk about our subject not read. I do however enjoy this class and I think that everyone in here done a wonderful job kudos to all of us!!!!!  And Candee thank you so much for the encouragement you give to each one of us.

Randa

Nervousness

When anyone hears the word speech, their heart starts racing, their hands get sweaty, and their stomach knots up. So everyone dreads giving speeches I guess. Well I guess I am not just anyone. Growing up, I have always enjoyed giving speeches if it was over a topic that I enjoyed and if I was in front of people who I knew. Even though I like to give speeches, that does not mean that I do not get nervous. I always get nervous when I walk up there, but when I start, all the nervousness goes away. It is as if I am in my own little world. I hope that I can control my nervous ways in this speech class in front of all of these new faces. I also like to give speeches over topics of my choice and this class will enable me to do just that. This  will also help me with my nervousness because I will feel more comfortable while I am delivering my speeches.

I believe that this speech class will be a huge help to me in my life now and later down the road. This will help me with college interviews, scholarship interviews, and job interviews. I believe this class will make me look more legit and professional in the future. This speech class will be very helpful and I am looking forward to learn how to speak well.

Skylar

Relax and trust yourself

A few days after my reading to the class, I have had time to reflect.

Before my reading, I practiced my reading a lot. Even though I knew the book by heart, I was still stumbling on a few spots and my timing was off a little. This was annoying me a lot! I wanted to have a great reading, but my nerves seemed to be preventing me from that.

What did I do? I quit worrying about trying to make it perfect. My practicing only seemed to make me more nervous and worried. So I stopped.

My reading…. went well. Not as well as I had hoped, but I still did okay, I did make a few mistakes and stumbled on a few lines. But I am not mad at myself. I am actually proud of myself. First, that I didn’t pass out but also that I even had the courage to do it.

Looking back, I wish I would have just relaxed and had faith in myself.

But knowing this now, I plan to go into my next speech more relaxed and with more faith in myself.

Hannah

That Wasn’t So Bad

Okay so I got my first speech out of the way. Was I nervous? Of course, but I just didn’t let myself think about it. And when I did all I had to do was just look everyone doing their speeches to realize that I wasn’t the only one that was nervous.

When I first walked up to the podium my heart was going a mile-a-minute. I knew right then that I had to get my breathing under control and calm myself down. While Pam was nice enough to give me an introduction I was practicing a breathing exercise they taught me in anger-management(not that I’m an angry person or anything). Deep breaths through the nose, exhale out the mouth. By the time Pam had finished I had my composure back and was breathing normally.

“The Whiskey Speech” was a great find for me. It had just the right mix of seriousness and humor.  I could put myself in the role of the actual speaker and feel, I believe, the way that he must have felt the day the speech had originally been given. The speech demanded presence and a powerful voice, both of which I tried my hardest to deliver. I reminded myself to pace myself and not get into a hurry, adding pauses where they seemed most effective. I made sure to get as eye-contact as i could while still being able to read from the manuscript.

Seemed in no time my speech was over. I got a good ovation and I think even surprised a few people. I think that doing a reading like this is good preparation for our upcoming speeches. I just hope that I can do as good on the next as I did on the last.

By Mark Short

Just a Few Thoughts

I didn’t intend on making any changes to my schedule until I got a last-minute letter saying my English class had been cancelled, I needed the 3-4 credit hours to stay full-time and there wasn’t many options for me. So, here I am in Speech Class facing one of my biggest fears, speaking in front of people. Had lots of doubts about making this class a success story, then I started listening and getting involved and realized this class is something I do everyday but in an organized fashion.

So, we have done some talking, some visual demonstrations, some reading from our text-book and my thoughts in a summary are;  The voice that a speech has is very important along with correct pausing  makes the words have meaning because they can be clearly understood and comprehended.  The rate of the voice is just as equally important, when a speaker delivers to fast the speech can be under rated or misunderstood, if a speaker delivers at a very slow pace a voice could be monotone or just simply cause boredom.   A speakers eye contact with their audience is key for a base connection.  If there is little or no eye contact the audience will be very disconnected from the speech.  Putting positive movement and expressions within the speech will show the audience what its meaning is on a personable level. I was very nervous, I am still a little tense just about the position and having to speak aloud but my encouragement to myself  is “I know who I am, and what I am capable of .”

Kristin

Breaking News…

Breaking news…Geologists have confirmed rumors that a major fault line runs directly under the speech podium at Southern State Community College.

A reporter was sent to the southern branch of SSCC today to interview people who may have heard about this phenomenon.  One woman by the name of Pamela Burton was reported to have said, “It doesn’t surprise me at all.  When I stood behind the podium today, I felt the tremors.  When I placed my hands on the podium, my entire body began to shake, and I feared for my life, afraid that the ground just might go ahead and swallow me up!”

This wasn’t really what happened and there was no breaking news today about a fault line, but to some extent it felt that way.

Tonight I actually came to class with two manuscripts.  One was an excerpt from the book entitled, Don’t Miss Your Life, by Charlene Baumbich.  The other was my own journal.  You see I had completely prepared and practiced the first one, made delivery cues, and had everything timed.  Something kept bothering me about it.  The book, Don’t Miss Your Life is about learning to accept and embrace the ‘real’ you.  The entire time I was practicing this reading,  Candee’s words kept echoing in my mind about being earnest, honest, and talking about something you are interested in—being authentic.  In fact, the handout for tonight mentioned, being authentic—it doesn’t get much clearer than that for me.

During the period prior to my speech, I was actually quite comfortable.  The other speakers made it easy for me to forget about my issues.  They were interesting and I loved listening to them.  That is my favorite part, listening.

Then came my turn.  Reality hit me hard.  I began to sweat, my mouth was dry, and I could not stop my hands from shaking.  As I approached the front of the class I had not one but two prepared speeches in my hand—be yourself—be earnest—be authentic.  My inner voice was having an argument trying to rationalize why I should not make my self so vulnerable as to let people see who I really am.  Then I looked at Mark, the one introducing me, and somehow felt reassured that it would be okay.  So, I set the first speech down on the front table and continued toward the podium with only my journal in hand.  He probably doesn’t know just how important it was for me to see a supportive face at that moment.  Thank you, Mark, for being you.

As I began to talk I could feel my voice quiver and my hands began to shake again.  Thanks to the text and Candee, I had written two very large delivery cues on the first page:  Breathe and Relax.  I also put red dots throughout my paper to remind me to keep breathing and to make eye contact, because for some odd reason, I cannot think straight or read simple sentences when I am in front of a group.  This helped me tremendously; I would see the cues and stop for a second to take a breath.  When I looked at my classmates, I was so thankful for the friendly faces and supportive atmosphere.  Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

Thanks to my classmates and a supportive teacher who has somehow found a way to make her words echo in my mind long after class, I made it through my first speech.  I was still very nervous during the speech, my hands still shook, and by the time I walked back to my chair my shirt was wet half way down from sweating so much.  But, nonetheless, I made it–with help from my new friends.

Pam

Just try to Relax

I am becoming more comfortable getting up in front of class, of course it has been with four other people so far. I hope as I become more familiar with everyone in class and less like a stranger, I will be able to relax more. I am finding every class I learn something new that helps me feel more confident about giving a public address. Candee seems to do everything she can to help us become more and more confident in our own ability to speak in public, and not pass-out. From time to time I have had to get up in front of my Church and give a talk, every single time I am so nervous I stumble through it, no more.

I will use the skills be taught us in this class to make sure I never stumble through another talk, or at less often. I also think that being an older student can be a benefit and a stumbling block for learning to speak in public effectively. The benefit comes by not caring as much about what other people think of you, as you did when you were young. On the other side, we older students have had years to grow use to our flaws in speaking and it makes it a little harder to unlearn. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, I don’t believe that, I think you just have to do some unlearning first. All in all I’m glad I’m taking this class, even though I avoided it until my last quarter; Candee has helped to take away some of the fear of failure and replaced it with optimism.

Being an older student I know there will be a lot I can learn from the younger students in class, and hopefully they can learn a little from us “Ancient ones”. And when it’s said and done, I can just try to relax.

Mark A

What We Can Learn from Polar Bears

I snapped the photo of a polar bear at the Columbus, Ohio zoo last summer. As I was thinking of what I wanted to talk about in my blog the picture came to mind.  In the picture the bear came out of the water and was on his stage in front of many people. He had their complete attention. Although  the bear was not speaking,  the crowd was listening and taking in every move he made which is what we want when we are giving our own speech.  When the bear jumped up on his stage he began to shake the water off of his thick coat.  The water was uncomfortable for the bear, it weighed him down and kept him from moving as freely as he would have liked.

How does this relate to us?   I think that we should try to behave in the same manner. Speaking in public makes us uncomfortable. We may feel weighed down and anxious. Maybe we should try the bears mannerism and shake off what makes us uncomfortable so that we may be able to move and speak more freely and also listen to our class mates as attentively. That being said I only pray that I will be able to pull off these actions.  I know most people are apprehensive about speaking in front of crowds. Therefore, we are not alone.  I hope to gain confidence from this class, confidence that I may take with me through out the rest of my life and into my career.

Randa

This will be my LAST QUARTER of college

This will be my last quarter and I have put speech off till the end.  I am so afraid of this class and I really don’t know why.  But if I want to graduate in June I have to face it and every emotion that comes with this class.  I never liked the idea of getting up in front of a bunch of people and telling them what I feel or what I have learned.  It makes me so nervous, I feel like everyone is going to be picking out the flaws or just waiting to ask me a question that I won’t know the answer to.  But once I stepped into the class and realized I was not alone on all these emotions and feelings on this class, it made me feel so much better.  I just couldn’t believe it we have almost 30 people in our class and everyone feels the same way.  Some have even put the class off till the end like me and others are doing it to get it over with.  I just have to keep telling myself that a speech is like a conversation with a friend and I give speeches every day without realizing it.  With the help of other classmates and Candee I do believe I can overcome all these fears of speaking in front of a crowd.   Candee has made the class seem so easy and that it should be no problem.  And actually it’s that bad when you’re with a group of people giving a speech but when it comes time to stand alone, that will be the ultimate test.  I just have to keep telling myself that I have worked too hard for two years to come this far to let one class hold me back from graduating.

Annie