Reading My First Speech

For my first speech of the class I read the book “Take Me To The Zoo” by Dr. Seuss. When I first stood in front of the class I was very nervous about speaking in front of my fellow classmates. When I first started to give my speech I felt as though my voice was crackling and felt like my hands was shaking constantly. As I got farther into the reading I felt to be calming down. I thought that I was speaking very clear with good volume. I believed my posture was good and that I was doing everything I needed to.

After getting my grade and reading some of the feedback forms I realized what I did wrong in my speech. But I did not see any negative feedback about the things I thought I was doing wrong. I thought they were going to talk about my voice crackling, hands shaking, and voice squeaking. It showed me what Candee was telling us since day one and that was that everyone is nervous when they go up to speak and that things you are worried your classmates are going to notice your nervousness and judge you. But after reading the comments written on my paper I realized that my classmates were listening to  what I was saying instead of how I was saying it which came as a huge relief.

Jordan

I’ll Love You Forever

I chose to read I’ll love You forever because it was my favorite book when I was little. It shows so much love for a mother and child. It also reminded me of my mother and I. The story puts you in the moment of a safe place, it gives you warm thoughts and makes you happy. I read this story when I am upset. I did learn that reading a speech wasn’t that easy. You have to make sure you have good tone and good eye contact. After I got comfortable with reading it I did better at eye contact. I must say I still get nervous but not as much as I use to. I also see that in the rest of the class. We have all grown more confident in ourselves and I am proud. My teacher as well as my class has helped me through my fears of public speaking. I thank all of you!

Courtney

 

Are You My Mother?

Although my first speech was simply a reading and consisted of reading a children’s book, it still took a lot to get over the nerves and to get up there and read it without sound scared to death! I chose to read Are You My Mother? In my opinion I couldn’t have picked a better book, simply because of what the book means to me.

When I was younger my mom would read that book to me every night. I honestly don’t think there was a night that she didn’t read it. To me it symbolizes, security, warmth, and love. It makes me think of home and the relationship my mother and I have. Sometimes I would give anything to be home again laying in bed with mom beside me reading that book, being an adult is too hard sometimes! Thankfully my mother and I still have a great relationship, it’s actually stronger now that it has ever been. Partly due to the fact that I am an adult now and she can share her worries and feelings with me. I love having a relationship with my mom that is as open and strong as ours is. Too often kids feel like they can’t talk to their parents. For a girl to grow up without that relationship with their mom is really a shame. My momma has taught me so many things that no one else could have or even tried to. But at the same time, I see the things my mother has gone through and choices she has made and from those mistakes I can say I will never do those things, or I can say yeah, that’s how I’d do it. For that I am so thankful. I love my mommy!!! Haha!

Amanda

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

My first speech – “A Letter to My Birth Father”

The day I gave my speech I was shaking like a leaf in a strong wind. Through tear filled eyes I read a letter that I had written to my birth father who laid dying in the hospital. I was concerned that the class would think I was cold and heartless. But,  all that I had written was truth as far as I know it to be.

When I was through with my speech the class all clapped and I got all my fellow classmates’ feedback. It was all positive, telling me how strong they think I am. Some had hoped that I could forgive him. And to that I say that is exactly what I did. The very next day I went to the hospital and said my goodbyes, feeling better that I had shared my story with the class, I was able to tell him I forgave him for never being there for me.

I know this is a speech class not therapy but that day was very therapeutic for me. Just wanna say thank you to Candee and my fellow classmates for the kind feedback.

Christina

Take Some Water If Needed

First off I want to say sorry I’m late Candee. Good news is I have the paper now so I’m getting back on track.

On a completely different note I have completed my first speech. Like most people I was excited to get the first speech over with. Unlike most people I wasn’t too nervous. My mom is a music teacher/singer and my dad is a politician so they have always done everything they can to introduce me to the spotlight. In other words speech class isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve sung in my church, had leads in plays, sang the national anthem at my school, and even gave a mini sermon to my church.

All these things have led me to give everyone some hope. It DOES get easier. I am nowhere near perfect, but I can say with confidence that it does get a whole heck of a lot easier. Now its going to take a lot longer than I’ve been doing it to be 100% comfortable with speaking, if that’s even possible. One thing that still bothers me to this day is my throat. I will be fine and calm untill right before I’m about to go up then my throat will get very dry.

For those of you that are like me, it is ok to take a water bottle up with you. If I could have found enough change for a water bottle then I would’ve had one on my first speech. Even if you don’t think you will need it go ahead and take it anyway. Trust me when I tell you that it is better to have it and not use it than to not have it and need it. That is my big helpful advice for the class so far.

Casey

Green Eggs and Ham

This past class, I read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.  I thought it went well and I was very satisfied with the grade I got.  I thought I had good eye contact, good volume, and good posture.  The only problem I had was with my posture.  I usually do not have perfect posture, so I had to concentrate on it while I presented.  So I thought my posture was good.  My eye contact was not a big deal because I usually have no problem with it.  As for my volume, I am not a quiet person.  I did not have to focus on volume for that reason.  I am pretty sure everybody in the room heard me as I read my book.  However, I do probably need to work on my tone.  I found myself sounding monotone throughout parts of the reading.

Reading this story reminded me of my childhood.  My mom used to read this story to me before I went to bed at night.  Dr. Suess was one of my favorite authors and I loved all of his stories.  I always liked it when my mom read this books to me, so I wanted to relive the moment.

Skylar

Chick Chat

Hello fellow speech mates. Spring has finally arrived in the Ohio Valley and baby chicks are hatching by the basket full. I hope Mrs. Basfords’ speech class liked the Easter chicks as much as I enjoyed sharing them with my reading presentation. I must say,  it seemed a little ironic how those baby “peeps” had so much to chirp about in class. I on the other hand, ran out of words to say before my presentation time was finished.

Consequently, I did learn a valuable lesson. It is very important to critique the timing of a speech before  presenting it. This lack of attention cost me a few points. That’s okay, I realize this was my first attempt at preparing a speech and I still have a lot to learn. I hope this will be helpful advise to other beginners organizing their first speech.  Also, try to relax up in front of the classroom and have fun. We are all in this together!

Julie

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

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Well the first reading is out of the way. I feel that now we can get into the really good stuff, speeches. I felt pretty confident in my reading and thought I did ok. I caught myself leaning on the podium half way through and need to watch my posture in the future. The feedback I received was great. It was not all positive, and that is something I enjoy. I want criticism. It is not something I take personally. This is a class about improving and growing as speakers. I embrace the challenge.

I really hope everyone enjoyed my reading of Randy Pausch. Rarely am I inspired by words, but he really moved me. To see a guy with nothing left to prove, nothing left to worry about other than his end, stand and talk with such class and poise was a true honor. He left this world giving till the end. I wanted to make my first reading something that would grab people. I think it can help set the tone for the rest of the course. I found quite a few classmates who really got my attention with their readings. It makes me look forward to their informative speech that much more.

Andy

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

Inspired by little voices

When I was preparing for my reading speech I had so many thoughts about what I could read.  I noticed myself beginning to become nervous about speaking, so I decided to talk to my “little mommy army” (my kids) about my assignment. My kids response was, “Mom you know what would be the coolest thing to read, Green Eggs and Ham because  it is the best when you read it at home.”  So, my favorite thing about my reading speech was my kids were the inspiration and they were the story behind the story.  I was still nervous even though I have read this book many, many times to my kids.

I believe making myself realize that the audience in one way or another can relate, agree, have compassion, or simply enjoy the speech when its meaningful to me will stand true in all my speeches. Something I learned from this experience is do not doubt your speech, it will be all you make it to be. THANK YOU to all my classmates who reminisced on this Dr. Seuss classic with me!

Kristin

Reading Speeches

The reading speeches were all very interesting.  Some were very informative while others were very funny.  I really liked this one in my class that was very encouraging and very powerful about a bond between a mother and her daughters and Sandy doll.  A few people in my class also read poetry that they wrote themselves.  Their poetry was very good and even though they said they were nervous about reading something they wrote themselves, they seemed to do just fine.  I also loved it when a few students brought in props to go along with their reading.  One student brought in extremely cute chicks to go along with the poem she read.  Another student brought in a watch that went perfectly with his reading, which he did great on.  Another student read a poem about a mother and daughter so she brought in pictures of her own baby girl.  It was cool to see what kind of reading each person in the class would pick out.  Most people in the class picked out a  reading that seemed to reflect who they are.  Just listening to someone else’s speech gives you a since of who they are on the inside.

I’m also very glad that I was able to relax before my speech so that I could do a good job.  I was glad that I put emphasis  and meaning to my words.  I hope that I will continue to try my best on my next speeches.  I look forward to what’s to come in everyone else’s speech.

Mary

Thank you

I just got home from speech class and found myself wanting to say, “thank you,” to my classmates.  I was sitting in my chair at the beginning of class drilling myself on everyone’s names.  When I finished, I just sat there and observed everyone talking.  It was so cool, to see all of you conversing.  The tone was friendly and caring and there is a unity forming among all of you not seen in many classes.

I began to think about how each of you have such wonderful talents and gifts and that in a short time I will be one of the lucky ones fortunate enough to  listen to what each of you have to say.   Your talents and insights are so wonderful and I just wanted to say, “Thank you”, for your willingness to put the “real you” behind the podium and share.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part by listening to what you have to say.

Pam

A Sigh of Relief!

So, Tuesday I gave my first speech! After I left class the previous Thursday I couldn’t believe I signed up to go on the first day… because I’m usually the procrastinator that will try to stay hidden until I absolutely HAVE to go! But I thought, what the heck, I’ll just get it out of the way!

I woke up Tuesday morning nervous, and it continued to stay with me through the day. When speech class began I felt more at ease,  of course until I was next to go. Once I got up in front of everyone and began to speak, my knotted stomach and anxious nerves died down. I felt like I was talking forever though! But all in all, I’m very glad I went on the first day, and glad I got the first speech out of the way.

Bring on the next!

-Shayla Black

Brainstorming

I found my first speech to not be so bad. I think that it being a reading helped ease me into the idea of being in front of the class and actually giving a speech. I know I was nervous but with my feedback forms I don’t feel that it was very visible to everyone else. So I guess what the book said about it not showing is true. I really enjoyed having the feedback from my classmates so I know what they liked and what I can improve on for my next speech. I think nervousness will be on the top of my list for improvement! I know I can conquer this and maybe by speech number four I will!

With our informative speeches quickly approaching, I started to get a little anxiety over what my topic was going to be. I was wishing she could just assign something to us and then it would be a little easier. The more I thought about it I realized that wasn’t the case. It would be nearly as interesting if we did it that way. As I read Chapter 14 I was clueless as to any possible topics. I know that it should be something we know about and something that is personal to us but I just wasn’t sure of the right thing. The chapter helped me to come up with some ideas and also some methods to figure out some possible topics that are close to me. I got out a sheet of paper and just started writing whatever came to my head.

After I was finished I realized it really wasn’t all that hard to come up with some ideas that were related to me and my life. I think I was just more concentrated on what I thought the class would want to hear about instead of something that I would want to talk about.  I’m interested in hearing everyone elses speeches! This is turning out to be one of my favorite classes this quarter.

- Ashley H

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

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