Learn the Art of Public Speaking

The Last Post

Candee Basford — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:00:31 +0000

I’ve been putting off writing my final blog. That’s because I don’t believe any string of words can describe the way this class has changed my outlook about learning or life.

They say that you change after you go to college- that not only applies to getting away from family (what most people apply the “change” to- a sense of independence), but also to the aspect of the knowledge you learn throughout your college years. As a society we seem to underrate the importance of a good education- which sadly, is a terrible thing. With an education not only can you gain a “good” career, but you can change your outlook on life. That’s why so many colleges stress to students to become well rounded. An education allows students to be able to face the world around them and gain the knowledge they need in order to achieve the impossible. And yes, an education does not just mean high school/college or is just applied to “books”. Sometimes that knowledge is called wisdom and it is something that we can pass along to each other. I have learned that lesson in this class.

This has been the one class in which I feel truly comfortable, felt as if I “knew” my classmates, and learned from them.

So thank you Ms. Basford, you are the unconventional teacher in which we were blessed to have guide us through our journey in speech class. I hope you find the happiness you dream of finding outside the classroom- you deserve every bit of it!

Sabrina

Be Good To Yourself – Be Your Own Best Friend

Candee Basford — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:52:57 +0000

* Patty Foote wrote the following essay in preparation for her ‘Persuasive’ Speech delivered to the class (115 so1) at Southern State Community College in June 2011.

I knew from the beginning of the quarter what I would want my persuasive speech to be, and now that I have gotten to know everyone somewhat and got a glimpse into your lives, I know this is the perfect choice for this audience – YOU!

My speech is BE GOOD TO YOURSELF – BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND

As I have listened to all of you the past two months, I have no other message that I think is more important. I have done a good deal of reflection since going back to school. When I listened to your own stories and reflections, I can identify and connect with many of you. Trust me, I have many more years of life experience than all of you and I have spent years of what you might call just surviving because I did not know my value, or I let someone else define it. I am far from that road I was on and still traveling away from it.

I will discuss these points; I like to call them valuable thought lessons.

Thought lesson 1 – You are Important

Thought lesson 2 – You Deserve the Best in your Life

Thought lesson 3 – Learn from your Past

Thought lesson 4 – Be Good to Yourself, Be Your Own Best Friend

You are Important

There is only one you on this planet, Earth. You have talents, gifts and ideas that no one else has or can offer to this world. You are unique and no one can take your place. Don’t let anyone in your present, your past or your future dictate who you are and where you are going. The people that surround you will be better off because you are in their life. You are Important. Remember that!

You Deserve the Best in your Life

The Best contains all your goals, your dreams and any star that you dare to reach out and grasp. Don’t settle for less than what you wish for. Write your goals and your dreams down and go after them. If you don’t know what your goals are right now and are finding your way, that’s okay. Just wait on it – it will come. It’s okay to be uncertain. Live everyday being confident in whom you are. Just live everyday the best you can.

If you find a time in your life when you are discouraged and fear you may not reach your dreams, or think you don’t deserve them, stop! Take captive that thought, grab it and throw it in the trash bin and remember these words – YOU DESERVE THE BEST AND YOU DESERVE TO BE HAPPY! YOU CAN MAKE IT AND YOU HAVE IT IN YOU TO DO SO!

Learn from Your Past, but leave it behind

Many of you have shared painful, but moving stories of your life and your life experiences, and you are well on your way with life lessons learned. We make choices in life and sometimes those choices affect the people around us. If you have been affected by someone else’s choice, learn from it and go on. Use your past to push yourself forward. If there are those in your life whose good choices have influenced you also, in a positive way, cling to the ones you know in your heart are right for you and use them to build strength of character. Someone’s bad choice can be just as positive as a good choice, if we learn from it. Use your past to take advantage of your present and your future. You are not bound to your past – today is a new day and yesterday is over. Believe it!

Be Good to Yourself – Be Your Own Best Friend

What is the definition of a best friend to you? Someone in your life you admire and spend time with. We have fun and share special moments with our best friend. We might share secrets and thoughts with our best friend that we don’t share with others. A true best friend is someone we can trust and depend on to help us in our life’s journey. Someone who is always there no matter what we’ve done – they don’t condemn and judge, they are there to help and encourage us. A best friend takes high priority in our life, even though they would probably not ask for it. Most of us would drop what we are doing to go help a best friend in need. We put extra thought into picking that special birthday gift because we want to make them happy. We love our best friend. Our best friend knows us like nobody else does. They have our best interest and happiness at heart. You may be a best friend to someone or have a best friend like the one I just described.

But, today I would to encourage and persuade you to be your own best friend.

Be good to yourself – treat yourself with respect and honor – don’t judge or condemn yourself –

Take note of the good qualities in your character – take pride in your accomplishments and celebrate them – treat yourself to a special event, maybe a special dinner or whatever you like – pick out a special gift for your own birthday – let your differences be an asset to you, after all there is only one you, you are unique, you don’t have to be like everyone else –

If you make a mistake, learn from it and go on – be kind to yourself – be happy with yourself -

And finally, relax and know that your life counts in this world and so do you and tell yourself that!

To bring this all to a closing, I would like to recap briefly and please remember and tell yourself often:

You are Important

You Deserve the Best in your Life and you deserve to be happy

Learn from your past and put it behind you

Be good to yourself and be your own best friend

Patty Foote

life and its rough roads

codylee211 — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:47:22 +0000

Our lives are full of wonders and great moments. Have you ever wondered why we go through what we do? The hard times, the sad times, the fun times. There are many moments in our lives that take our breath away, frighten us and even makes us depressed.

It is one a.m. in the morning and I’m writing because I feel it is a good cause. We all have our troubles and difficulties. Mine is an addiction. The hardest thing to do is communicate about this addiction, with family or friends or just people in general. For me I try to understand my addiction, I try to help myself get through the day or be happy and content. But for me it always seems like a dead-end. I feel like I’m losing my mind, I am spinning out of control.

I understand a lot of people suffer from addiction, and I want people to know that I understand what they go through. It’s horrible. I try to communicate to different people, like doctors and friends and even people at the meetings I attend. But, you know it may not be enough.

Just remember there are people out there who care and want to listen to you, and know what you’re going through. I have a sponsor at the meetings I go to and he always speaks on addiction and ways to help yourself take baby steps through the hard times we go through. Just remember if you feel down, talk to someone, communicate with people. Let someone know how you feel or even how you’re doing. One of my buddies who struggles with addiction had a sponsor as well and his sponsor overdosed on drugs and died. My buddy had locked himself in a cage of guilt, anger and silence. So if you are struggling with a rough road in life, speak up and talk to someone. There are people out there to help.

I don’t know why I wrote this. Maybe it’s because I’m having trouble myself. If you don’t mind please comment on this writing. I would like to hear feed back. It’s the good ole boy in me.

Cody

What it is?

bald8920 — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:47:23 +0000

This post I’m doing is about my visual-aid. I am sorry but I don’t know how to put picture on this or I would. Anyway my visual aid is to be honest just plain weird, but I wanted something that showed how I see things. In this weird visual aid, depending on how you look at it, it can be three different things.

The first thing it could be is a heart. The heart represents the connection that needs to be made with the audience. The connection that is made in this way has to be something deep down. Something that strikes a chord in their hearts. To make them feel something powerful.

The second thing that you see is an eye. The eye represents eye contact that you can use to connect with your audience. This is a very good technique. This technique is used to make your speech personal. when you look someone in the eye then they feel like you’re talking directly to them. This is very good because then the listener will usually be able to hear you claim or your story or your speech better.

The third and final thing is a smile. The smile represents, in my personal opinion is the best technique you can use and it is exactly like it sounds like. The smile literally represents the smiles. Getting your audience to smile is one of the best ways to communicate with them it drops their guard and lets you share your idea very easily. That and it make the speech more pleasurable for you and your audience.

This is why I decided to use this kind of visual aid. It is creative, it is different, it is helpful, and more importantly it’s mine.

Casey

Last Post & Final Class

fawley10 — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:05:19 +0000

I’ve been putting off writing my final blog. That’s because I don’t believe any string of words can describe the way this class has changed my outlook about learning or life.

This has been the one class in which I feel truly comfortable, felt as if I “knew” my classmates, and learned from them.

Sabrina

Writing Our Own Speeches

amandacantrell — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:29:32 +0000

Coming into this class I knew we would have to write speeches, with our own ideas, thoughts and beliefs. I never imagined that I would get to know my fellow classmates as intimately as I have. It amazes me how words just come so easily to some people, how they can just draw you in and make you feel like you are actually experiencing the situation. It is so inspiring to hear of the hardships some of my classmates have over come, and how they are bettering themselves instead of dwelling on the past and feeling sorry for themselves. Just thinking of their experiences gives me the strength to move past my own issues and to look at things from a stand point of “it could be worse”. It is just absolutely amazing to me. I would like to thank every one who shared a personal triumph, and I want to thank you for giving me hope that no matter what, no matter how difficult a situation may be it will get better at some point.

Amanda

Reading is Not Speaking

Jordan — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:11:20 +0000

For our last speech of the quarter we had to do our persuasive speeches. These speeches were probably the most controversial topics. I don’t think I will ever forget Clinton’s speech about why dogs are better than cats. It was probably the funniest persuasive speech I have ever heard. We heard everything from safe sex to drunk driving speeches. Persuasive speeches are speeches that seem to get the most attention. It is showing the speaker’s view on a subject. Skylar and I gave our speech on how the post-secondary enrollment option works and why it is a good thing to look into for your kids or friends.

I think most of all this speech taught me how one word could grab the attention of the entire audience and make everyone pay attention. When someone walks up to the podium and just says sex, it catches the attention of everyone in the room. This showed me that to be a good public speaker you need to have a catchy introduction to attract everyone’s attention.

Jordan

Every End Has A New Beginning

shayla011 — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:37:13 +0000

When starting the class, I couldn’t wait to get it over with. I was literally counting down the weeks for about the first 4 or 5 classes. Now that I have given my final speech, I’m not ready for it to end!
Before, speaking in front of more than 2 or 3 people seemed like a nightmare, and I would make myself sick over it. But with all the support and encouragement from everyone in the classroom definitely helped. I think that’s one of the things I’ll miss most about Speech class, the bond with everyone in the room. Getting to know the people, seeing or hearing where they’ve come from and the journey they’re on just really set this class apart from any other for me.

I feel like I am prepared to speak out in front of a crowd when the time comes, and that was my goal (although it seemed unreachable at one point). Thank you to all my classmates and Mrs. Basford for the time, energy, patience, and encouragement invested.

-Shayla

Informative Speech

Jordan — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:35:01 +0000

I really enjoyed listening to other people’s informative speeches. I really enjoyed listening to Mark explain about what Buckeye Ranch was and how it works. I also enjoyed Clinton’s speech about how being tired can affect our everyday lives. It was very entertaining. My informative speech did not turn out very good. Even after I had practiced it constantly and had it memorized. It seemed like as soon as I started to speak my mind just went blank and I completely forgot what I was going to say. I know in my last post I talked about how I had learned that people do not recognize the little mistakes that you think you are making. Because they probably do the same thing and you do not recognize it either. Candee was willing to give me tips and tell me what to do for my next speech. She told me to make better notes. That I shouldnt read my speech but that I should have little notes jotted down so that I could look down at them when need be. Overall I think the informative speeches were very well written and very informative.

Jordan

Great Experience!

haleyjo011 — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:50:34 +0000

Wow, what can I say! Coming into this class, I thought it was going to be the worst class ever and I was dreading to take it. I’ve never liked public speaking but I had to take the class to graduate. I always thought no one would want to hear what I had to say or just wouldn’t care. On the first day, I was really nervous but at the end of the day Candee made everything seem like it was going to be okay. Not only that, everyone in the class seemed like they were just as nervous as me. The classes and speeches flew by however, and it turned out to be my favorite class. I was actually looking forward to going to class and hearing what everyone had to say. The demonstration speeches were great, especially when we got to eat . Everyone in the class was amazing and everyone was really supportive. We all grew as a class, and in my opinion everyone became great speakers by the end of the quarter. The last speech I got to do with Shayla, and we did our speech on organ donation. I was honestly sad that it was our last class, and I would recommend it to anybody. Candee was very helpful and was always making you feel at ease. The feedback forms also helped a lot and I think it helped me improve as a speaker. All in all, I am really glad I took this class and I also met a lot of wonderful people. I am glad I got to share this experience with you all!

Haley