Like I've said before, we all know each other's names and we are each other's biggest fans; our own support group if I may. We don't want to see anyone fail or do poorly on a speech/assignment. We want equal success for everyone. It makes it a great experience. You're not presenting speeches to a group of strangers who don't care and don't know you, you are speaking to your "friends." And when people are absent from class, we all notice and ask Linda (our professor) if they're ok or if anyone has heard from them. We all affect each other greatly in a positive way. In fact, quite a few of us end up getting to class 20 minutes before it even starts and we all just pow-wow outside and chit chat. It's really nice. I've never had that with other classes before.
So here is how my speech went. It was 6 minutes, 9 seconds long about the cruelty toward factory farm animals. I chose not to use any visuals (no pictures, PowerPoint presentation, poster board) because I painted the pictures in their minds through use of description; quite frankly, no one really needed to see these poor, battered animals. I relied on quotes from the book Slaughterhouse, and the credible websites peta.org and goveg.com. I pulled direct quotes from witnessed accounts of animal cruelty within these factory farms which helped the validity of my topic.
Since I had presented first for my 3 object speech, I got to be the first one to choose when I wanted to speak for the informative. I, again, chose to go first. Going first, I think, is easier. There are no expectations and I can set the bar. With that being said, looking back at my topic, I started the class off with a depressing, serious topic unlike before, where I had made people laugh and smile. At this point, I'm hoping people don't think I'm bipolar.
So, I am going to go first next time and I will make sure I choose a topic that isn't so heavy-hearted. While presenting, I could tell that what I was saying and describing was really getting into the minds of my classmates. They had mortified looks on their faces, were holding onto their stomachs and had their hands covering their mouths. I didn't think the reaction would be so strong, but it's exactly the kind of reaction that I had when I first researched the topic months ago.
I talked to a classmate of mine, Matt, about my speech afterwards and he told me that he had to tune me out a little bit in the end because it was extremely sad. He and I talked about it today as well and he said that because of my speech, he couldn't eat his filet that night after I gave my speech and hasn't eaten meat since. So perhaps my informative ended up being a bit persuasive, too?
Matt and I laughed about our speeches on Tuesday because he gave his speech directly after mine. His topic: hangovers. And he used visuals. He posted a picture on the board of a person vomiting. So there we were. I talked about things that made people want to throw up and Matt delivered it. It was pretty funny. And disgusting.
I can tell that my public speaking is improving and I have continuously received feedback from my classmates about how I set the bar too high. I've also been told that I am seemingly more comfortable standing up in front of everyone and talk more casually. Like I said, I'm diggin'.
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