Over the course of this semester, I have learned an abundance in my Public Speaking course taught by Mrs. Guarino. In the beginning of the year, I knew very little about what this course was going to offer and how it would affect the rest of my life. I can honestly say that this course has impacted my life more than I could have ever imagined. I did not realize how big of a part public speaking played in my life until now. I use it everywhere; in all my classes, when speaking to adults, when trying to convince my parents to do something. Public speaking is all around me and I now know how to properly convince and persuade others using a sensible tone of voice and the correct amount of ethos, logos and pathos.
I have to say, in the beginning of the year, I knew practically nothing about public speaking. The only thing I knew was to stand still and make eye contact. Well, that is part of it, but there is so much more that I hadn't learned before, even just those two statements. What I now know about those two "rules": When speaking, you need to stand planted with your feet shoulder width apart. Generally, you can stay still but controlled movements to emphasize a point are fine as well. You just must make sure not to look fidgety and nervous. That can make you lose credibility. When making eye contact, you do not want to stare at one person in particular. That can make them uncomfortable. You want to scan the audience making sure that you are never looking down at your feet. You also must not read off your notes like an essay. That will bore the audience. I learned all this and much, much more.
In the beginning of the year, I hoped that taking this course would help me become less nervous when speaking in front of others. I would always get really scared to speak in front of teachers and other peers. Well, I can happily say that my goal, of being less terrified to speak in front of others, has been achieved. Recently, I have found myself volunteering to go first and participating more in other classes. I really enjoyed taking a class that will actually be able to help me in my daily life.
To be completely honest, once this class started, I was very scared of having to do a lot of writing. I did not want to do a 500 word blog post every single week. But as time passed, each blog post would get easier and easier. This class really helped me improve my writing as well as my speaking. Getting feedback from Mrs. Guarino and all of my peers really helped me figure out my own, personal style of writing. Writing every week allowed me to progress and move forward, figure out my flaws and mistakes and move past them. Another main skill I learned in this class was memorization. This was very important for me to learn because I have a lot of difficulty with memorizing everything; numbers, formulas, equations, definitions, names, dates, ect. Learning new ways of memorizing writing doesn't only help me with speeches, but applies to many other subjects as well. I hope that in the future, I will always remember the basic techniques of memorization, such as recording yourself and then listening to the recording on repeat.
I would just like to thank you, Mrs. Guarino, for dealing with our class for the past four months. If I was a teacher, I would not have been able to do it (especially with all the differing opinions and certain people who just have debating/arguing in their blood). You really have taught all of us so much and these are lessons that will stay with us forever. Thank you and have a great rest of the year!
The best link ever: http://cheshireacademypublicspeakingfall2015.blogspot.com
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