Speeches Begin Thursday

We got a lot covered in class today. I hope you enjoyed my little talk and our discussion on designing visual presentation aids. Standing behind the podium (most of the time) and giving my talk let me know how you all will feel as you present. Thanks for talking me into it.

For class on Thursday, be prepared to deliver your informative speech. We had four volunteer, but we may need four or more other speeches. I will ask for volunteers; then I will draw names at random. If you are not ready to go, you will have points deducted.

Your participation during the speeches will be graded as well, so make sure you provide helpful comments and feedback to your peers. The quality of your comments is part of your grade. If you are absent during the speeches, you will have points deducted.

I want us all prepared and ready to go on Thursday. I feel that's the fairest way to approach these speeches. Email me if you have any questions or post something on our Facebook group.

Take another look at the speech rubric I handed out just to be safe. Please practice and do well. We are all pulling for you and want you to engage us as audience members.

Have a great Wednesday.

Outlines Due Tuesday

After today's class discussion I hope you have a good idea of what you plan to do to gain and hold your audience's attention. Our speeches begin on Thursday, but I'll be picking up your outlines on Tuesday--our next class. I'll pick them up at the beginning of class, so have them printed or you will have points deducted.

Our reading for this weekend is chapter 9 in the book. It's about writing and designing an outline and provides valuable input to the outline that you'll be turning in on Tuesday, especially pages 208 and 209.

I also want you to watch this short video (here's a link). I thought it was interesting considering our discussion on engaging with your audience because it brings up different cultures. 



Have a great weekend.

New Tribes and a new project

Wow, what a busy class. You should have plenty of feedback on your outlines and a good idea of what you need to accomplish to prepare for your introductory speech. I hope you enjoy working in your new tribes and that you all pull together to create the best speeches in the class.

Remember, once our speeches are over, you'll be able to vote on your favorite speeches (not from your tribe). If any tribe has two of the top five speeches, that entire tribe will get bonus points.

For Thursday, I'd like you to read chapter 13. I also want you to watch this short video (here's a link); focus on the section of the book I mentioned in class.



Have a great Wednesday.

Central Ideas are looking good, now let's consider organization

I had a great time in class today and hope you found our discussion beneficial. You all have some interesting topics for your next speech. I'll be interested to see if any of your Facebook friends comment on your speech topic.

For Tuesday, watch the video below by Ken Robinson (here's a link). Think about how the section we discussed in Chapter 7 applies to his discussion.

I also want you to have a rough draft of your outline typed out and printed, ready for class. It should demonstrate that you are thinking about the organization of your speech. You should have access to the document as a digital file as well. You can email it to yourself or put it on the cloud--Skydrive, Google Docs, Dropbox, it's up to you, but we may have some time to work in this in class.



Have a great weekend.

Adapting to your Audience...things to consider

I had a great time playing with Edistorm today, and I hope you found the session helpful as you brainstorm ideas for your next speech.

Remember, the Informative Speech must be five to six minutes long. The topic is open, but I want you to find something that you want to know more about. Your passion, your narrative of the search to find the information can really help you connect to your audience. You are in a tech-savvy room. Feel free to use the technology: Prezi, PowerPoint, xtranormal, videos, music. Just make sure it's content you created or that I approve.

The speech is worth 50 points. Your audience will assign 10, and I will use the rubric we discussed in class to assign 40.

The point is: focus on your audience. Don't tell us things that we can find on wikipedia or YouTube. Collect, refine, and deliver a speech that really excites and interests you, and your audience will usually enjoy listening.

For Thursday, read Chapter 4 and focus on the section we discussed in class. I also want you to watch this short video.



See you Thursday!

Strategies for finding and developing a topic

The first speech is finished! Congratulations on presenting in public, working in small groups with new people, and working with new technology. Those are big challenges and I hope you are pleased with your work.

For Tuesday's class, read Chapter 5 in the textbook and watch the video below. Here's a link to use if the video isn't showing below.

As you watch this video of Eva, consider how she comes up with research topics.



Have a safe weekend. See you Tuesday.

Group Presentations

We've got our Prezis ready to go and actually started presenting today. Thanks to those who volunteered to present first.

On Thursday we will finish up our tribe introductions. Since your tribe should be ready to go, I'd like you to read Chapter 3 in our book. Focus on overcoming barriers to effective listening.

Check out this talk by Evelyn Glennie. Here's a link in case the video below isn't working. It's a long video, but I think you can get some food for thought if you watch the first 16 minutes.



Enjoy! See you Thursday.

Preparing for your Introductory Speeches

Who would have thought our discussion on Ethics would be so much fun? I hope after our class you have the tools necessary to articulate why something may not be ethical in a given situation.

For Tuesday's class, I want you to finish up your tribe's Prezi. You should have a main image/metaphor selected. This weekend is the time to set up your individual section of the Prezi. Find something in the metaphor you connect with, tell us how it relates to you, and use that as a bridge to share something about yourself with the class.

Remember, your tribe has 30 seconds to introduce the tribe and metaphor; you (as an individual speaker) have 1 to 1.5 minutes to speak, and your tribe has 30 seconds to wrap up your discussion.

We will use the beginning of class on Tuesday to get everyone on your tribe on the same page. Then tribes will be selected at random to present. Do not be absent. Read the syllabus to find out why.

Take care, do good work, have a safe Labor Day.