SPC 2608 - 7219 - @11:15 / Group 3

When I first started this class, I thought I would dread it. Public speaking is something I’ve never been comfortable with. I’ve always struggled with speaking in front of a large crowd, specifically when people’s gazes fall on me. Getting all that attention makes me feel unexplainably anxious, and it causes me to lose my train of thought. Stage fright is a major problem for me because I tend to become extremely nervous before and during a presentation. Even if I know the material well, the second I stand in front of a crowd, my anxiety makes it difficult to remember. Because of this, watching three different groups, including my own,  present Chapters 1 through 17 gave me the opportunity to learn not only from the class, but also from my peers and their different approaches to public speaking.  Group 1 presented the chapters about the basics of public speaking, building confidence, listening, developing a purpose and topic, and adapting to an audience. One of the biggest thin...

Overall, I really enjoyed learning about the chapters through the format of doing the group presentations. I think it was a good way for us to go through all of the information in each chapter without having to spend so much class or personal time going over each one individually. Every group was able to focus on their assigned chapters and explain the main ideas to the class, so we were still getting all the important information while still saving time. I also liked being able to see the different ways each group presented because everyone had their own style and came up with their certain examples for the topics.  Group 1 was in charge of Chapters 1 through 4, which covered topics like speech anxiety and how to develop an idea. Since they were the first group to present, I could definitely tell that there were some nerves, which is completely understandable. Even with that, I thought they knew their topics really well and did a good job explaining the information. One part of th...

Eduardo Mendez - Post 1 The group presentations helped me understand that public speaking involves much more than standing in front of a class and talking. Each group covered a different part of the course, connecting the process of preparing, organizing, and delivering a speech. While listening to my classmates, I became more aware of the choices speakers make. Their organization, eye contact, explanations, and slides affected how easily I followed the information. This experience allowed me to view the course from two positions: as an audience member evaluating other speakers and as a member of Group 3 responsible for teaching part of the material. Group 1 covered Chapters 1 through 4, which introduced public speaking, speech anxiety, effective listening, and selecting a purpose and topic. This material created a foundation for the other presentations because it explained that speakers should always consider their audience. I found the section about anxiety useful because nervousness...

Watching the first two presentations in class gave me a better understanding of public speaking, but it also showed me how much the delivery of a presentation can affect the audience. Both groups presented useful information from the textbook, but they had different strengths and weaknesses. The first presentation covered Chapters 1 through 4, including the fundamentals of public speaking, speech anxiety, listening, and developing a purpose for speech. The second presentation covered Chapters 5 through 8, which focused more on understanding the audience, researching a topic, using supporting materials, and organizing a speech. Even though both presentations taught important information, I found the second one easier to follow. Presentation 1 introduced many basic ideas that we will probably continue using throughout the course. One topic that stood out to me was speech anxiety because nervousness is something almost everyone experiences when speaking in front of a group. The presentati...