I believe that this general education course is one that should continue being mandatory for all students. I learned so much in this class as well as reviewed some information I learned while giving presentations within FFA. Now, when I am listening to public speakers I feel myself critiquing their PowerPoints and listening for their transitions. This class was my favorite winter quarter. I truly enjoyed Professor Truch as she was very knowledgeable about many different subjects and in particular communications. She answered questions well and at the end of every round asked for our feedback. I truly liked this part because it showed that she cares about what the students like and continues working at making her style of teaching fit best for all students. She made me feel welcomed in her class which I appreciated. I felt that I semi accomplish the three goals I set at the beginning of the quarter. My two speeches in round 1 went well, but round 2 and 3 were not my best. I was disappointed in my slouching and confidence in myself. My breathing exercises I tried to complete daily were not as helpful as I had hoped. My goal to reduce the amount of stress I put on myself was accomplish. For my round 3 speech, I wasn’t stressed like I had been previously. Thankfully all my technology worked worked in round 2 and 3 which helped lower my stress level! I feel that I am more confident as a speaker even though I still get nervous. I know that everything can’t be perfect and neither can I. I also know that there is always room for improvement and as an agricultural teacher public speaking is necessary. I enjoyed the in-class activity where they class gathered in a circle and stereotyped people. After this exercise, we realized there is more to what meets the eye. Even though I like to plan everything, I liked Professor Truch making the class think on their feet with a random way to take attendance. I also enjoyed choosing our own group members and the reason we meet outside of class 3 times. To make this course better for the upcoming students, I would ask Professor Truch to explain somethings more clearly to the class and not expecting them to have only read it on poly learn. For example, I was unsure if I should follow the full sentence outline she gave us exactly or come up with one on my own. Just explaining things in depth and keeping grades updated is all I could ask for to improve this course.

For our final team meeting, we decided to go to Yogurt Creations since The Avenue’s fire alarm was going off. We all got frozen yogurt with toppings and made our signature creations. While we were eating, we talked about our final schedules next week. We all have our last final on Friday which is for this class. Although having a final on Friday stinks, I’m excited to hear all of our Life Philosophy speeches. I’m also looking forward to hearing everyone’s single sentence statements for their group members. Aside from our finals schedule, we said our favorite type of music. This lead the conversation to the topic of music that helps with stress. With this week being dead week, my group members and I talked about ways we destress. When I have been studying for awhile, I like to take a break and take a walk to get some fresh air. These are just a few topics that my group talked about when bonding together before our last class tomorrow. This meeting was nice because we ate some where other than The Avenue and switched up our seating as well!

We didn’t receive written feedback from our team. However, after my speech I remember Professor Truch saying I did stumble on my words and should of came up with a better attention getter for my speech. She also wished I stated my call to action as signing a petition for the federal government to eliminate tipped wages.

After watching my round 3 speech on Eliminating Tipped Minimum Wages in Restaurants in the U.S., I’m extremely disappointed in myself. I used more filler language in this speech that I had in any before. I knew what I wanted to say, but for some reason I couldn’t say it clearly. However, I truly enjoyed researching about tipping in the United States; it was interesting to discover some restaurants are including a hospitality fee in their checks instead of customers leaving tips themselves. I found it difficult to figure out which speech I was going to give whether that was the MMS or Problem-Solution. Ultimately, I chose Monroe’s Motivated Sequence with the help of Professor Truch narrowing my speech down to a specific portion of tips. After going in to her office hours, I found clarity and did a little more research on the differences of pay in the states with tipped minimum wages. I believe those statistics strongly supported my argument. In this speech, I felt I read off of my notes a lot. Although the video was hard to see and hear, I thought I spoke fast. I forgot to take a breath in between sentences and body paragraphs. My breathing exercises didn’t help with this speech; I sounded more nervous as well. While I was practicing this speech in the mirror with my roommates I saw myself slouch and rolled my showers back, but on the speech day I didn’t stand confidently like I hoped to. I felt my speech would have been worthwhile if I pronounced things clearly and spoke slower in certain points of my speech. I didn’t accomplish this goal of mine in round 3. However, I felt less stressed about this speech than my others which was surprising because I didn’t know anything about tips. This round didn’t go as I hope it work. With so much time before my final speech, I truly want to make it the best one I have given. I hope to do this by dividing deep into my life and pulling messages from an experience of mine.

Reflection: After watching my speech on Agricultural Education, I am so disappointed in how I did. I feel as though I was not nervous like I had previously been which is great. I am more comfortable with my classmates. However, I spoke really fast for some reason. While giving my speech my breathing felt normal, but sounded different in the video. My breathing exercises did not pay off in this round. I knew what I was talking about and research confirmed all my knowledge. I enjoyed this speech round; I am just so mad at myself for my delivery. Had I slowed my rate of speaking and kept the examples I had in my speech, I would of made the time limit. While watching myself, I thought my visual aid went hand in hand. Although, I should of talked about the FFA slide more than just the CDE picture. Something else I can work on for the last two speeches is my posture. In order to achieve this goal, I need to roll my shoulders back when I feel myself slouching. This will not only make me look better presenting, but possibly come across more confident to the audience. After presenting I thought I had bored my audience, but after watching my video I thought it kept my attention. I was less stressed for this speech because I knew the information like the back on hand which could be the reason I was rushing through it. I wish I presented Agricultural Education in a better light than I had. In order to better in round 3, I want to ensure I talk slower and take pauses in-between my points to make my time requirement. My goal is to roll my shoulders back, and be confident in myself while controlling my breathing. These are all goals I can achieve by practicing. I hope round 3 goes smoother than round 2 did for me!

For our second team meeting, my group and I met at The Avenue on February 25, 2019. We sat in the same spot and seats as our last meeting. It looks like a remake of our last picture! While eating our food together, we talked about many random topics. We discussed what we plan on doing for our third round of speeches and the differences between Western and English horse riding. It was funny because Charlie knew the differences between the two, but Mitch and I, the two agriculture majors, didn’t know that difference. We also talked about geography and flight times which lead us to looking up pictures of horses transported on planes. It’s nice to meet with my classmates out of class to truly bond with them individually. I feel as though connections are made in class when we discuss where we are from, but they are strengthened through these team meetings.

This round of speeches was a practice round for the next two longer speeches I’ll be giving. I believe I worked on my goal number 1 as I practiced giving my speeches in front of my roommates to become more confident in myself. While watching my speech videos, I noticed I slouch so in the following rounds I need to roll my shoulder back. I can work on this daily to improve my posture and look more credible. I liked both the topics I presented about so smiling while giving my speech came naturally. My 2nd speech wasn’t as smooth as I thought it had been which was disappointing. I looked at my note card even though I knew it by memory from repeatedly practicing. As for my goal number 2, breathing deeply in and out before presenting helps me calm down. I didn’t accomplish it as well as I hoped because in my first speech my voice was shaky. In my second speech, I didn’t take a pause between the final body paragraph and the conclusion. If I had, it would have allowed the audience to know my speech was coming to a close. I felt that I took my nervous energy and turned it into enthusiasm better in my 2nd speech. My goal number 3 was to make my speeches worth listening. I believe I did that in this round. However, my 2nd speech related the audience more because we all know Charlie as he is our classmate. This round of speeches could have gone smoother, but I am learning from my mistakes. I need to be confident in what I’m saying, make sure to pause, and have a clear thesis statement to give a presentation that is worth listening to.

Reflection: After watching my speech on Charlie, I am not as happy as I was after giving it on Wednesday. I feel as though I was still very nervous and didn’t control my breathing as well. The breathing exercises I have been practicing didn’t pay off this speech. I didn’t do them everyday for this speech like I anticipated for one of my goals. However, I felt as though my speech was worthwhile because the audience was able to learn about our classmate. I noticed that I only said Charlie’s name at the beginning of the speech, and continued to say he, he, he. At the end of it, I began listing what he loves to do instead of going into depth of why that has changed him as a person based on the environment he was living in. I had hoped to include questions to break up the cadence of my voice in this speech, but I didn’t include any. My cadence was not as noticeable as last time which is a positive! Overall, I believe I could have done better job on writing and presenting the speech.

During our first team meeting, we got together as a group at The Avenue for a snack, before some of us had class. We bonded over discussing our childhoods. I’m from a small farming town in the Central Valley, and Adam grew up only 2 hours away from me in Fresno. As a team we also discussed what we plan to do in the future, whether that’s Mitch going back to his family’s dairy in Washington or me becoming an Ag Teacher. This team bonding was a success as we got to know each other well. I now feel more comfortable saying speeches in front of the class.

Reflection: After watching my speech on family traditions, I realized the cadence I speak in, just as Professor Truch said. For my second speech in round 1, I want to include questions to break up the cadence. I feel my performance was okay. I got nervous and my voice sounded shaky, but I delivered my speech clearly. However, giving this speech was easier than I thought it would of been. I have more confidence now speaking in front of my classmates. In my coming speeches, I want to use a variety of words and not repeat words over like I did with “tradition.” I feel as though the outline was a great tool to help get the ideas I have on paper in a structured format. I don’t believe my speech this round was memorable, but I hope to present my next speech to truly captivate the audience’s attention. The breathing exercises helped while I was presenting which paid off. I’m excited to give my next speech!

1. My first goal is to be more confident while speaking, both inside and out of this public speaking class.
2. My second goal is to be able to control my breathing and reduce the stress I put on myself.
3. My final goal is to focus on making my speech memorable and worth sharing. 

For goal #1:

https://www.fastcompany.com/3048748/10-secrets-to-sounding-confident

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/gain-confidence-in-your-presentations-by-following-these-tips/

https://www.gingerpublicspeaking.com/article/confident-public-speaking-how-to-become-fearless

For goal #2:

https://www.write-out-loud.com/overcoming-public-speaking-anxiety-breathing-exercises.html

https://www.inc.com/larry-kim/15-power-up-tips-to-make-you-a-better-presenter.html

https://hbr.org/2015/08/6-ways-to-reduce-the-stress-of-presenting

For goal #3:

https://www.inc.com/brenda-barbosa/the-1-sentence-that-will-make-you-a-more-effective-speaker-every-time.html

http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/memorable-speech/

https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/7-steps-to-an-inspiring-and-memorable-speech.html

My Plan to Accomplish Each Goal:

1. To accomplish my first goal of being more confident while speaking, I will need to work on a few areas I struggle in. First, I will practice my speech out loud in front of my roommates to gain confidence. I will do this continually for a week prior to my assigned speech day. A key tool to looking confident is maintaining good posture, which I will work on daily. Also, I will smile while giving my speeches to show the audience I am excited to present; it helps to keep composted as well. Lastly, I need to think positive and not dwell on my mistakes. Learning from them is the best way to become better.
2. To reach my second goal of controlling my breathing and reducing my stress, I will need to use good breathing practices. Learning how and completing these exercises for speaking as well as before a big exam will help reduce my stress and anxiety. This will allow me to focus on the task at hand. While presenting, I will take pauses when necessary and appropriate. As stated in my first goal, I will reduce my stress by practicing my speech and being confident in what I’m presenting. I will take my nervous energy and convert it to enthusiasm while giving my speech.
3. To obtain my final goal, I need to keep my speech to one idea. I will write a single, clear sentence that will ensure all parts are in line with my main idea. I will format my speeches in an understandable structure including: an introduction, body, and conclusion. Writing and rewriting my speech will allow me to enhance the richness of the language I use. Also, I will connect to my audience through eye contact, message of the speech, and confidence I have presenting it. These simple tips will allow me to write and give speeches that are worth sharing instead of presenting for a grade.