Digital Media Ethics

With how easy it is today for any digital media to be significantly altered to lean towards one side or the other, the speaker has a responsibility to make sure the media that they are using is legitimate. Photo editing software is available to everyone, and an audio file can be edited to twist around what the original author was trying to say. As someone who is supposed to be an expert when giving a speech to the audience, if the speaker gives any illegitimate photos or quotes in their speech, the audience immediately casts doubt on any other information that the speaker might have given. When gathering information, especially from the internet, the person putting together a speech should research all of his or her information and make sure it is coming from a credible source. Making sure that the media that one is using is from the original source, like quoting something from the original document that it appeared in or hearing the original audio file of what you are citing, would also be a good idea when incorporating media into a speech.

Using presentation media in a speech

The last speech that I heard included a PowerPoint that was actually used fairly well. The speaker used several images relating to what he was talking about and also included some text in the slides. The speaker also used very simple animations and transitions that didn't detract from the speech, and also didn't distract the audience. The introduction slide was used as an effective attention getter, comparing two people side by side that he would use to make a point. The slides used colors that went well together and also used some fairly large text so that it could be read. There was a slide or two where the slide did have a lot of text, and it probably needed to be bigger so the people in the back could read it a little better. Being a visual person myself, The PowerPoint did help keep my attention and also helped to make a confusing topic more clear to me; there is no doubt that I would have been lost without it.

Using PowerPoint

The speech buddy videos for chapter eleven were reviewing some of the good techniques on how to use presentation media, like PowerPoint, in a speech. Knowing what to use and what not to use in presentation media helps to make what you are trying to say more clear to the audience. If used incorrectly, it will only make the audience more confused. It is important to use large letters in PowerPoint, since it isn't a paper that someone will be holding in their hand, but will be viewing from the back of the room. It's also important to use as little as possible on each slide. If a slide is cluttered it will leave the viewer overwhelmed and make him or her lose interest in the topic being discussed.
The second speech buddy video also included a small example of both good and bad presentation media. The slides on the first example were simple and added some visual aid to the audience. The second example had the slides with bad color combinations and cluttered slides that didn't help make the topic more clear for the audience at all, but instead made the speech more confusing and distracted the audience.

Intro and Conclusion.

Having a good introduction and conclusion in a speech is almost as important as the content. They are like the bookends that keep the books together. For the introduction, it is important to have an attention getter, a purpose, a thesis, to establish credibility, and to preview the main points. If any of these are left out, there is a greater risk of losing the audience's attention at the very beginning. For instance, if you don't establish your credibility in the subject that you are speaking about, the audience won't take you very seriously or will even question why they should listen to what you have to say. One of the ways that I plan on establishing credibility will be to explain how I have done this hobby for years and have taken several classes.

The conclusion is also very important to the speech. The conclusion gives a review of the main points, it reinforces the purpose, and it gives the audience closure. Reinforcing the purpose reminds the audience why you were giving the speech and why you feel it is important. Doing so will leave the audience thinking about what you were just talking about, and place what they just heard deeper into their memories.

Attention Getter

The attention getter is a very important part of the speech. It is the audiences very first glimpse into the speech you will be giving and is a great factor on whether or not the audience will pay good attention to the rest of your speech. The attention getter can grab the attention of the audience by being a surprising fact or statistic, or can even be the beginning of a story that you will finish with the conclusion of the speech. It can also help relate you to the audience by being a joke or showing that you selected an appropriate attention getter that relates to them. Showing your awareness of the relation to the audience can be as simple as stating why the topic is important to them. The attention getter can even help eliminate the speaker's nervousness by giving them a good starting point. It can also provide coherence in your speech by providing a theme that the rest of the speech will follow. With how important the attention getter is, I plan on using a statistict or even a story to hopefully grab my audiences attention throughout my speech.

Speech Buddy Ch. 9 and 13

After watching the speech buddies for chapter nine, I have a couple of good ideas for my introduction. I never really thought of using stats or a story for an introduction, and it is definitely something I think I will try for this speech! The second chapter nine speech was not as helpful, mainly because the video frame was constantly moving in and out and making me feel kind of ill. I could not even focus on what the speaker was saying. The chapter 13 videos were helpful, giving good examples of what an informative speech should sound like. They all flowed very well and fit a lot of information into five minutes. I like the second speech where the girl used the camera to start and end her speech; it definitely perked my interest and also added a good visual aid. I have never used any of the activities on the speech buddy website before. I found a couple of the questions useful, having to think about what her main points were, what the thesis statement was, and similar questions made me think about having to make my speech main points more clear for the audience.

Self Evaluation: Demo speech

Looking back on my speech on Monday, I realize there were so many things that I could have done better. My biggest challenge is getting comfortable enough with my speech that I can overcome my speech anxiety of just blanking out on the current idea that I am speaking on. I realize now that I will need to practice twice as much in order to do well on my informative speech. Some of the things that I thought I did bad on were saying "umm" too much and completely losing my train of thought, which left my statements unfinished and choppy. I could have also added a few more quotes from my cards to show that I researched my topic. The ways I did well in my speech? I wasn't as nervous as last time, I was making eye contact with the audience, and I feel that my demo went well with it being visible enough for the class to see.
I'm planning on doing better with my next speech, I already have my outline almost done and I'm working on the powerpoint so that I have more time to practice my speech.