Practice in Public Speaking

Today I was very tired so it was hard to get up in the morning. Eventually I made my way downstairs to walk to breakfast with friends. After breakfast we made it to class and had a short discussion and introduction before we had a public speaking workshop.

A guest speaker came to teach us about public speaking. She was extremely helpful. We went over the three components of public speaking that were particularly important. She told us the breakdown of these in terms of audience attention and comprehension of your material. Sixty percent is based on how you appear. Thirty percent is based on how you speak. The last ten percent is based on the actual content of your speech. These percentages shocked me. I was not expecting that the way you look would account for that high of a percentage.

We then examined each category in detail. The way you look doesn’t just include how you dress. This category also includes good posture, standing with confidence, and looking put together. Eye contact was also a very important aspect that we covered. Furthermore, you don’t want to appear too stiff or too relaxed. You also don’t want to fidget or stand too still but instead have natural movements.

The way you talk is also very important. You must annunciate and speak loud and clear. This is important in keeping your audience engaged. They must feel that you are confident in order to believe your argument. Varying your tone is also very important.

The last component was the content of your speech. A few of the things that we learned were how important it is for your speech to be well organized. We also learned about using ethos, pathos, and logos in our arguments.

We had lunch and then relaxed on the green. In class this afternoon we practiced all of our public speaking skills. Although this was slightly nerve racking it was also a lot of help.

In the afternoon I walked around Thayer Street and went into some shops. There were a lot of cool nic nacs but nothing that I needed to buy. After shopping I was able to have some time to relax. I went to the main green for a little then went back to my dorm so that I could go on a run. My run was probably the best part of my day because I got to see some new areas. It was raining so it felt amazing.

 

After lunch I got dinner and then I went up to Thayer to meet the rest of the cohort for dessert. We went to the froyo place. Komal came which was fun because we hadn’t really seen much of her the whole rest of the time. I went back to the dorms to hang out with some of my new friends and work on my blog. My roommate and I hung out and had a movie night. I really like my roommate so it was great to be able to spend time with her. I can’t wait for some rest and relaxation tomorrow as well as a trip to the mall.