Reflective Writing

If I could only pick one strategy I am excited about it would be organization. Understanding how to organize all
my random thoughts and research, and where to place them in a standard format has helped me so much! Now that I
understand how to organize, my speeches have “logical consistency and clarity…”. (132). I felt like I had more balance in
my outlines, therefore I felt more confident and prepared when it came to practice and presenting my speeches. It also
helped me see if my outlined points were even sufficient and substantial. Although at times it made me start over from
scratch, it saved a lot of time and under developed speeches in the long run. I have also enjoyed learning the specific
organizational patterns for different types of speeches. I like the problem-cause-solution pattern best when I did my
persuasive speech on comprehensive sex ed, because it allowed me to break everything down very easily. I felt like my
points and sub points followed so naturally with this type of organization, and it allowed me to address the problem
simply in five to six minutes without wasting time in getting to my overall point.

The speech anxiety strategy that helped me the through most of my speeches was Using Positive Imagining: Visualizing
Success. I get stressed easily and I am always trying to demand perfection of myself. Being able to visualize the end result of a speech
helped me to push forward every time I was overwhelmed or wanted to give up. Being an introvert comes with it challenges and public
speeches is definitely one of them. I literally had to fake it and image I was an extroverted person that had success in giving speeches.
The strategy that helped me the least was probably Use Coping Statements: Rational Reappraisal. Even when I was well prepared and
rehearsed, I still felt like it wasn’t enough sometimes. So mentally telling myself that I was prepared wasn’t nearly as successful as just
visualizing my success.

There are many times at work when I need to be prepared to speak alone, and sometimes in front of a lot of
people. Depending on what I’m talking about or presenting, this can be super intimidating. I’m hoping that with the
speaking strategies, I have learned during this course, that my skills and anxiety will show improvement overtime. I’ll
definitely need more practice, especially if I’m to grow in my career.

I believe one of the most important things I can take from this course is how to successfully conclude a speech. I
know I really struggled with that beforehand, and just understanding what is expected and needed as help me a lot. I
loved referring to the introduction: bookending your speech. I feel like it takes all the awkwardness of finishing your
speech and wrapping things up. Also, I’ve learned to make a memorable finish and not sizzling out at the very end. “You
begin your speech with an attention strategy, and you should end your speech in a similar fashion.” (125). I believe that
as I continue in my career and communications degree, the concepts I have learned hear will greatly assist me. I plan on
continuing to personally reference this textbook as needed for upcoming presentations at work.