Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Journal #3

The one speech that has always meant the most to me is Lou Gehrig's speech when he announced his retirement from baseball. I've watched the speech countless numbers of times because it is so inspiring to me the way Lou Gehrig conducted himself even with his disease, and I respect the fact that he had to give up his livelihood and was very humble in doing so. If I had to choose one person who I believe is good at the craft of public speaking it would have to be my father, the Reverend Brent Thalacker. I say this because I cannot tell you how many times I've listened in on his sermons before he presents them on Sundays, and I always find myself taking something away from each one. He is big on metaphorical examples that really pertain to situations going on in everyones daily lives, and his messages are powerful because he says them with such conviction. I always say that he could sway a whole entire jury with his public speaking abilities, and that's why I believe there is no one better.
Three speeches that I found interesting were "I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr., "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation" by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and "Farewell to Baseball Address" by Lou Gehrig. "I Have A Dream" by MLK is undoubtedly one of the most profound speeches of all time. MLK was calling for equality and his words rang across the whole nation, inspiring the whole African American race that change is possible. "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation" by FDR is very commendable because he had the extremely tough task of responding to attacks on American soil and informing the entire nation, and I believe in his speech FDR dealt with the situation in a proper manner, which is very commendable. "Farewell to Baseball" by Lou Gehrig really hits home with me because I know what it's like to give up something you dedicate your life to because of some unfortunate cause. Gehrig's speech was so inspiring and it showed that even in the saddest times its important to be supportive and acknowledge the man's character and achievements.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Journal #2

The four short speeches that we worked on in class were extremely beneficial in my preparation for our first graded speech last friday. Over the course of the four short speeches we covered a wide range of topics, and it helped me to prepare and understand for the different types of speeches that we will be working with later on in the semester. The example speech was very useful because in our next speech this week we have to talk about something technology related, as well as give examples on how it functions and its benefits to society. By already doing an example speech and having practiced it many times, it has prepared me to be confident in my delivery when I speak about my chosen technology. The definition and quote short speeches helped me in my ability to take people's already said words and put my own spin on it. This will truly help when I prepare for my informative and persuasive speech down the road.
The speech that I chose for friday was the definition speech. I chose to define an "urban farmer," which a facebook reference to the game Farmville. I chose to do this speech because I presented my first definition speech with a more serious tone, choosing the word "perseverance." This time around I wanted to show my skills of relating a definition to my life, but at the same time I wanted to do that on the light-hearted side by choosing a comedic definition. I really feel going forward that the short speeches served as a jumping off point to becoming a more successful public speaker, and hopefully that will show as the semester progresses.