Public Presentation Reflection

Running for Vice President

                  Have you ever had to persuade others to vote for you? Have you ever gave a speech, but before giving it you didn't know what you were going to talk about?Last thursday was the big day I ran for VP of my pledge class. I had to give a speech about why I wanted to be the vice president. When doing any kind of speech I have learned to always be prepared and know what to say, so as I was writing my speech, I came across some difficulties on what I would say. I thought about things I have learned as a communications scholar, and also everything I do on a daily. I started by brainstorming the most important information, because I needed those ladies of my pledge class to know what I was going to do. I had a feeling that this speech would not be as good as I would want it too, because I am not a very good procrastinator. 

               Because I waited until the last minute to start this speech, it did not come out good. I went up and started speaking about how my skills have molded me into a leader. I said how I can get any job done, blah , blah, blah, and how I am a good listener, and if they needed me for anything I would be there for them. After my one minute speech I realized that when I first gave the speech I did not address who I was speaking to. For example, I did not say "Dear pledge class", or good afternoon pledge sisters. Along with that I did not say enough about what I could do for them, or how I could be the vice president or even give any examples. The worst part of my speech was that I didn't even make eye contact.  Therefore, my speech was not successful, I did not put in enough time to prepare and I was pretty embarrassed, after watching my other pledge sisters speak for their candidacy; I questioned mines. 

                 Now that I am writing about the speech I gave, it was definitely a wake up call. As a communications major, I feel like speeches are what we must excel in. After giving that speech I checked notes from earlier in the semester of my introduction to communication studies class and I came across the three main things that are necessary for a successful speech as far as content, First Pathos which is how we can appeal to listeners emotions, next is logos; those that reveal logic reasoning. Lastly ethos; those that establish the credibility with listeners. I have learned time and time again how important it is to know who your audience is. So if I could suggest to anyone who gives a speech, always know who your audience is, so that way you can also feel more comfortable. That helps us know more about were going to talk about. I encourage everyone to take more time when giving speeches, and learn from my mistake that procrastination is never a good idea.