Speakers Edge Thus Far.....by Debra Jo Scardino

What can I say? Well actually, you wouldn't think a lot since we just started on Monday, but it has been awesome. I have usually thought of myself as a good public speaker, but it is great getting up in front of Mrs. Joanne and our group and getting honest comments. My first drafts of my speeches were tragic. I was slightly embarrassed but really glad it went so bad because I got a lot of great feedback. I'm in the 6pm class, and we've got a lot of great people with a lot of really great speeches. This competition is going to be hard and I think it will set the bar even higher! The first two nights, we spent giving an overview of our speech or the actual speech. It was really great hearing everyone else and people are actually being honest. The third and fourth night we broke out into our groups, where I was able to receive even more honest feedback. My team members are not afraid to hold back and I am very thankful for that! I look forward to tonight for more feedback, and I'm really excited to see where the coaches direct us. Honestly though, I'm worried about the ethical dilemma speech but I know that the coach will provide us with enough information to prepare. This weekend will be all about getting my informative and market place pitch speech good enough to be presented to our coaches. Hope everyone else is learning as much as I am!

Wintersession Speaker's Edge: Thursday Week One by Alex Scrimpshire

Writing a mediocre speech is easy. Giving a Mediocre speech is even easier. Not that I thought that my first run of my speeches would be perfect, but after getting all the feedback, hearing the other students' speeches and seeing other ideas and approaches, I realize that I need to strongly fine-tune my speeches. I have realized that the difference between a bad speech and mediocre speech only requires a few minor improvements while the difference from mediocre to great requires in-depth analysis of what you want to say, in what order to say it, what information to use, and how to say it. I find myself with a seeming abundance of information and figuring out how to fit it all together--in an intelligible manner, is quite a task.

It is a task that I am enjoying, as I do enjoy a good challenge. I look forward to when I finally arrange my thoughts and ideas in the best logical manner and also in a manner that my audience can understand and be engaged with. Hopefully, I will be able to pick ideas and techniques from some classmates as they give some of their speeches. Also, I look forward to utilizing the experience and wisdom of our celebrated coaches that will be helping us in the next few days. I hope with their input and wisdom, I can craft some good speeches and learn the craft of producing good impromptu speeches.

Looking forward to more progress tomorrow. Then after tomorrow---we'll be halfway finished!!

Looking forward to hearing great speeches and seeing great improvements from my classmates!

Until next time--be anxious without waiting.