Monday, December 16, 2013

Inspirational Speech


Write one well-written and thought-out paragraph. Use complete sentences and correct grammar. Upper class students should be writing paragraphs with compound and complex sentences that are a minimum of six sentences long. 

You may comment on the following aspects as well: 
  1. Was the class inspired? How could you have been more inspirational?
  2. eye contact
  3. nervousness
  4. audience feedback
  5. preparation--did you practice enough? Too much?
  6. speaking rate (too fast? too slow? too many pauses?)
  7. gestures (Did you do any?)
  8. poise and presence 
  9. organization
  10. facial expressions 
  11. Dressed and groomed?
  12. Outline

In addition, leave feedback for at least two students. Feedback should be specific and original. Reflections and Feedback due by Sunday, December 22 (11:59 p.m.)

44 comments:

  1. Tuesday Speeches:

    Gaby

    Melonie

    Sara's coming soon...

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  2. In my speech I talked about my expirence on the basketball team. That is when I made my choice to do my speech on positivity. Being positive is something that I strive to do. In my speech I used a manuscripted. I don't usually use a manuscrpit because I feel that I do not make good eye contact, in this speech I feel I did a good job with the eye contact. I was kind of nervous because I wasn't sure how people would react to my speech. I stumble on my words in teh end of my speech, but I think that happens to everyone at some point speech. I am always nervous about using hand gestures because I don't want to look like a dork. I didn't feel like I used any gestures but if I did I didn't notuice. Overall, I think this speech was good, my goal was to inspire people to look at the positives in life and I hope I accomplished this goal.

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    1. I really enjoyed Don's speech. I could tell that you had a strong relationship with your friend. This speech was very inspirational because of the fact that you cared about him enough to tell all of us about how he struggled and over came that struggle. I can tell that you felt something in this speech, it wasn't just having to do it, but it was you really digging deep of this one. Good job, Don!

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  3. I think my speech went pretty well actually. I definitely talked faster when I presented it because when practiced it was a whole minute longer. This is, most likely, also the cause for my stumbling with my words. I enjoyed giving this speech because it was shorter and it was easy to express how I felt. My eye contact was okay... I had more during the beginning but towards the end it kind of declined. I wasn't too nervous until right before the speech. I also made a good point to dress up. I thought I looked very nice in that fabulous sweater!

    One of my favorite speeches of this category and of the year was Don's. His speech was nice and I really enjoyed listening to it and it was truly inspirational. He had good pace and seemed like he practiced and wasn't too nervous.

    My other favorite of this type of speech was Grace's. She put a lot of feeling into the speech, like Don, and she really did a good job of telling us how we need to hold those of us dear to us and show kindness. She had a good tone and seemed to put a lot of effort into this speech. I really enjoyed listening to it and she did a great job.

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    1. I really think that Alison did a great job. I also look forward to her speeches and this speech made me want to listen to many more. I have always been super impressed with her speeches, this one was one of her best. I think she really connected with the audience. I have a dad who is in the police force and I could connect with her like so many other people. She also had a really good tone and she didn't seem nervous at all. Overall I was very impressed!

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    2. Alison, I really enjoyed your speech. I could relate to you because I also have family in that line of work. I didn't think you talked that fast. I also enjoyed that we both got to wear ugly Christmas sweaters. You always have this tone in your voice that raises whenever you start talking about things you feel strongly about. I could really tell that you had a strong feel for what you were talking about. Overall, you did a great job.

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  4. This speech was the best written speech I have done this year. There were two things that I could have improved a little. The first was eye contact, it wasn't my worst speech for eye contact but there could have been more. The second is that I could have used more inflection in my voice. Aside from those things I spoke loud enough at a good rate, I was well prepared, and I wasn't very nervous.

    Angel had some great points in his speech. I think that this was one of Angel's better speeches because he seemed to be pretty well prepared. He also made good eye contact and spoke at a good pace. He used a great personal story as well.

    Bryce also did very well with his speech. He chose a topic that is very important to him which I think was very beneficial to him in writing the speech. I thought the speech was very well written. I really like the introduction. This was one of his strongest speeches. He seemed well prepared and he executed the speech pretty well.

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  5. I thought this speech was better than my last one and it showed that I have come a long way since the beginning of the semester. I was fairly enthusiastic throughout my speech and I had a decent amount of eye contact. My conclusion could have been a little longer and I could have talked slightly slower. My content was good and I flowed through the speech without any delay. Perhaps I could have added more of a personal story then what I did but it was decent. I think what I learned in speech class will definitely help me later in life and help me succeed.

    Bryce's speech was a lot different from everyone else's speech and that was a great thing. His interest in the military helped him execute his speech well and it helped him to be well prepared. I definitely was inspired by Bryce's speech a lot more then most people's speeches. Bryce talked about what means a great deal to him and it showed throughout the speech. Overall, well done.

    Drew's speech was not his best, he did not seem well prepared. His choice of topic was good but he seemed like he was stuck on a few ideas and just kept saying the same thing. However he did bring up some great points and had a decent amount of emotion. I think if Drew practiced some more and throughout how to flow the speech better he would have been good. Anyways, not too bad but could have had some more effort.

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  6. I thought this speech was great. I loved the term I chose, but I felt that no one in the audience could relate to my personal story. As I was presenting my speech I was waiting for that one person to say " Well that's not my problem." making my speech pointless. Thankfully that didn't happen. but as I was interviewing the best people for my speech; I was relieved knowing I wasn't the only one. But this isn't the end for this speech. Hopefully I will receive a reply back from other shoe companies that are willing to make a change in manufacturing shoes.


    Sara's speech was really good. The idea of being the best you can be and proving others you can succeed. What I really liked is when she used her figure skating as an example. With her coach saying she couldn't do it, she proved her coach wrong and actually won. Also she used other well known people that I 've never knew had to work hard to get where they are. Like J.K Rowling, or Albert Einstein.

    Grace's speech was amazing. Her story of a close friend and now Grace has to go through not being able to text her or call her while she's away must be really tough. In Grace's speech she shows a lot of emotion in the way she speaks and you see that in this specific speech when she starts to tear up . And this speech was of been hard and as she was still talking full of tears. Grace stuck with us and finished her speech till the end. Her friend is her true inspiration.

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    1. I think Melonie did an amazing job! I didn't know what a challenge it would be to fine shoes. I do take for granted that I can just walk into a store and buy shoes. This speech really made me see what other people go threw. She didn't seem nervous at all, and she seemed really confident. Overall I was very impressed.

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    2. Melonie you did amazing! I liked how you are willing to go so far for not only your speech, but for the benefit of others as well!!! I hope you receive a reply!! You had good eye contact, and you seemed very passionate about your speech!!! I really hope that they will start changing their products!!!

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  7. This probably was my most favorite speech to give. I didn't have to think long and hard about what I wanted to say, it just came to me. I think that my rate of the speech fit how serious the topic was. I tired to make as much eye contact as I could with a manuscript. If I have to give a speech in the future I would probably use a manuscript, it helps me feel like I am well prepared for the speech. Another thing that manuscript speeches do is that instead of practicing 4 or even 6 times, I only needed to practice about 3 times. Also by the end of this semester I wasn't nervous at all to give speeches, I became use to the audience.

    Angel had a very good speech. He completely opened up and I could tell there was a lot of emotion. I enjoyed the fact that even though it was a serious speech, he still found ways to add humor. Angel has definitely improved with giving speeches.

    Alison touched my heart when she gave her speech. Being that my dad is a police officer, I could easily relate to what she was saying. Alison has always given great speeches and this was one of her best! I can remember when she said she hated giving speeches but now it seems as though it is more natural for her.

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    1. Lauren you are by far the greatest speaker in my opinion you make it look so easy its seems like a piece of cake to you you go in and dominate great job on this speech Lauren like always.

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    2. Lauren, I knew ahead of time that your topic would be something youwere passionate about so I subconsciously had higher expectations for you but you definitely surpassed them. Like Don said you are definitely one of the best speakers in our entire class. You always seem well prepared and like you are in control of your topic and the audience. Your eye contact and voice fluctuation are always spot on. Great job this year!!!

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    3. Lauren had a fantastic speech like always. I honestly don't think she has progressed as a speaker that much, because she was always incredibly good even from her first speech. She had great poise, eye contact, pace, main ideas, topics, the whole thing. Well done over the whole semester!

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  8. I believe that this speech was by far my best. While most of my speeches I tried to work a joke in, this one I did not. This was a more emotional speech, so I tried to show as much emotion as possible. I spoke at a good rate and had as much eye contact as I could with a manuscript speech. There were some aspects of my speech that could have been improved, such as speaking with more confidence, but this was definitely my favorite speech.

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    1. I really liked Connor speech he is really a good speaker I wish i had his speaking skills he seems to always show good eye contact and good diction keep up the good work.

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  9. Of all the speeches given, Bryce's was my favorite. It was something serious and obviously a topic he cared about deeply. The feeling that he put into the speech added to the effect of it greatly. This speech helped me realize the commitment that those who serve our country must make. Other than a few minor mistakes, such as too little eye contact, this was a great speech.

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  10. I think Luke had a solid speech. The manuscript was well written. To be honest, I have never really found traveling very interesting, but this speech may have changed my mind. I think this was one of his best speeches. However, it seems as though with every speech Luke struggles in the same areas. He tends to have his head down for the majority of the time, which makes it hard to connect to the audience. He also sounds very monotone when giving the speech, and it seems like he is boring himself. Aside from these two critiques, I think this was a good speech.

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  11. I felt that I did really well. I tried to connect to the audience as best as I could. I think from the classes reaction they liked it. Even though I originally did not want to do this speech I think it was actually one of my favorites. I am happy to end the semester on that note. I will keep in mind for future speeches the lessons I learned, like good eye contact, connection with the audience, and the use of facts and quotes.

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  12. One of my favorite speeches was probably Don's. It was so amazing and heart felt. I could not imagine losings a friend or even worse my brother. I just had to listen because I was engulfed in the emotion of the speech. He kept me interested with good eye contact and the pace of the speech. It was a very good speech.

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  13. Bryce's speech was a good speech. I completely agree with his speech. It shows how much we do need to appreciate our nations soldiers. I did appreciate the speech since I have family in the armed forces. It was a very good speech. Good eye contact, pace and great message.

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  14. It was kind of sad thinking that this was my last speech I wanted to make it something good and something everyone could relate to. I think I picked a good topic because I know we all take things for granted, when we don't know when they will be gone. I was nervous for this speech because since it was my last one I wanted it to be good. For using a manuscript I thought my eye contact and pace were good.This was the first time I used a timer on the podium, and I felt like this really helped me. I practiced for this speech about 5 times, more then I have any other speech. Overall, I really enjoyed this speech, and I hope I inspired people to love and appreciate more.

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    1. I really enjoyed Don's speech. I lost a friend last year around this time and I know exactly how he was feeling. You never know how much of an impact someone has on your life until they're not here anymore. Talking about a friend who is no longer around is not the easiest thing to do, but Don did great. He kept me interested in his whole speech, and it sounded like he practiced too. His pace and his eye contact were also good for using a manuscript. I think this speech was the best one Don has done, and it was a great speech to close with. Great job Don!

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    2. I was really inspired by Jon's speech! I think this was one of the best speeches for Jon. He had good pace, and eye contact throughout and he kept me interested the whole time.He seemed really prepared, and not nervous at all! I didn't really know a lot about Jon's step dad until now. I think its cool how he has made such a huge impact in Jon's life. Overall I think Jon did a great job, he has surprised me with his speaking skills and I'm going to miss his speeches!

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    3. Gaby well done! Very well done, you connected with the audience easily during this school. This was kind of close to my speech to so I connected with it more than some other people too. I felt your poise and eye contact was very good. You seemed very confident and inspiring up there. Nice job over the semester.

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  15. This speech showed more emotion then my standard speeches and if my speech was longer and made my time frame it would have been one of my best speeches next to my informative which I think was my best. I thought I had good eye contact. I didn't have a good attention getter. All in all i thought the speech was good just didn't make some of the criteria

    I thought Travis's speech was excelent. It had a very nice flo to it and he projected very well. He was also very explosive and kept me hooked the whole time. He always dose a nice job with his intros and conclusions. I like that he starts with something completely different and ties it into his speeches.

    I thought Jon's speech was cool. His speech showed what he wanted to be in the future and his example beeing his step dad well I didn't know much about him or his family. Though the connection he made I think made the speech. I like he didn't leave out any details and it was a very insperational speech and he hit all the key points on the grade sheet and I think this was his best one this year.

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  16. I believe I picked a good person to do my inspirational speech. Steve Jobs is a very inspiring person to me he was good person and built a great company. I tried to use some new techniques so I used a quote from my person.

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  17. I believe Dons speech was really sad and touching. I could not think losing a friend or even worse a brother.

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  18. I thought my speech went really well considering I rewrote the entire speech overnight. If I hadn't had my friends around me to cause the revelation that I had, I'm not sure how my speech would've gone, but I'm sure it wouldn't have gone that well. I'm glad that I changed the topic of my speech, and I hope that it caused others to think differently.

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  19. I really liked Grace's speech! Her emotional connection to the topic made it so much easier to connect to. Though I don't know the person all that well myself, the way Grace presented her speech made me feel like I had just had my friend sent away as well.

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  20. I thought this was one of my better speeches. It was a tough one to do because of all the things that happened that day, but I'm glad I gave that speech because it was good to talk about it. I think my eye contact was better and I felt like I connected to the audience which is always good

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    1. I really liked Don's speech because it was the first time we had seen him open up and talk about his past. It was by far his best speech and he did a great job and talking about his friendship and how people can always change for the better. Great speech and great message

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  21. I really thought this speech was my best speech because I put my heart and soul in this one i actually put a lot of time and effort in this speech, actually this was my first time talking about my friend M.c. I need to show more eye contact though but and be more organized with things but overall I think I did a good job.

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    1. Don your speech was an absolute gem. All technicalities aside the fact that you put so much emotion and feeling into your speech to not only break down but to push through it and still give the message you wanted to give was incredible. I think i can speak for the majority of the class that you moved each and every one of us that day. Great job.

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    2. Talk about the best speech of the year. Also the most emotional speech I've ever seen in person. This speech was incredible, completely obvious you put your heart and soul into this one, there's nothing to really critque on the speech, because this was phenomenal. Progressed so much from your first speech. Nice job man!

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    3. I loved Don's speech because there was so much emotion put into it. I love learning the other sides of peoples personal lives, and seeing what they have gone through that make them the people they are today. I could tell he really wanted to express his feelings without, and honestly there was nothing wrong the tears they helped us connect to Don even more.

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  22. Overall this speech was not my best but i thought it was still a strong effort. Istruggled to find a topic Iwas truely passionate about but I think I found one that was at least middle of the road for me. My speech was very quote/story heavy which should have been avoided but i feel like it added to my speech and helped connect to more people. I definitely did not feel that nervous and my eye contact and speaking rate has greatly improved since my first speech. I was dressed well but could have incorporated more gestures into my speech to make myself more animated.

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  23. I this speech was probably my best speech of the year. I should've been dressed up more though. Anyways this was the best eye contact, pace, and confidence I've had out of all of my speeches. I felt like I had a solid topic too for being how unsure I was early in the week on my topic. But I prevailed and thought I had a good topic and kept everyone's attention.

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  24. I thought my speech was okay, the manuscript makes it hard to sound good, but it makes it easier to do. My topic was something very close to my heart, and i'm glad in the end I decided to use it for my speech. I typically don't practice my speeches to much, and that's the one thing I regret this last semester. I felt I did a good job expressing my feelings towards my step dad but the format was pretty choppy.

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  25. I liked Angel's speech. It was really cool hearing the story about his Dad. I didn't hear about anything that happened until this speech. He really made us realize to not take loved ones and friends for granted. I appreciate his expression of emotion and it really hit close to home.

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  26. poise and presence BY Brandin Lezala

    I decided to pick the poise and presence because i have much experience with this subject and would like to elaborate. poise and presence is a big part of speech, the reason being is that it shows how confident you truly are, displays your confidence, and how well you hold yourself when your frightened.
    I believe that if you have both of these things you will do great just alone will get a higher score. poise and presence will greatly increase your chances of getting a job or anything of that nature, but present yourself nicely with appropriate attire and cleanly shaven and some cologne wouldn't hurt either. i would suggest wearing a 3 piece suit for more executive jobs and a polo for with some khakis for a less professional job but its never bad to overdress. This is what I believe what would be best to present yourself and have a great poise.

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