Course Reflection

This was probably the most challenging class I had all semester. There was not a serious amount of work or anything, but it was just a hard class for me. Before I entered this class I did not think I was scared or was aware about being nervous when engaging in public speaking. I was proved wrong. Even though I felt like I had major improvements from the first time I stepped in the front of the room, my grades did not reflect that.

After reviewing my DVD's and sitting down and reflecting on the semester, the first observation I made was that my pace of talking slowed down dramatically. By my third speech I was very comfortable in front of the room and did not have to speed up my pace of talking because I was nervous. The second major observation I made was that I did not sway or fidget as much by my third speech. My first two speeches, I was noticeably nervous and I began to fidget and sway very slightly or lean up against the lectern. For some reason at the beginning of the semester I really struggled with swaying and leaning.

The first speech in class was the group speech, and my group worked extremely hard on the project, the only thing we could not prepare for was actually doing it in front of the class. I did not feel that nervous up there because we were sitting at desks and I felt like I had my group member's support. So I really thought the rest of my speeches were going to be as easy as this one. I was very wrong; it is a lot harder to get up there in front of the class by yourself then if you are in a group.

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