Sabrina's blog

 

Yalah Fagoth

Reflection on Presentations

This semester’s presentations about informative and persuasive speaking were honestly a lot more interesting than I expected. At first, I thought public speaking was mostly just standing in front of a class and reading information from slides, but after listening to everyone’s presentations, I realized there’s so much more to it. The presentations showed how communication can educate people, influence opinions, and even change the way people think or act. I actually enjoyed most of the presentations because many of them connected to real-life situations that we deal with every day.

One of the topics I liked learning about the most was informative speaking from Chapter 13. Informative speaking focuses on teaching the audience and helping people understand a topic better. I realized that informative speeches are not supposed to persuade people or force opinions but instead focus on giving clear and organized information. I thought it was interesting how speakers can organize their speeches using different patterns like chronological, spatial, topical, narrative, and cause and effect patterns. Before this class, I never really paid attention to how speeches were organized, but now I notice how organization makes presentations easier to follow and understand.

The chronological pattern was probably the easiest for me to understand because it puts information in time order. This pattern works really well for history topics or explaining steps in a process. I also liked learning about the spatial pattern because it helps describe places and physical spaces. Some students used diagrams and pictures to explain these patterns, which made their presentations more engaging. The topical pattern also stood out to me because it organizes ideas into categories.

Another thing I learned from the informative speaking presentations was how important specific purpose statements and thesis statements are. Before this class, I honestly didn’t think those things mattered that much, but now I understand that they help guide the entire speech. The presentations that were the easiest to understand usually had a very clear purpose and organized main points. It made a huge difference because the audience could follow along without getting confused.

I also liked how many students used visuals and presentation media to make their speeches more interesting. Some people added graphs, images, videos, or creative slide designs that made the presentations feel less boring. The visuals helped explain information better and kept the audience’s attention. I realized that people are more likely to stay focused when there’s something visual to look at instead of just listening to someone talk for several minutes straight.

My favorite topic overall was persuasive speaking from Chapter 14 because it connects so much to everyday life. Persuasive speaking is about influencing people’s beliefs, opinions, attitudes, or actions, and I realized that persuasion happens literally everywhere. Social media, advertisements, politics, influencers, and even conversations with friends all involve persuasion in some way. I liked how the presentations used examples from real-world situations because it made the topic feel modern and relatable.

One part I found especially interesting was learning the difference between persuasion, coercion, and manipulation. Before these presentations, I never really thought deeply about the differences between those terms. Persuasion uses honest communication and gives people freedom of choice. Coercion uses pressure or threats, while manipulation uses deception or misleading information. This topic really made me think about social media and advertising differently because companies and influencers are constantly trying to influence people. Sometimes it’s persuasive in a fair way, but other times it can feel manipulative.

I also enjoyed learning about informative versus persuasive speaking. Informative speeches educate people, while persuasive speeches try to convince the audience to agree with something or take action. Even though they have different goals, both types of speeches require confidence, organization, and communication skills. I noticed that persuasive speeches usually included more emotional appeals, arguments, and evidence, while informative speeches focused more on facts and explanations.

Another topic I thought was interesting was the different audience types. I never realized how much speakers have to adjust depending on the audience. We learned about positive, negative, divided, uninformed, and apathetic audiences. Some audiences already agree with the speaker, while others may completely disagree or not care at all. This showed me that public speaking is not just about talking confidently; it’s also about understanding the people listening and knowing how to connect with them.

The section about arguments and evidence also stood out to me because it explained how important reasoning is in persuasive speaking. A strong argument needs facts, evidence, and logic to support it. We also learned about fallacies in arguments, which are mistakes in reasoning that weaken credibility. This topic made me realize that not every argument people hear online or on social media is actually strong or truthful, even if it sounds convincing. I think this part of the presentations helped improve my critical thinking skills because now I pay more attention to how people support their opinions.

I also thought the topics about distance speaking and media appearances were really relevant today. Since so much communication happens online now through Zoom, social media, and video platforms, learning how to speak effectively online is important. Speaking online can actually be harder than speaking in person because it’s more difficult to keep people engaged through a screen. I liked that these presentations connected public speaking to modern communication and situations we will probably deal with in future jobs or careers.

Overall, I honestly enjoyed these presentations more than I thought I would. They helped me realize how important communication is in everyday life. Whether someone is giving an informative speech, persuading an audience, or speaking online, communication skills matter everywhere. I liked seeing how creative different students were with their visuals, examples, and presentation styles. The presentations were relatable, engaging, and useful, and I feel like I learned a lot from both informative and persuasive speaking. After this class, I definitely pay more attention to the way people communicate and influence others in everyday situations.