- Share any advice or encouragement you have for your peers.
- Do you have any resources to share that could help your peers?
The first thing that I had planned to improve during this course was my use of filler words. After watching my first video introduction and then my informative speech, I feel confident saying that my use of filler words declined dramatically. I still used a few in my speech even though I tried my hardest not to. Therefore, I feel I improved but I did not completely accomplish the goal. Honestly, I feel like it is just human nature to use “um” and “uh” when talking. The only way I could completely accomplish not using them at all is recording my speech over and over. However, that would not work in a setting where I was in front of a group of people.
The second goal I had was to become a better active listener. I do feel that I accomplished this goal. When I would watch the different video lectures that Professor Leach posted, I would make sure that I was completely concentrated on what he was saying. I made sure I did not have other distractions around me and that my mind was clear and focused on one thing.
There is one thing that I wish we as a class could have done and that is an actual public speaking exercise. I think if I could have participated in something like that where the entire class was in a zoom meeting, I could have worked on my nervousness and anxiousness more. I would have liked to work on becoming a bit more comfortable speaking in front of an actual audience.
The advice that I would give new communication students about accomplishing the more difficult goals is to just be as confident as possible. As I mentioned in my first video and have mentioned here, I would suggest really working hard on not using filler words. Most of all I would say be prepared anytime you are going to be talking (or making a video for) a group of people. Knowing exactly what you want to say and having it all organized will help with your confidence as well!
