Kailee Ruzicka
Com110
Synthesis Paper
Synthesis Paper
Imagine yourself on the first day of class when our teacher told us that we would have to give three speeches during the semester. Were you scared, nervous, maybe even terrified? I can admit that I was terrified and much more. Public speaking was never my strong suit in the past so when I found out that I was going to have to take a class centered around being able to speak in front of people I was less than thrilled. My goals at the beginning of the semester were to overcome my public speaking apprehension, work on my nonverbal delivery, and being prepared for speeches. I was able to meet these goals by the end of this semester. Although I met many of my goals, there are still things I would like to improve in my communication.
My public speaking apprehension was me being overly terrified of giving speeches during class. My fear of public speaking was overcome when I gave my first speech during this class. The thought of talking in front of crowds scared me but I turned that fear into motivation to learn my speech so that I could go into my speech day more confident. To make sure that I was prepared, I started memorizing my speech days in advance to be certain that I knew it well enough. My goal for this speech was to be able to learn my speech so that I would not have to rely on the note cards I had written. When I was finished giving my first speech to the class it made me realize that for me, being more prepared for my speech was what I needed to get rid of my public speaking apprehension.
Along with overcoming my public speaking apprehension, another goal I achieved throughout the semester would be my participation in class. In the past I was never good at participating in class discussions. By taking this communication class, I was able to get out of my comfort zone. By getting points for participating in class, I was more motivated to ask questions and give my input in discussions. Now...