Homework Help for Communications

Class-public speaking

To generate a list of possible topics, respond to these questions below:

Do you hope to demonstrate a process, or would you rather explain how something is done or happens?

What do you enjoy doing? What have you learned to do well? What would you like to learn to do? These questions help you brainstorm possible topics for a speech of demonstration

What processes interest you? What processes do you know something about? What processes would you like to learn more about?

From the two lists you develop, one for demonstrations and the other for explanations, choose your three favorites. Spend a little time thinking about which of the top three topics you'd like to speak about.

Answer:

Class-public speaking

What are the goals of this persuasive PSA? How do you know? How does the PSA persuade the audience to take these goals seriously?

The PSA is aimed at people about your age. Given this audience, are the PSA's goals reasonable? What changes would you expect the audience to make after having seen this PSA? What changes would you consider unreasonable? What can you conclude about the power and limits of persuasion from this persuasive appeal?

Class-Public speaking

As you continue your study of public speaking, consider the subject of ethics—the issues of right and wrong that speakers and audiences must consider. One ethical matter is the silent assumption that speakers will provide accurate, timely information to the best of their ability. Discuss this unspoken contract between speaker and audience from both perspectives.

First, what does this contract mean from an audience's point of view? How does the audience's assumption that the speaker will provide accurate, reliable information and will base his opinions on sufficient knowledge affect how the audience will listen and what the audience will take away from the speech? Use an example from your experience as an audience member to support your thoughts.

Second, what obligations do speakers have to meet in order to fulfill their part of the contract? Give an example from your experience as a speaker to support your thoughts.

Class-public speaking

A question no public speaker ever wants to hear is "So what?" Yet speakers must answer this question as they prepare a speech. Putting yourself in the place of a listener and answering this question can help you focus on the needs of the audience. How does the "So what?" test help you predict listeners' wants, needs, and expectations? What other questions can speakers ask about audience expectations?

Generate a list of questions. Then discuss how focusing on communicating with the audience during the preparation and presentation of a speech can help speakers minimize anxiety. What steps can speakers take to focus on listeners? What can speakers learn from the nonverbal feedback live audiences?

Class-public speaking

According to a recent survey, about three-quarters of employers reported visiting the social networking sites of job candidates, and about a third said that they had ruled out candidates on the basis of what was posted. Now that you know how your online presence can serve as an extension of your public persona and how it can work against you, discuss how you can create a strong, beneficial public persona. What would you choose to include in your online presence? What would you make sure to exclude? Draw on your experience with social media to support your choices, and discuss the actions you can take to ensure that your personal and professional online presences stay separate.

Class-public speaking

Consider your experience with voice-only communication—for example, messages you've received and left and conversations you've had over the phone with friends, family, and figures of authority. Use these questions to guide your reflections.

Am I more comfortable speaking to someone on the phone or in person? Why?

What incidents can I recall in which misunderstandings arose because people had to speak by phone rather than in person? How could these misunderstandings have been prevented?

What does my current voice-mail recording suggest about me to people who don't know me personally? Do I need to adapt it for academic and work-oriented calls?

What would I need to do to ensure that high-stakes academic and business calls are met with an appropriate greeting? If I'm waiting on such a call, how can I be prepared to answer it in a professional way?

Answer:

Class-public speaking

What kinds of nonverbal signals do you often use in conversation or when listening to people speak? How consistently does your body language send the message you intend for it to communicate? Recall and discuss a time when nonverbal signals affected a conversation you participated in or a speech you listened to. Was the result positive or negative?

Now consider the special challenge speakers face when they record their speeches rather than present them to a live audience. Why is it important for speakers to seek out opportunities to speak to live audiences? What do speakers gain from listeners' nonverbal feedback?

Class-public speaking

1. So far in this course, you have learned these techniques for managing nervousness:

- Performing stretching and breathing exercises before speaking

- Understanding why the body reacts to stress with physiological responses

- Repeating self-reinforcement statements when anxious thought arise

- Using distractions to short-circuit worried thoughts and the physiological responses that follow.

Now take a few moments to reflect on your use of these techniques.

Which techniques have already you tried? Describe the results. If the technique worked, how can you improve on that success? If it did not, how might practicing the technique produce a better result?

Which techniques do you plan to try soon? Make a plan for practicing and using these techniques on your next speech.

Answer:

Class-public speaking

As a group, come up with a definition of bias for public speaking settings. Then discuss an example of bias that you will set aside as you listen to speakers, and an example of bias that you think listeners might hold when they listen to you. What experiences might you miss if you listen to a speaker with a biased opinion rather than with an open mind? How might your speaking experience be affected if your listeners are biased?

Class-public speaking

As a group, come up with a definition of bias for public speaking settings. Then discuss an example of bias that you will set aside as you listen to speakers, and an example of bias that you think listeners might hold when they listen to you. What experiences might you miss if you listen to a speaker with a biased opinion rather than with an open mind? How might your speaking experience be affected if your listeners are biased?

Class-public speaking

1. As you brainstorm, don’t limit yourself to a certain kind of story. List different kinds of narratives. Narratives may be fictional or nonfiction and may come from history and biography, from your family, or from your own experience.

List five narratives that have stayed with you long after you heard or read them. Explain why these stories have had lasting relevance for you.

Of the stories you have listed, which are familiar enough to you that you could retell them with confidence and enjoyment? If any would require some research, where could you get this information?

How does each of the stories you have listed relate to your audience? What themes or main ideas could you draw out of each story to make it relevant to your listeners?

Answer:

Class-public speaking

Narratives in Ads and Charitable Appeals

Discuss how the speaker uses the narrative in their speech. Consider these questions:

•  What does the narrative add to the speech's content?

•  What point does the speaker use the narrative to make?

Now consider whether the speaker uses the narrative fairly.

•  Does the narrative's content relate closely to the speech's purpose?

•  Does the narrative seem to be true?

Finally, share a narrative you have seen or heard in a speech for a charitable event or in an ad that you think was used poorly. Perhaps it played unfairly on listeners' emotions or was out of synch with the rest of the content. Evaluate the use of the narrative with your classmates.

Class-public speaking

1. As you brainstorm, don’t limit yourself to a certain kind of story. List different kinds of narratives. Narratives may be fictional or nonfiction and may come from history and biography, from your family, or from your own experience.

List five narratives that have stayed with you long after you heard or read them. Explain why these stories have had lasting relevance for you.

Of the stories you have listed, which are familiar enough to you that you could retell them with confidence and enjoyment? If any would require some research, where could you get this information?

How does each of the stories you have listed relate to your audience? What themes or main ideas could you draw out of each story to make it relevant to your listeners?

Answer:

Class-public speaking

1. Sit up straight and comfortably. Describe your breathing at this moment in the space below. Is it shallow or deep? Do you feel the expansion of your lungs high in your chest, or lower, in your abdomen? Take a moment to recall a time when you felt nervous and your breathing became shallow and quick. How did that feel?

Write your response below.

Now view the breathing exercise demonstration again. Then practice the technique, either with the video as a guide or on your own. When you are done, observe your breathing again, and describe any changes below. Your Journal entry should include:

Answers to the questions about breathing, before and after the exercise

Answers to the questions about your muscle tension, before and after the exercise

Answer:

Class- public speaking

You will deliver a speech to introduce yourself to your peers. This kind of speech requires some thought and reflection about you—your interests, passions, and maybe your fears. You will also need to think about the goals you have for yourself as a communicator. As you complete the Journal assignment, look for ideas you may want to incorporate into this speech. Consider and respond to these prompts in your online Journal:

Identify two instances in your recent history when strong public speaking skills might have helped you accomplish a goal. Describe these instances.

Look ahead to identify an upcoming instance when the speaking skills you are learning may help you achieve a goal. Describe the goal and how better speaking skills will help you reach it.

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