Questionnaire "Your level of oratory" 

Round 2

Hello everyone,

The semester is almost over so I think it is the time to wrap up the Public Speaking course and assess my proficiency in preparing a speech after getting through the Public Speaking course with the help of the questionnaire "Your level of oratory" (See the link: https://nspupublicspeaking.blogspot.com/2019/01/questionnaire-your-level-of-oratory.html).

At the very beginning of the Public Speaking course I have already completed it and posted the result in my blog (https://pscmvv.blogspot.com/2018/09/questionnaire-your-level-of-oratory.html). As you can see, the result was not very high (55 points). And now my task is to complete this questionnaire again in order to see if I could improve my oratorical skills and strengthen the positive aspects of my communication style.

I am happy to say that now my result is 75 points. I think it is a pretty good one because it means that there are more positive than negative aspects in my communication style. Also, I have only a few problems in the presentation of my thoughts. But I am going to go on using the techniques discussed in this course to improve my skills more and  more.

CHALLENGE 

№7 №8 №9 №10

CHALLENGE №6

This week I had to go on combating my stage fright by offering help to a stranger. Choosing a "victim" for this task was not so easy matter as it may seem to be.

They say that the greatest happiness in the world is in helping the people you do not know and seeing them happy. I could not agree more with this thought. 

I live near a grocery store and I went shopping in this store yesterday. I noticed an old lady coming out of the store with heavy bags. It is trivial and simple but I decided to help her. I just went up to that lady and offered to carry her bags. She was shocked. You should have seen her eyes full of gratitude. I myself was a bit embarrassed and afraid of refusal. On our way to the place she live we had a nice talk. She told me about her family and her life in general. As a result I felt that I had done something very simple but valuable.     

CHALLENGE №5

My dear readers,

I am sooooo sorry for not being in touch for so long I was very busy with my internship. Fortunately, now I am ready to share my impressions about completing challenge №5 which was to ask a stranger for help (in fact, it is the 4th challenge in the list of 10 things that I find challenging to do but I have already complete the 8th task). 

Some weeks ago I was walking through the local mall and in one shop I found a sweater that I liked very much. But there was one problem... How to choose between two beautiful colours? I spent almost 20 minutes choosing between two identical sweaters of different colours but I could not decide which one to buy. So, it occurred to me that I could ask a pretty lady standing next to me and thereby kill two birds with one stone: choose the sweater to buy and complete the challenge for my blog. It was quite easy for me to ask her to help me. There was no embarrassment and discomfort. But it was not so easy for that lady to decide which colour suits me more. She was a bit surprised and confused. All in all, I decided to buy the sweater which was advised by that lady. 

  

Be proactive in all you want to achieve. It pays off in the end

How many of you know the meaning of the word proactivity? Do you know what being a proactive person means? 

Proactivity or proactive behavior refers to anticipatory, change-oriented and self-initiated behavior in situations. According to Vocabulary Dictionary, active means "doing something" while prefix pro- means "before".  And as far as you can guess, the adjective proactive can describe a person who gets things done. The opposite is being reactive, or waiting for things to unfold before responding. Think about winter cold season. A proactive person washes his hands and takes vitamins; a reactive person gets sick and takes cold medicine. This sort of attitude towards life is called reactive, where we are just reacting to the stimulus. If you want to be a successful person, you must have proactivity in you. I am convinced you would agree that one of the most proactive successful persons is Steven Jobs. People described him as the creative and proactive entrepreneur whose passion for ferocious and perfection drive revolutionized six industries, personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. He is very proactive in making his company run well. So, if you are proactive, you make things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen to you. If you are proactive, you are ready before something happens. If you are proactive person, you use foresight, anticipate events or issues. If you are proactive, you achieve your goals. And today I would like to share some methods to become a proactive person: anticipating and taking action; embracing your responsibility and influence; controlling your responses.

Let’s start with anticipating and taking action. By thinking about potential issues that could arise and being aware of possible future changes, you will be able to plan and act accordingly. For example, if you know that you will be going on vacation soon, start putting aside money now for meals or fun activities to do while on vacation. Prioritize the things that are most important. Instead of trying to do everything at once, focus on the things that are most important and aim for accomplishing those. Create a plan, checklist, or routine to accomplish the task. Look for steps in the process you can eliminate, consolidate or shorten.

Now let us look at the second method which offers to embrace your responsibility and influence. You are the only one who can accomplish your goals and fix your problems. While there are people in your life who will support you, you need to rely on yourself to achieve success. Instead of placing the blame on someone or something else when a problem arises, take ownership of the issue and work towards solving it yourself. Use your energy and motivation to focus on what you can control and accomplish. For example, if you are stressing out about your sister’s grades at school, you cannot make her get good grades. However, you can help her study for tests, make sure she is getting enough sleep, and encourage her to take her grades seriously. Set realistic goals to keep yourself motivated and moving forward. Instead of telling yourself to lose all of your extra weight within a month, set a goal to swim or run a kilometer each day. Participate actively instead of just observing. Proactive people do not sit on the sidelines or just listen to other people’s suggestions. Surround yourself with motivated people. If you have been spending time with someone who is negative, lazy, or similarly unmotivated, it is time to put some distance between yourself and this person.

And finally, controlling your responses. Focus on solutions instead of problems. If you see problems as things that can be fixed, you’ll find it much easier to come up with a solution. Communicate calmly in times of anger or distress. If you find yourself getting upset when talking to someone or during any situation, take a few deep breaths to calm down and refocus. Avoid jumping to negative conclusions. My friend did not respond to my text message — instead of assuming he just does not want to talk to me, I consider that he may be super busy or does not have his phone on him. Put yourself in others' shoes for a different viewpoint. Empathy will help prevent you from only seeing one side of things. For example, if your groupmate is always showing up late to university, try to understand why this might be happening. Does she have siblings that need to be driven to school? Does she have reliable transportation? If you go through a failure, try to learn from the experience. By turning setbacks into knowledge, you will always be moving forward. Not only is a positive outlook important for staying happy and healthy, it is also a key aspect in being proactive. Instead of attaching negative vibes to problems, try to stay positive and see them in a different light.

To sum up, I would like to quote the American security consultant Frank Abagnale, who said “You have to think a little smarter, be proactive, not reactive”. Anticipating and taking action, embracing your responsibility and influence, controlling your responses can help you to become a proactive person. If you are this type of person, you achieve your goals. Why don't all of us live a proactive lifestyle? 

Writing a Speech: Editing and Proofreading

Speech Structure: Building the Body and Polishing the Conclusion 

Building the Body

I was asked to try and extract the outline from the speech (I've chosen https://www.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning). 

“3 rules to spark learning” 

by Ramsey Musallam at TED Talks Education

Outline:

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this speech is to give 3 rules to spark imagination and learning, and get students excited about how the world works.

Introduction

1. Have you ever found yourself at a restaurant spacing out just doing this (experiment with a tube) over and over? 

    A. Students were asked to try and explain why it happened. 

         a) following conversations and questions were fascinating. 

    B. Video sent by Maddie.

         a) continuation of research at home. 

         b) Maddie's curiosity took her to a new level.

2. Such questions and curiosity are magnets that draw us towards our teacher.

    C. They transcend all technology or buzzwords in education.

        a) if we place these technologies before student inquiry, we can be robbing ourselves of students' questions.

      b) if we have the guts to confuse our students, perplex them, evoke real questions, we have information that can be used to tailor robust and informed methods of blended instructions. 

   D. It took a life-threatening situation to snap out of pseudo-teaching and realize that student questions are the seeds of real learning.     

Body

1. Where did the surgeon get the confidence, the audacity of it? 

     A. His curiosity drove him to ask hard questions.

          a) about the procedure.

          b) about what worked.

          c) about what did not work.

     B. He embraced, and didn't fear, the messy process of trial and error, the inevitable process of trial and error.

     C. He gathered the information that he needed to design and revise the procedure through intense reflection.

2. Absorption from words of wisdom and writing down three rules.

    A. Curiosity comes first. 

         a) questions can be windows to great instruction, but not the other way around. 

    B. Embrace the mess. 

         a) trial and error can be an informal part of what we do.

    C. Practice reflection. 

3. How will teachers grow the curiosity?

Conclusion

1. A new paradigm: teachers as cultivators of curiosity and inquiry.

Polishing the Conclusion 

Now I have to write a conclusion for the speech.

(The task: https://nspupublicspeaking.blogspot.com/2018/11/speech-structure-building-body-and.html)

Concluding, I would like to say that you must not be afraid of speaking. But it is necessary to choose what to say and think twice before saying something in order not to hurt somebody's feelings. Also, you should express exactly what you are thinking of. Everybody should understand what you say, what you think, and what you want. And the last but not least, listen to others and you will absolutely learn new things. 

Unfortunately, there are not many people who can communicate effectively. Why not to develop our communication skills? Work on your skills, do your best and you will succeed. 

My research plan

Ideas for the speech can come from almost anywhere, but every research should follow a plan.

So, steps of my research plan below: 

1. Watch a news report or read a newspaper article.
2. Find definition of proactivity (proactive behavior) in dictionary.
3. Discuss the ideas with the person who (in my opinion) considered being proactive. 
4. Find film, video, song or story which proves that being proactive person helps to achieve stated goals. 
5. Try to use methods to become proactive person (experiment myself). This will help me to share personal impressions of these method's pros and cons.    

Implementation of one of the creative writing methods

Hello,

This task focuses on my final persuasive speech (read previous posts to get more information about it). 

I need to implement one of the creative writing methods to come up with ideas to my final speech (for example, "What if..", "Six thinking hats", "A mind map", etc.). Also, the task was to upload my ideas drawn in my notebook. 

I have chosen such heuristic method as "What if..." that involves creating a problematic situation and thinking of possible (or impossible) solutions.   

Here is my ideas:

CHALLENGE №4

"Accidents, try to change them - it is impossible. The accidental reveals man." These words were said by an English novelist, playwright, scriptwriter J. B. Priestley. I believe that accidents are not accidental at all. And last week I happened to deal with one accident. You might be wondering how it all connected with overcoming my stage fright. Let me explain.
The thing is that I was intending to do the 4th task from the list of 10 social things that I find challenging to do (the task is to ask a stranger for help) and I have done the 8th one totally by accident. The 8th task was to go on a weekend alone.
It was Sunday night and I spent about 2 hours having a good, slap-up supper in one crowded restaurant. And I should say that I liked it very much. I had a splendid opportunity to explore my thoughts, think over my plans and things like that. As for my feelings, I was quite confident and relaxed. I felt neither embarrassed, nor awkward. This task was not challenging at all. Moreover, I will do it again.

Speech Structure: Mastering the Introduction

This week I was asked to go over the course book chapter 4.1 The introduction can "make or break" you as a speaker and complete some tasks focused on the introduction which helps us to get the audience attention and set the right mood of the speech. 

Task 1

I need to watch following public speech performances and identify the technique(s) used in the introduction (attention-getter) in each performance. 

The most common attention-getters for introduction are asking questions, making references, making a startling statement, giving a quotation and telling a story.

1. “How will we survive when the population hits 10 billion?” by Charles C. Mann  at TED2018 https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_c_mann_how_will_we_survive_when_the_population_hits_10_billion 
2. “Still Standing” by Ramona J. Smith at the 2018 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tev43VNRIc 
3. “Every kid needs a champion” by Rita Pierson at TED Talks Education https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion/discussion?...en
4. “How great leaders inspire action” by Simon Sinek at TEDxPuget Sound  https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?referrer=playlist-the_most_popular_talks_of_all 
5. “Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model” by Cameron Russell at TEDxMidAtlantic https://www.ted.com/talks/cameron_russell_looks_aren_t_everything_believe_me_i_m_a_model?referrer=playlist-the_most_popular_talks_of_all&language=en 

Task 2
Once I got the audience attention, I move towards the thesis statement. I need to identify the thesis statement and evaluate the transition between the attention-getter and the thesis statement on the scale from 0 (poor transition) to 3 (well-done transition). 

“How will we survive when the population hits 10 billion?” by Charles C. Mann  at TED2018

Such attention-getter as asking questions is used in the introduction. 

I would give 2 points out of 3 for the transition between the attention-getter and the thesis statement. I think it was quite long and I could not wait for the thesis statement and the main part, but Charles C. Mann starts his speech with the question which seems interesting and attractive to me. 

 

“Still Standing” by Ramona J. Smith at the 2018 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking

The attention-getter is telling a story. And there are some questions. 

I would give 3 points out of 3. I really like the way she starts her performance and gives us a thesis statement. I think that transition is logic enough. (By the way, I am impressed by her vocal as well as her physical presentation.) 

“Every kid needs a champion” by Rita Pierson at TED Talks Education

The attention-getter is telling a story. 3 out of 3 for  the transition between the attention-getter and the thesis statement. Her thoughts are easy to follow.  

“How great leaders inspire action” by Simon Sinek at TEDxPuget Sound

Such attention-getter as asking questions is used in the introduction. And this questions, of course, are connected with the main message of his speech. Also, he gives us some comments to them. 3 out of 3.   

“Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model” by Cameron Russell at TEDxMidAtlantic 

The attention-getter is making a references. Also, she asks some questions. To be honest, I like this speech the most. I think that changing the outfit was a good idea to make a startling statement. I would give 3 points out of 3 for  the transition between the attention-getter and the thesis statement.

My final persuasive speech

Today I have to choose the topic for my final persuasive speech. Also, I have to write down the purpose and set out the objectives.
Core statement: Be proactive in all you want to achieve. It pays off in the end.
The purpose of my topic: Persuade my audience that being proactive person really helps to achieve  stated goals and live a better life.
The objectives: 1. Tell people what being proactive means. 2. Share some methods to become proactive person.

CHALLENGE №3

Hi everybody,

Ordering a delivery as well as something connected with telephoning somebody to ask for something you need seems to be an easy matter. But I absolutely disagree with it. I believe I have this fear because sometimes I am really shy person who do not want to communicate with strangers. This fear is based on my thinking that unfamiliar person on the other end of the line will be impolite to me or that I will not succeed in getting my thoughts across, so I will remain misunderstood.

It is the end of the 3rd challenging week and as you could guess I had to overcome this fear.

On Friday I had a little party with my best friend. It was I who telephoned and ordered the food delivery. I just called to one restaurant and had them deliver some sushi. I was relieved when the call ended. The woman, who answered the phone, was kind to me. The delivery was quick enough. And the food was quite nice too.

Heuristic Methods and Creative Writing

Hi there,

This week I am going to complete some tasks which help me to create a neat speech. 

Warm ups 

"One letter" excercise

I need to think about a letter and name as many objects as possible that start with this letter.

V - vegetable, veteran, velvet, vanilla, vitamin, vaccine, vampire, villa, violin, volcano. 

"Random words" excercise

I need to go to the website https://www.textfixer.com/tools/random-words.php, generate 5 random words, pick a few random words and try to and tie them together in the most imaginative way possible.

Here is these words: hell, blonde, long, memory, pregnant.

Today I had a dream that I had gone to hell. But instead of the devil there was a woman with long blonde hair. She stole my memory and compelled me that I am pregnant.

Creative writing prompts

1. What if...

I need to imagine a problematic situation and think of possible (or impossible) solutions. 

What if there were no desks in the classrooms, but only beanbags? 

- Children would use laptops instead of notebooks.

- The atmospehere in classrooms would be more friendly. 

- Children would wear pyjamas.

- Classrooms would look modern and fasionable. 

- Pupils would not pay proper attention to studies. 

- Pupils would be more enthusiastic. 

- Teachers would use more active excercises in class.

2. Six Thinking Hats

I need to formulate ideas for my speech, create a topic sentence and challenge my brain to think in six different directions.

Speech: "How many foreign languages should be taught to students in schools?"

Topic sentence: Students should be taught one foreign language in schools. 

White thinking hat (it covers facts, figures, information needs, gaps): It is easier to concentrate on studying only one foreign language and learn it properly and get a high score.

Red thinkinh hat (it covers intuition, feelings, emotions): When you know one foreign language well, you get inspired to learn other languages for pleasure. 

Black thinking hat (the hat of judgement and logic): Teaching students more than only one language will help them to become more diverse, to improve their memory. 

Yellow thinking hat (optimism): Learning only one foreing language student will know it better rather then learning two or more in an instant. 

Green thinking hat (creativity, alternatives, proposals, provocations, changes): You would crack a jokes which would be understood by native speakers.

Blue thinking hat (overview, analysis): Proper knowledge of one foreign language is much better than superficial knowledge of several languages.

CHALLENGE №2

Hi there!

I hope you are doing well.

It is high time to share that I have done my 2nd challenge from the list of 10 social things that I find challenging to do.   

The challenge was to ask for change in a shop. It may seem easy to perform but not for me. 

I decided to break my piggy bank and go in search of a shop where I could change coins for banknotes. I did not try to change my money in the first shop, because there was a huge queue at the checkout. Fortunately, the second shop accepted my offer with pleasure. It took me and the assistant about half an hour to count all those coins. We had a quite nice talk. At first I felt uncomfortable, a bit embarrassed because I had destracted the assistant from her work. All in all, that feeling was replaced by the feeling that I did that shop good. There was nothing to worry about. 

Clarifying your purpose UPDATED

In chapter 3.1. Clarifying Your Purpose in my course book, I am given the following questions to ask yourself before starting a speech:

- Why should I want to talk about this?

- Why should anybody want to listen to me?

- What single message would I want to put across?

- What need in the audience do I want to have satisfied when I have finished speaking?

- When they all walk away what state would I like them to leave in?

Today I am going to imagine that I am asked to give a speech on some topics, consider the Wh-questions mentioned above to clarify the purpose of each speech and write down my answers to each question. 

Speech 1. 

I am a primary school teacher. I should give a speech to my third graders on the following topic: “Why children should listen to their parents.”

- Why should I want to talk about this?

Obedience is a way that enables a person to develop his or her abilities.

Our parents are the very first our teachers. And children should listen to their parents in order not to become thoughtless, unwise and miserable persons, but to develop their inherent talents.

- Why should anybody want to listen to me?

Because being in good relationships with parents and respecting their point of view will help people to live a better life, not to meet many problems or easily solve them with the support of their parents.

- What single message would I want to put across?

I want to put across the message that everybody should respect their parents’ point of view because they are  people who want the best for you and really care about you.

- What need in the audience do I want to have satisfied when I have finished speaking?

I want my third graders to understand that their parents will help them not to become thoughtless, unwise and miserable persons and that they should listen to their parents, appreciate and follow their advises.

- When they all walk away what state would I like them to leave in?

I would like them to leave in good mood, full of respect for their parents.

Speech 2.

I am working as a team leader in a summer language camp with high school students from the whole region. On the second day I am noticing that some guys and girls hesitate to meet new people or make friends within the team. I decide to take action and give a talk to my team stating “You will learn most from friends that are different from you.”

- Why should I want to talk about this?

Because I want these guys and boys to understand that there is nothing to worry about getting acquainted with new people.

- Why should anybody want to listen to my speech?

Because these guys and girls do not feel comfortable in the team.

- What single message would I want to put across?

I want to put across the message that it may be interesting and very useful to communicate with other people. 

- What need in the audience do I want to have satisfied when I have finished speaking?

I want all these guys and girls to be open to new pleasant and useful acquaintances.

- When they all walk away what state would I like them to leave in?

I want them to leave in good mood, full of desire to communicate and make friends.

Speech 3.

I am taking part at 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking “Toastmasters” and I am going to give a speech “Embarrassing moments make you stronger.”

- Why should I want to talk about this?

I want to inspire myself, as well as other people, not to be afraid of embarrassing moments.

- Why should anybody want to listen to my speech?

It is important to learn more about causes of occurrences of these moments and their importance. 

- What single message would I want to put across?

I want to put across the message that embarrassing moments are essential part of our life and they may make us stronger and more confident, give us some experience. 

- What in the audience do I want to have satisfied when I have finished speaking?

I want them not to be afraid of looking embarrassed. 

- When they all walk away what state would I like them to leave in?

I would like them to leave in mood, full of feeling that they must not to be afraid of looking embarrassed because it is absolutely normal and it makes us stronger.

I think that these questions are pretty basic but answering them helps not only state the purpose of your talk but also give you some ideas how to structure your speech and what points are crucial to mention.

I was asked to watch following performances and identify the possible objectives each speaker has set.

1. Ken Robinson “Bring on the learning revolution!” at TED2010 https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution

2. Zifang Su “Turn around”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKVTzuvjEpg

3. Matthew McConaughey – winner’s speech at the86th Oscars in 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD2cVhC-63I 

Performance №1

Make the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning. Tell about the need of creating conditions where kid's natural talents can flourish. 

Performance №2

Tell about the importance of stopping being afraid and turning around to the world.

Performance №3

Thank the family and God. Share thoughts on what you need to chase providing personal examples.  

CHALLENGE №1

Hello everybody!

I am happy to share my impressions about doing the first task from the list of 10 social things that I find challenging to do. I put the list in order from the easiest to the hardest thing. So, the first task was the easiest one. 

To be honest, I was a bit awkward but I did not spend so much effort and energy to ask for a stop in the route taxi. I just imagined that all of these strangers in the rout taxi are my friends, picked myself up and did it. 

Useful tips to overcome stage fright

Dear readers,

I am going to describe some strategies  how to overcome stage fright.

The first strategy is to associate speaking with fun. What does it mean? We should practice our speeches in pleasant surroundings, get relaxed and just have fun. Your brain must associate "talking with people" to having a party with friends or having a cozy family dinner.

Exaggerate your symptoms. Will the body automatically produce a symptom that you are doing consciously? Of course, it will not. For example, start breathing rapidly on purpose, shake your legs, blink rapidly, scowl and so on. You can then stop it on purpose, but your body will not start up the automatic system again. 

And the last but not least strategy is to exercise. Why is it so important? Because exercises not only reduce stress and help deal with muscle contractions, they also produce endorphins. I will try to workout the night before or morning of a big speech. They say that it will help to stay relaxed.