Improvements

I made some small improvements between my first informative speech and last persuasive speech. My eye contact improved a ton. During the first speech, I looked at my powerpoint the whole time and didn't really make eye contact with anyone in particular. On the last speech, I think it helped that I only had notecards and not a powerpoint. I tried not to refer back to my notecards as much and to look at everyone in the room. I used a couple hand gestures in the third speech, which was more than my first. However, I was still not enthusiastic. I did a better job of citing my sources in the speech. I also had a hook for this speech which I have not had in the best. It definitely helped my grade to have a hook instead of starting out with a boring fact.

Demonstrative Speech

I think my speeches have improved greatly from the beginning of the quarter. My eye contact has gotten a lot better. From the pieces of paper I got back from the class, none of them said zero. I wasn't nervous at all for this speech which made it a lot easier because I felt comfortable in front of the class. I don't think i said "um" at all and I tried to speak loud and not mumble.
I still have a lot I could improve on. I can talk louder and use more enthusiasm in my voice. My normal voice is sort of boring and monotone, so I need to work on that when giving my speeches. A couple of times I laughed during my speech because I looked at people in the class. I need to improve on not laughing or letting these people affect my speeches. For this speech, I didn't use a notecard so I wasn't tempted to look down the whole time. In future speeches, if I have to use a notecard, I need to write less information on it to force me to make eye contact with the audience.

Informative Speech

My informative speech was alright. I think it was better than my first speech because I was not as nervous and I liked having a visual aide in front of me. I had more eye contact in this speech than in my last one, but I could still do a lot more. When I do look up, I didn't really make eye contact with people in the room, my eyes just sort of wandered around the room. I need to work on looking at my classmates more. I looked at the powerpoint more than I should have. My enthusiam was definitely lacking in this speech. I sound bored and like I really don't want to be there. I could use more hand gestures and talk a little louder to make the speech more interesting. Also, I didn't have a hook at the beginning of my speech. Next time, I need to use something to get the attention of my classmates and make them want to hear more of what I am going to say.

Brown Bag Speech

My first speech was not very good. I was nervous for it even though I practiced. I looked down and read off of my notecards a lot of the time. I could have spoken louder and I mumble at certain points. When I did look up, I didn't really make eye contact with any of the audience and I played with the items I was holding. I looked like I was having a terrible time.

Casting for Taming of the Shrew

Katherine- Jane Lynch

Tranio- Ashton Kutcher

Baptista- Donald Trump

Bianca-Angelina Jolie

Petrucio- Johnny Depp

Luncentio- Brad Pitt

Gremio- Bradley Cooper

Hortensio- Josh Duhamel

Anecdote

An anecdote is a humorous story. An example from modern day television is the show Two and a Half Men. It is a sitcom that follows a man named Charlie, his brother Alan, and Alan's son, Jake. Charlie's free life becomes complicated when Alan gets divorced, so he and Jake move in with Charlie. The sitcom has a simple, humorous plot that is made into hundreds of episodes of the entire series.

Satire

Satire is frequently used in the novel Animal Farm. Satire is a literary genre trying to create change through humor. In Animal Farm, Napolean seeks to destroy humans. In the end, he becomes exactly what he tried to destroy the entire novel.