Self Evaluation

I gave my informative speech on Eleanor Roosevelt. As far as the delivery of my speech goes, I was nervous and I think you could tell that when watching me. I did make eye contact, but felt I could have done more. I did have vocal variety and tried to avoid long pauses during my speech. I think I spoke a little to fast at times though. Watching the video of my speech was worse for me than doing the actual speech.
The information I gathered on Eleanor Roosevelt was from credible sources. I avoided all sites that were .com's as well as any that contained adds on them. I did only cite one source orally, I could have possibly added another in there, but I felt is sounded strange in the speech.
I believe my speech was well organized and I followed my outline pretty well. I did rely on my notes to keep on track even though I rehearsed my speech numerous times. I think this was mostly due to nerves as well as not having a lot of experience giving speeches. To me speeches are just like anything else, the more you do them the better you get at them. I obviously have not given many speeches!
I felt that I was well prepared for my speech; I rehearsed more times than I would like to admit. I felt comfortable with the information I was trying to get across, yet my nerves still got the best of me at times. I am glad though that my face did not turn bright red like it has in the past. I could have done better with the presentation of my speech, but considering that this is the first speech that I've given since high school I am proud of myself.

Public Speakers

For me the most effective public speakers have been those who are able to put a lot of passion in their speeches. When you can tell that a person believes in what they are discussing and is knowledgeable on the topic it makes what they are saying so much more effective. Those who are able to make their topic relatable to their audience are very effective as well. Frequent eye contact helps the audiences stay more involved in their speech, it makes them think that you really know what t is your talking about. Unfortunatly I've had to listen to more ineffective speakers than effective ones.
The most ineffective public speaker I've listened to spoke in a very monotone voice and fumbled over her words very often. She used words such as like and um so often that I found myself not listening to what she was saying but counting how often she used those words. Whether or not I was interested in the topic she was discussing to begin with didn't seem to matter, no matter how hard I tried to pay attention I just couldn't stay focused on the subject, there were too many other distractions.

Eleanor Roosevelt

I chose to do my informative speech on Eleanor Roosevelt. I feel that she was a strong woman who accomplished so much in her time. She changed how the American people viewed the position of being the First Lady; she did more than just host dinner parties and support her husband. She had her own interests, goals and career.

Thesis Statement:
Eleanor Roosevelt helped to recreate what the American people came to expect from the role of the First Lady. She made a great impact on society through her leadership, compassion, and charity.

Evaluation...

While I do not think that doing an online group project is necessarily the greatest idea, it is something you have to do while attending classes online. In this group project I feel that I took charge and helped with the leadership role when needed. I also organized what needed to be done by each individual group member. Creating the Google Doc was something I hadn't done before, and was pretty interesting, I edited and typed up the entire project as well. I feel that I did my part and a little more on this project.

Something I think I could improve on when it comes to group work in general is being more assertive. I feel I give people a lot of wiggle room and that isn't always the best way to do things. I usually end up doing a lot of the work because I think it wont get done otherwise. Another thing I could work on is my time management. I tend to feel rushed if things are not done a day or two before the actual due date. I need to remember that my schedule is not the only schedule.

Intercultural Project Source

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Polynesians.html

     The above link is just one of the websites that should help me in doing my research for our group intercultural project. The website contains information on some of the rites of passages of the Polynesian culture, as well as some of their customs. The information on the site seems to be unbiased; they include websites at the bottom of the page where they have obtained some of their information. I have also read some of the same information on this and other websites.

Generation X

I am part of Generation X, which includes people born between 1965 and 1982. People born in this generation are also known as "latch key kids". This nickname comes from the fact that kids were now coming from homes in which both parents worked. The kids would come home from school to an empty house and have to carry a key with them or have it hidden near their house.
We saw many major events happen during this generation that helped to shape our beliefs and values. We saw the end of the Cold War, Watergate, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. We saw the first personal computers and were introduced to the Internet. Out of these technological advancements came the beginning of the video game era. We are a generation who is very technologically savvy, especially when compared with previous generations. Generation X is more diverse in race, class, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation than previous generations. We are a generation whose world view is based on change and are more accepting of change. We saw higher divorce rates and changes in typical gender roles, this helped to make us a more independent and self sufficient generation.
While I identify with most values of my generation. There are a few things in which I don't like or identify with. I think our generation relies too much on technology when communicating with others. The use of social media sites such as Facebook, texting with our cell phones, and online chat rooms have replaced a lot of face to face communication that I feel shouldn't be replaced. The start of the video game era is another thing that doesn't sit well with me. While I understand and can appreciate the point of video games, especially ones that can be educational, I think in some ways it has made our generation lazy and anti-social. While Generation X may have been a start to this era I think Generation Y has taken the gaming trend to a whole new level.

Group Project

Skills I Can Offer My Group 

• Organization Skills- I can help our group organize what tasks everyone will be assigned to.
• Editing Skills- I can help edit our assignment and make sure everything looks and sounds the best way possible.
• Communication Skills- I can help make sure we are all talking about our ideas and what needs to be accomplished.
• Motivation Skills- I can encourage other group members to voice their opinions and let them know that all ideas will be taken into consideration.

 

Proposed Code of Conduct

 

All members of the group should have all assignments done by the prearranged time. If there is a problem with any group member not being able to get an assignment done on time, they should then let the other group members know as soon as possible so that other arrangements can be made.

 

 

My Conflict Ranking

 

1. Avoidance      

2. Collaboration 

3. Compromise  

4. Competition   

5. Accommodate