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



 

Conflict...

Everyone experiences conflict at some point or another in their lives. I like to think of myself as an assertive person when it comes to conflict, but I know that this has not always been the case. There have been plenty of times where I have been non-assertive, and ended up feeling like a doormat or felt that I was taken advantage of.
A conflict I had, when I was younger, with a friend of mine illustrates both my non-assertive and assertiveness. I had agreed to watch her daughter, for a few weeks, since she had just gotten a new job and was looking into daycare. At the time I had a toddler of my own to take care of, and was very pregnant.
Her daughter, it turned out, was a nightmare! She would throw huge fits, screaming, kicking, throwing herself around, and acting all around horrible. At first I didn't say much to the mom about the behavior, thinking that her behavior was due to being somewhere new, or her mom going back to work. When I did talk to her about the behavior of her daughter she was not surprised. This seemed to be the behavior she expected from her daughter. She had failed to mention this when asking me to watch her daughter in the first place.
At this point I asked about daycare and how she was coming along with that. I was blown off and told she hadn't had a chance to look into it yet. It upset me that she hadn't even made an attempt to look into it. I felt that I was being used. Our arrangement was only to be for a short time, until she got her daughter into daycare. Yet I was afraid to say anything about how I felt, I didn't want to seem pushy. At that point in my life I was just not comfortable asserting myself. To make a long story short this went on for months. Finally when I had enough I told her that we needed to talk.
I thought a lot about what wanted to say and how she made me feel. I didn't want to go into a conversation being defensive or making her feel defensive. For all I knew she had no idea how I felt about the situation, since until now I hadn't mentioned anything to her about how I felt. When we talked I told her that I agreed to watch her daughter it was to be for a short time, not for months on end. I felt that I had been more than accommodating with her in the time I'd given. Without leaving any doubt I told her that I would watch her daughter the following week, but after that I would not watch her anymore. Whether or not she was in daycare she would have to make other arrangements for her. She said she understood, but did try to talk me into watching her for just a few more weeks. I politely told her no.
I felt so much better talking to her and telling her that I was done. I didn't make an excuse or back down on what I was saying. This was something new for me, probably the first time I ever really told someone no for something. In this once situation I was both non-assertive and assertive.

We Are Losing Our Listening

In Juilian Treasures video the main message was that we are losing our listening. Our world is full of noise, noises we are aware of unaware of. We have become desensitized to the noise around us and have forgotten how to truly listen to one another, or we never learned how to listen in the first place. We are an impatient world with so many technological ways to communicate that we are losing the ability to communicate effectively with a real person. Not knowing how to listen to others leads to misunderstandings that could otherwise be avoided.
Overall I agree with Juilian's message in the video and found it all very interesting. He was very passionate about his topic, which is very helpful when trying to get your point across. It also helps your audience pay attention and remember what it is you are talking about. He is defiantly a very good public speaker!
Out of the five different exercises he suggests to improve your listening I chose to try the silence technique. There is something very peaceful about shutting out noise for just a few minutes a day. I chose to have my quiet time in the morning before I went to work. My kid were still asleep and I would have my cup of coffee and just sit and relax for a few minutes. Trying not to think about anything can be very hard, especially for a woman! I feel like after I did the exercise I was calmer and able to listen better to the people around me. I was also able to hear the background noises better, the noises that I usually just tune out such as, the fridge running, the coffee pot, or my dog snoring. Maybe I was more willing to listen because I had a few minutes of utter silence to calm myself and the noises around me. I think after taking a break from listening to anything I was more able to appreciate the sounds around me, which is very important when trying to listen to someone else.
This technique showed me that while I believe I am a good listener, there is always room for improvement. Something as simple as a few minute of silence can help calm your mind so that you are more willing to listen. This technique will help me not only in my personal life, being a better listener for my children, but also in my education and professional life as well. There will always be a need for people to listen, and people who truly listen will not only get more out of what is said, but be able to communicate back more effectively.

Nonverbal Communication

In this commercial for Lysol Power and Free the main focus is put on the mother. A few of the artifacts presented in this commercial are things such as the conservative way she dresses, her fresh makeup (not to heavy), her wedding band, how she interacts with her family in a playful and loving way, her home is appears spotless and very tidy, she is also smiling all the time. She is showing the audience that she is not only well put together and happy, but also a responsible, loving mother and wife.
I believe that the creators of this commercial are trying to convey, through the use of these artifacts, that if you have a family and want to keep them healthy and happy you should in turn use their products to do so. They are showing you this happy, respectable looking woman who is not only cleaning up any mess left behind, but doing so with a smile on her face. She appears to be a loving mother who is keeping her home clean and germ free with the help of Lysol products, like any good mother would want to do. She shows you that she is happy not only with the grace and ease in how she moves her body, but also with her smile. I don't know any woman who smiles this much while she is cleaning!
I believe that the way the commercial presents the mother is suppose to make you feel confident in buying Lysol products, and make you feel that they are safe and needed when you are looking after your family. The target audience of this commercial would be women in their late 20's to late 30's with families, especially those with small children since they typically make the biggest messes! Being in what I believe to be the target audience I would say that their commercials are effective. With two kids who love to make a mess and bring home all the nasty cold germs I use Lysol products all the time!

The Truth About Change...

I based my choice of article to read off of the title. The Truth About Change was a catchy title, something that I thought would be an interesting read and hold my attention. I think it was a good choice and I did find it interesting.
In reading the article I learned a few interesting facts about language, such as how changes in language typically starts with the middle class, not the media or upper class like I would have assumed. Also that women are usually the ones who start a change in language. I guess that shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering how women tend to talk a lot more than men do. They also talked about how in different regions such as in the south, the language and words that are spoken differ from place to place. Along with how some groups of people resist the changes that eventually happen within any given language.
The most fascinating thing for me in the article was how they said that the only language that does not change is a dead language. This is kind of an obvious thing if I think about it but, it isn't something that I've personally ever spent a lot of time thinking about. It never really occurred to me how much the English language has changed over the years and is continuing to change and evolve. I have read Shakespeare and can see how our language and way of speaking has changed since his time, but I never gave it much thought on how even in the past ten years or so how much our language has changed. It will be interesting to see how much more it changes and grows.
For me, the information I took from reading this article will help me to be more aware of the changes that are continuing to occur in our language today and in the future. I can see how language has changed from 100 years ago; this new information will help me see how our language is changing now and is an ever changing thing. It may also help me determine where a person is from based on how they tend to pronounce certain words or phrases. I think having a good understanding of your own language is an important skill to have, one that can only help you in communicating effectively with other people from around the world.

Stereotype

To me the word stereotype means to make a judgment about a person or group of people based on what you think you know about them, as opposed to actually getting to know them. Whether, you base those assumptions on a person's sex, race, heritage, or social status. I think most people stereotype others to some degree or another.
I think people who didn't know me would stereotype me as stuck up or unsocial. I tend to be shy and quiet until I get to know others and am comfortable with them. I think a lot of people assume that by me not being outgoing or outspoken that I am stuck up and think I'm better than other people. In reality I am very friendly once I warm up to people; I am also not the type of person who thinks they are better than others. On the other hand if I do get to know someone and I don't think they are a nice person then I do not go out of my way to speak to them, or be overly friendly. Which in my opinion is not being stuck up or thinking I'm better than someone else, it is not being fake person. A quality I rather like in myself and other people. I can at times be unsocial, I don't enjoy large groups and tend to stick to my small circle of people who I trust rather than going out and meeting new people so I guess in some ways I could be considered unsocial.
For the most part I think people tend to make snap judgments about other people, not necessarily meant in a harmful way, but I think it's just human nature. It can make actually getting to know someone and changing your opinion of them a real eye opening experience. There are people who I think stereotype other people to make themselves feel better about their own lives and that to me is very unfortunate.
Stereotyping can be very harmful, if that person is in a position of power such as at a place of employment or school setting. If a person's views are skewed one way or another it will make them treat that other person differently. Possibly pass over for a raise or promotion at work or not being hired at all. A teacher grading a student or group of students differently than others based on what they think of them. Another way of looking at being stereotyped would be on a positive note. If a person or group of people is stereotyped often enough for long enough it can make them stronger and work harder to get what it is that they want. Sometimes all a person needs is enough people telling them that they cannot achieve something for them to prove everyone wrong by doing it better than anyone else had done before.

Johari Window

I feel this image best represents how I see myself, as a mother. The larger hand is a woman’s and the smaller one is her child’s. I first and foremost see myself as a mother. This image would fit into the Johari Window in the open category because this is something that I know about myself and what others know about me as well.  



 The image of a failed test represents for me my fear of failure. I often put off doing things or going for what I want because I am afraid of failure. This is not something that I share with many people so it would fit under the Secret category in the Johari Window.

Why did I take this course...

I chose to take oral/Interpersonal communication because it was required for the nursing program I am taking. I would like to learn how to better communicate with others through taking this class, and gain the confidence to speak to others without feeling embarrassed and tongue tied. The type of communication that interests me the most right now is the blog we are currently working on. I have never done a blog or tried to make one before so it is all new and interesting and a little scarey to me. Having others read what I write or listen to me speak has always been a little embarrassing. I am hoping that by having to take this course that I gain the confidence to do so more comfortably. After reviewing the course syllabus and other materials I think some of the most helpful things I will take from this course are the ability to deliver an oral presentation, developing strategies for overcoming communication obstacles as well as how to apply conflict resolution skills. These skills will help me in almost all areas of my life, from how I handle disagreements with my children and coworkers, to my ability to speak up and be heard in a meeting at work and know that I will be able to get my point across without fumbling over my own words. I also think it will help me in future courses when having to work in a group or having to discuss topics in class. When you have the confidence to speak you are much more apt to do so.