A Speech Reflection

In my very first blog I talked about one of the most revered teachers in my school, telling everyone that he had recently been diagnosed with cancer. I described how he spoke in such a diligent way, and with an amazing amount of ease. After this past summer semester I have learned what is entailed in a good and effective speech, and I still feel that this speech had the impact it was designed to have. He knew he would upset a lot of people if he went in one direction, but he used it as an opportunity to teach a life lesson. I have learned a lot from this class, including what is and isn't appropriate for different speeches. I also learned about ethos, logos and pathos. Pathos deals with emotion, and that was definitely the overwhelming factor in this speech. I now know so much more about the art of giving speeches, and feel I can evaluate them in a whole new way. My teachers speech still epitomizes what I think of when I think “public speech.” Also, my idea of communication and speaking has not so much changed, but I now know more about the inner workings and how to approach different speaking situations with a better idea of what to do and expect. The characteristics I now associate with speech will stick with me, and I will identify them with each new speech I see. The speech I discussed in my first blog post continues to be the most influential and memorable speech I have ever witnessed. In addition, with the help of this course, I appreciate it in a entirely new light.