Seeking Advice - Effective Communications Prerequisite

RunBabyRN · May 20, 2014

My speech outlines are similar to essay outlines. Are you taking the course yet? Is your instructor providing any input or guidance in this area? You can always meet with him/her as well to address your specific concerns.

One thing that helped me was remembering that my classmates wanted me to succeed. Think about that when you're up there- everyone there is rooting for you to do well. :) I hope that helps a little!

pmabraham, BSN, RN · May 20, 2014

Good day, RunBabyRun:

I started the class this past Monday. It is blended with a portion online where we are told what chapters to read to prepare us. Unfortunately, as I shared, the author favors sports so a lot of the analogies, examples, etc. are based on sports. If you could find one person in the world who is so turned off by sports that any sport language just zings by them without meaning, it would probably be me ;-)

I will meet the professor face-to-face tomorrow (we meet once a week for the next six weeks; our first speech is the Wednesday after tomorrow). I'm hoping she will clear up some things then. Right now, I'm just trying to work out my introduction (speech 1), along with what I might talk about for the informative and persuasive speeches.

Part of my dilema is that I don't recall ever creating an essay outline. My english classes from 1981 were accepted; and that cuts both ways. It saved approximately $2,000 of tuition, several hundred in books, along with travel time and study time... but then the cost is that either I was never taught certain concepts or don't remember because it was way back in the day.

My former classmates (a number of whom I try to maintain contact with over time) are rooting for me as they know I tend to be organized, disciplined, and on top of things. My anxiety though comes to knowing what I can share that I'm passionate about (usually the areas they tell you to avoid talking about unless you want to kill conversations -- i.e. faith and politics; which I normally only discuss with very close friends and family) following a format I cannot figure out from a book that uses sports-based analogies and illustrations.

Thank you.

LadyLamp · May 21, 2014

I wouldn't let your anxiety over controversy regarding your interests get in the way. For example, if you are passionate about politics, you are interested in government, which means you are probably into American history too. Why not find something in that area, which links to your political interests without being a lighting rod. Choose a topic that's a crowd pleaser but not inflammatory. Find a cool little vignette about, I don't know...the Founding Fathers or Constitution, for example, that's not dry or didactic...build on a little-known buried story or something along those lines. You might end up enjoying the storytelling, because the topic strikes your fancy, without losing your audience with the "same old": a win-win.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · May 21, 2014

Good day, LadyLamp:

Without starting a controversy here, I'm for small, fiscally responsible government who defends our constitution rather than tearing it apart like President Obama. I'm for a women president like Sarah Palin, but not someone who allowed four Americans to die like Hillary Clinton. I'm a firm believer in the second amendment, and cannot fathom why those against it have trouble understanding the very simple words such as "shall not be infringed." On the faith side, I'm a follower of Jesus; I stopped calling myself a Christian ways back because in today's age being a "Christian," and actually doing one's best (even if they fail every single day; thousands of times a day) to follow Jesus is not the same thing.

I'm sharing the above because while I enjoy going deep (I'm an INFJ personality type, so small talk is almost impossible for me), most of the topics I'm passionate about are typically fire starters / conversation killers. So it is extremely rare for me to bring the topics up, unless someone shares enough for me to feel safe in that maybe they feel the same way.

My class consists of 24 students, of which I believe 20 are female (I only have a class list for now; later today, I'll have more accurate numbers). From what I could find out on the Internet, most of them are still very young (20's to 30's); I'm 51. The college students interviewed on VIDEO: College Students Know Pharrell, But Not About Benghazi | Fox News Insider would probably be the same college students in my classroom from the point of view of being clueless (or close enough) on Benghazi. It's been rare to find a single classmate who even wants to know more about why Obamacare is extremely detrimental to our country. Bring up Jesus, and it's unfortunately too common to have classmates walk away extremely fast.

Without going on, as I'm not sharing this to spark a debate on these subject areas, I'm not sure how to talk about what I'm passionate in front of a group of strangers who most likely do not share my passion; and, in some areas might feel about what I'm passionate about as I feel about sports (i.e. in one ear, out the other; talk about it for too long, and I'm walking away very fast).

Thank you.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2014

Good day everyone:

I just wanted to give an update on the class. First, thank you RunBabyRun and LadyLamp for your time, input, and support. The professor and I met in private to discuss my anxiety as well as concern over topics. She gave me the ok to use a Bible as a physical visual object for my first speech, and that it was ok to talk about the differences between being a follower of Christ Jesus vs. being a part of the religion of Christianity or any religion. For the second speech -- an informative speech, she ok'd for me to talk about Reactive Attachment Disorder (my wife and I have experience in that area with two children; one became our daughter). The third speech -- persuasive, she made easy by stating the entire class has to do it on a charitable organization they support with a call to action to support the organization.

As of today, two of the three speeches are complete; my third speech will be on a local pro-life agency that helps in the areas of sexual integrity, unplanned pregnancy support, and recovery from emotional trauma of having had an abortion.

For those facing speech anxiety as I faced, talk with your professor in private to see what areas you can deal with; take input from people like RunBabyRun and LadyLamp along with family and friends. Don't let anxiety be a barrier. Move forward.

Thank you.

krrbrr, ADN · Jun 14, 2014

I just completed my speech class and will probably have a different experience than most in this thread. My teacher was UNBELIEVABLY good! He went out of his way on a daily, or more like every 15 minute basis to make EVERY SINGLE PERSON feel comfortable. We did many impromptu speeches before we ever did any of the 'scary' stuff. He made this class so fun and had an amazing teaching style. He does have some youtube videos that might help out some, this is my

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pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2014

Good day, krrbrr:

Thank you for sharing. My class is a six week, fast-paced where we only meet once a week for speeches. Aside from the first week, we are either giving a speech or evaluating a fellow classmate giving a speech. There has been zero impromptu speeches, zero getting to know one another (aka ice breaker) events. I'm currently watching

-- thank you for sharing. My last speech is a persuasive speech, so this helps.

Jerome Tso in the speech is doing wonderful; I don't think I would have the courage to open up singing ;-)

Thank you.

krrbrr, ADN · Jun 14, 2014

No problem, 6 weeks is really fast! It sounds like you're doing a great job so far though and have definitely done your homework! I'm sorry you didn't get a good chance for ice breakers they really were what made our class seem so good.

Another hint our instructor gave us was to watch your nutrition on the morning/day of your speeches. Go for foods that naturally calm you down like bananas and turkey (maybe a turkey sandwich with a banana on the side!). Milk was another one as well as drinking lots of water (just go to the restroom before class!). These tips really helped me to calm down a bit and not become quite as nervous.

As far as attention grabbers go singing is definitely memorable, but there are so many ways you can open up your speech and make it stick. Some examples in our class was using a question to have people in the audience stand up (helped to engage them), one person put on a fake mustache, playing drums, flipping on/off a light switch, and that's just to name a few.

Confidence plays a big role too, so think positive! You'll do great on your last speech, let us know how it goes!