Sandra Armenteros Blog 1.

 Public speaking is the hardest class I have ever taken. I have never liked being the center of attention, and speaking in front of a group has always made me feel more anxious than most people. Between gasping for air and the hives that spread across my chest, public speaking has always been a laborious task. Even though this is the case, I still really liked everyone else's presentations, and I learned a lot more about public speakingthan I thought I would. 

Even though I've always hated public speaking, watching other people do it gave me a new way to think about it. I was able to see how different people gave their presentations and how their personalities affected how they presented instead of thinking about my own anxiety. One of the things I liked best was how each presentation felt different. Each speaker had their own style, whether it was their tone, pacing, humor, confidence, or even nervousness. This made it clear that there isn't just one right way to be a good public speaker.

I liked how some of the students were full of energy and used strong vocal variation to keep the audience interested and learning. Others had a calmer, more reserved style that kept people's attention by being clear and organized. These differences helped me understand that you don't have to change who you are to be a good public speaker. Instead, it's about figuring out how to say what you mean in a way that fits your personality. I learned a lot from this class, and it was one of the most important things I learned. 

Unfortunately, I had to work on the day of my group's presentation, so I couldn't present the chapter I was supposed to. I was responsible for chapter 16, and it was about distance speaking and how to become a spokesperson. Distance speaking is presenting ideas to an audience that is not physically in the same space as the speaker. Video conference calls, recorded presentations, webinars, and media appearances are all examples of this. I was disappointed that I couldn't present this material myself, but learning about distance speaking was still very useful, especially since remote communication is so common now. 

I thought it was interesting how distance speaking changes the way people speak in public while still needing many of the same basic skills. A speaker must still be organized, clear, and interesting, even if there isn't an audience in the room. It can be even harder to speak from a distance because the speaker may not get immediate feedback from facial expressions or body language. It can also feel less scary for people who have trouble speaking in front of others because they aren't there in person. 

I also found the idea of becoming a spokesperson in Chapter 16 to be interesting. A spokesperson speaks for a group, organization, or cause and gets messages out to a wider audience, usually through the media or public platforms. To do this job well, you need to be trustworthy, be ready, and know how to share information in a clear and responsible way. This taught me that public speaking isn't just giving speeches or presentations in front of a group. It goes beyond the classroom and into the real world, like in professional communication, advocacy, and leadership roles.

 

Watching my classmates present over the last few days also helped me see how important it is to get ready and practice. It was clear when a speaker had thought about what they were going to say and practiced how they were going to say it. These talks seemed more confident, smoother, and easier to understand. Even when speakers were clearly nervous, they were able to stay on track and get their point across thanks to their preparation. This taught me that being confident doesn't always mean being brave; it often means being ready to keep going even when you're scared. 

I also learned a lot about how to get people interested. Some speakers asked questions, shared stories that people could relate to, or made jokes to get the audience's attention. Others kept people interested by making sure that ideas flowed smoothly from one to the next. Watching these techniques helped me learn how speakers can keep an audience's attention, even when they are talking about things that are hard to understand or that they don't know much about. It made me realize that public speaking isn't just about giving information; it's also about connecting with your audience. 

Watching other people present taught me how important it is to be organized. The best presentations had clear starts, well-organized main points, and strong endings. As a listener, knowing what to expect made the presentations easier to understand and more powerful. This made it clear that structure is very important for public speaking, especially when nerves might make a speaker lose their place or rush through what they have to say. 

Even though public speaking is still hard for me, this class helped me see things differently. I used to think of public speaking as something that made me nervous, but now I see it as a skill that can be learned in different ways. Seeing my classmates use their own speaking styles made me feel less pressure to meet a certain standard and more open to finding a way that works for me. I learned that to be a good speaker, you don't have to be perfect; you just must be clear, ready, and genuine. 

In general, even though I have a hard time speaking in front of people, I really liked everyone's presentations. Every speaker had something useful to say, and every presentation showed a different way to do public speaking well. I learned a lot about communication, how to give a presentation, and how to be flexible. All these things will help me in the future.