Public Sp- Uh... Speaking Experiences

Public speaking has never really been my forte. I used to be much worse, getting a sinking feeling in my stomach as I sat in class, dreading the moment that I'd have to get up and present. When I did present, my hands would shake uncontrollably, I'd have nervous ticks, and my face would get as red as a tomato. However, after many presentations, eventually the sinking feeling passed, and my hand shakes, nervous ticks, and beet-red face got better. But unfortunately, I've never really had any public speaking experiences outside of a classroom environment.

I feel like my public speaking strengths are the tone of my voice, and my enunciation. But, the list of my weaknesses is much longer. While standing in front of a crowd, I tend to completely blank out, and even though I practiced my speech perfectly just a few moments before, I second guess myself and have to refer to my notes, and begin to use verbal fillers. Also, when starting out my presentation, the nerves cause my voice to waver. Finally, I never know what to do with my body and hands when I give a speech. Usually I'll hold my note cards in order to keep my hands busy, but that won't be possible with this TED talk.

I'd really like to get rid of the verbal fillers I use when I get nervous, and I'd also like to develop a natural stance and hand movements that enhance my speech. In order to do this, I can practice not using verbal fillers whenever I respond to questions in class. Also, I can practice my speech in front of a mirror, or video tape myself as I practice giving my speech in order to know what about my stance and hand motions I can change.

Gender Perception

Thesis: When asked to state the first color that comes to mind after being prompted a word, "boy" would probably be followed by the answer blue, and "girl" followed by the answer pink. Expectant parents often automatically begin decorating a baby girl's room pink, and a baby boy's room blue. Colors signifying gender were first established around the 1940s, when companies decided that pink should be associated with girls and blue should be associated with boys. However, in response to the women's liberation movement of the 1970's, retailers were pressured to return to gender neutral or unisex clothing colors. The establishment of colors signifying gender created strict gender stereotypes, which people are currently still fighting to overcome.

The rest of my essay will first focus on research done about the establishment of the colors pink and blue for genders, and theories on how that came about. Then it'll focus on how these colors began to change. Afterwards, it'll discuss how the women's liberation movement brought about this change and the social significance of the change.

Sources

"How Pink And Blue Became Gender-Specific." Co.Design. N.p., 06 June 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

"The Surprisingly Recent Time Period When Boys Wore Pink, Girls Wore Blue, and Both Wore Dresses." Today I Found Out. N.p., 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

"When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?" Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Paradigm Shifts

A paradigm shift is signaled by a change in views and beliefs about a certain topic as time passes. Throughout history, there have been an enormous amount of paradigm shifts, from things such as fashion trends to the way people talk. It took a really long time for me to think of a couple ideas that weren't the typical paradigm shifts everyone thinks of.

My first idea was the change in the views towards vaccines. Recently, there have been news coverage on the new movement of parents standing up against vaccines. While vaccines were viewed as a miracle working medicine when they were first invented, with the exposure of new facts, parents have begun to believe that certain chemicals used in making vaccines such as Thimersol may be causing autism in children. After this rumor was spread, many parents began to refuse to let their children get vaccines. It's interesting how as we advance medically, things that were once viewed as amazing can so quickly be viewed as a threat.

My second idea is the change in views on reality TV stars. Until recently, there haven't been a lot of reality TV shows aired. However, the crazily high popularity of the infamous show, Jersey Shore, and now Keeping Up with the Kardashians, show the increase in appreciation of these types of shows. In addition to the increase in appreciation, there is also a trend in people looking up to reality TV stars and idolizing them. This is seen by the publicity that the Kardashian family receives, and the insane amount of followers on social media the whole family has.

With these changes in views, it's obvious that beliefs are constantly changing and evolving. These are just two examples of paradigm shifts found throughout history.

TechNOlogy: Slowly Killing the Art of Conversation

We live in a generation known for its dependence on technology. It seems as if everyone is attached to their phone or laptop by an invisible string. Although I used to believe that the quick and efficient communication provided by technology was beneficial to our skills of conversation, after learning more about rhetoric, it became clear that technology only takes away from our ability to skillfully employ rhetoric in our conversations, both spoken and written.

After reading Chapter 2 in our Rhetoric and Civic Life book, I quickly recalled several instances when I witnessed the extreme dependence of others on technology. When I worked at a restaurant over the summer, I watched many cringe-worthy dates where both parties sat on their phones for a majority of the time, never speaking a word to each other. I also watched moms and dads scroll through their newsfeeds or shoot a quick text as their kids played Angry Birds. And even more recently, I've watched college kids pull out their phones when they feel uncomfortable in new situations in order to appear busy. 

With the increase in virtual communication, there has been an extreme decrease in the emphasis of face-to-face conversation. With the decrease in face-to-face conversation, we have become less attune to the everyday usage of rhetoric. I believe the speed of virtual communication has also affected our use of rhetoric in our written word as well. Because of how quickly we can now send messages to one another, short hand has developed which takes away from the beauty of the English language. We now send things like "lol" to express how we are feeling. 

With that being said, be more aware of how often you use your technology and what face-to-face interactions you could be having during that time. Who knows, maybe if you put away your phone and talk to the stranger next to you, you'll meet your new best friend. 

So Many Passions, Only One Blog

Brainstorming topics for my passion blog took a lot of introspection, deep breaths, and ice cream. Just kidding, only ice cream was used, and it wasn't even for brainstorming purposes.

After lots of thinking, I've narrowed my ideas down to my two favorites. 

The first being a "College Student vs Pin" blog (I'm still brainstorming blog names) where I test out college related Pinterest pins. Pinterest is a well-known social media site that is filled with a multitude of different crafts, recipes, and life hacks. The downfall of Pinterest is the oftentimes vague or nonexistent instructions. Projects that may seem incredibly straightforward end up failing miserably. Or, projects that looked amazing turn out nothing like how they were pictured. Nevertheless, there are definitely projects that actually turn out wonderfully. With this blog, I can put my passion for crafts and food to use. Each blog post would focus on a new pin that I'd try out, which would range from DIY (do it yourself) crafts to recipes. I would then write about my experiences and whether or not the project worked out. Hopefully through this process I can suggest successful pins that any college student could try out. 

The second blog idea is a lifestyle blog where I would try out and provide reviews on the different fitness classes offered at the Penn State gyms. Living in Atherton this year gives me the luxury of being right next to the gym. Plus, everyone wants to keep off the dreaded "Freshman 15". After attending the wide range of classes offered, I would write a review on the instructor and the class in general to allow others to find a class that they will enjoy. 

Both ideas include activities that I'm passionate about, which makes choosing just one extremely difficult. Hopefully the comments left here and the insight you guys provide will make the decision easier! 

Practice Post

I am learning how to blog.







This website will show you about Penn State.