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.