Question 3

I was interested in the deductive reasoning. I plan to use a lot of causal and example based reasoning, but I want to attempt to use deductive as well. It is almost robotic the way it attempts to persuade people. I think a huge flaw though is that it just assumes that it is correct. Obviously it is based off of a fair amount of information before it assumes such a thing, but it feels like it is not as agile as other forms of reasons. Like if you threw a variable in there it would just mess everything up. If I can work out the flaws I think it would make for a very snippy few lines of reasoning. I would need to make it broad and narrow it down quickly to a very simple answer. I see it almost being a joke really, but I am not sure how or when I am going to use it. Then again I might wuss out and just stick to some standard reasoning's when I get up there and start babbling.

Question 2

I really enjoy debating people. Formal debates are fun, but I like when it is just back and forth (polite of course), but no opening statements or conclusion statements, just good old fashion arguing. I have a debate next week so I tested out some tactics on one of my ignorant friends. The topic was animal testing and of course I want to end it immediately, and my “friend” doesn't see the problem with it. So I used a lot of example based reasoning and causal reasoning, and some just plain old common sense. Needless to say he really didn't have a chance, it was a hollow victory though because he will never change his ways unless there is a gun pointed to his head or it is changed for him. I tried to use deductive reasoning, but it just confused him. I want to try to use some in my speech, but I want to make sure I make it short and simple so I people don't get lost in the tangled thoughts that are my speeches.

Question 1

I thought the videos were pretty decent. All of them gave pretty good examples for me and my persuasive speech. I liked the guy who was talking about hikers straying off the trail. I think his approach fits my style very well. The causal type argument shows there is an issue and shows how it is affecting us. The obvious conclusion that we shouldn't hike off the trail. The pro and con speeches were pretty interesting as well. I like public schools all though are horribly failing, so I guess I should say I like the idea of public schools. It is the great equalizer. The pro for public schools didn't do as good of a job as I think he could of. I just didn't feel like there was enough information in his speech and I wasn't really feeling what he was saying even though I agreed with is view point. The con lady however did very well. I liked her speech and I liked the sarcasm that she threw in about learning how to deal drugs and duck behind desks. I think if used properly those types of lines can easily persuade a lot of people.  

Question 3

I liked the part about ethics of persuasive speaking. I think this was a very important part of our reading for this week. Unfortunately many people will just believe what they are told. This is becoming a huge issue with so called "news agencies" pumping people full of false or tainted information. A lot of people responsible for this lack any for of ethics or morality. It is very important for us as speakers or really just us a people to make sure we comment to acting ethically when we are tyring to inform or persuade people. Obviously you are trying to persuade someone so you are going to try to make your side seem better, but be sure to include all sides of the argument at hand. Not only that, but explain why that can be an option too. You will have a much stronger argument if the listener decides on their own rather than you coercing them into your beliefs.

Question 2

Due to the lack or regulations we as a society have decided not to put in place we are faced with thousands of persuasive messages a day. When we walked out doors there are billboards, advertisements, and sign wavers. When we get in our car there are radio advertisements. When we go places like doctors, businesses, or schools there are advertisements all over from partnering businesses or from companies that sponsor those institutions. When we get back home our TVs and the Internet is filled to the brim of advertisements. It doesn't matter if your watching a show, a movie, playing a game, anything there are advertisements or at the very least persuasion to do certain things.  To remain vigilant and not to become a sheeple, people must realize that they are being force fed fake information all the time. Always be informed and always read the fine print. Realize that just because something is seen everywhere it is not the best thing. The most important thing is to educate oneself. If you are always asking questions, you will never be taken advantage of.

Question 1

If I understand this correctly I will be using the Problem Solution Pattern method for my final speech. Monroe's approach seems fine, however I always tend to stray away from to persuasive. I do not want to tug at people emotions, I want them to make the decision for themselves. The Monroe approach seems like there is a lot flashing lights, and attention getter's, to get people on its side. The problem/solution organizational seems to be more my style. To present the problem and explain it in detail. To show the history of the problem I am discussing to give it context and a background. This way I can give a logical argument for or against a certain topic because I have explained it in detail. There is very little emotion or room for argument if there is only logic involved. This style I prefer because it feels natural to me. It is sort of like a game, if you eliminate any possible counter argument then only option is your side. This to me is the best form of persuasion.

Question 3

I liked the impromptu section of chapter 12. I love on the spot speeches and talk. I really  think  that impromptu speeches shows how knowledgeable someone is if they can just give a spontaneous speech on a topic. A person can research something and memorize information, however if that person was forced to make an impromptu speech they wouldn't stand a chance compared to someone who knows and lives in the subject at hand. It also shows how well someone can talk on their feet a sort of BS test. To me it feels more natural, I get way to nervous if I plan a speech or try to memorize it. I prepare by studying and just getting  a basic outline, but that is about it. I feel much more comfortable if I am just talking to the class verses giving them a speech.  The hardest part is structure. It is very easy to go in circles or get lost in your on speech if you don't have some sort of basic outline or are very good at creating outlines on the spot. I really  think other than that impromptu speeches are the best choice, well at least for me.

Question 1

I think there was a lot of great information in chapters 10 and 12. I am actually wondering why it wasnt closering to the start of the semister instead of the end. Some of the information was pretty obvious however, it serves as a good reminder to watch out for some classic mistakes. I think the practice part was key as well. If you just read the speech and memorize it you will have no idea about how it sounds. Also if you memorize it you will just read as you do in your head with no change in tone or pitch. I thought in some of the videos they talked to slow. It seemed like what they were suggesting was to be very slow and mono tone on their examples. I think they were just tyring to show contrast between to fast and slow, but if they are examples they should be at least good ones.

Question 2

This was a pretty interesting conversation. I didn't really think much about the girl/women thing until this. I am a little bit torn, I would be a little insulted if I was referred to as a boy. On the other side I do not think anyone is trying to belittle women. I asked a few of my friends that our girls/women and they gave a pretty similar response. They thought of themselves as a girl not a woman. All of them were over 18 and below 30. I am not sure if this is because of societies views or what the cause is. The rest of the comments are pretty interesting too when it comes to different terms people use. Most of the people didn't seem to mind and felt that the lady was over reacting. I have still yet to really make up my mind because it seems that a women is someone who is older and ladies do not like to think of themselves that way, however I do not want to insult anyone who feels that girl is a belittling term.

Self-Evaluation 2

I think this time around I actually did worse on my speech compared to my last one. I felt that I didn't do bad, it was just not up to my standards. I didn't get almost any of the information that I thought I was going to be able to squeeze in. I was was comfortable and confident I feel, but at the end when I was forced to finish I was almost embarrassed that I didn't get to say most of my speech. If I could do it over again I wouldn't spend so much time explaining what a GMO is. I think the class would have been much more confused, but at least I could of gotten more information in about what the harms are. I noticed a lot of people were directly citing from their bibliography. I didn't know we were supposed to do that so I would add in some quotes to help support my claims. That is also assuming that I would have time to get to them. The goal I have about my next speech is actually reaching my content. The last speech and the upcoming speech both say 5-6 minutes, but I guess this class has 4-5 requirements. I need to figure out how to get to all the information I want to share out there in a timely manner. I don't think I nee to improve on my delivery that much. I keep getting marked down for fidgeting, but like I said on my last self evaluation there really isn't anything I can do about that. I took a muscle relaxer this time around, but it didn't seem to help so I'm pretty much stuck just getting marked down for moving around to much. They felt the same really. The only difference is that I just went way past the time on my last speech. This however got me a better grade vs me just skipping everything and ending. As I just mentioned the thing that seems to distract some people is me moving around and sadly there isn't much I can do to change that. On all the positives people said I had really good eye contact, which is good so I would say a 9 or 10. This is mainly because I rarely look down at my notes. I just make sure I am not skipping around to much and then continue talking. I think the grade I got was a little lower than I should of got however it wasn't to far off. I think I should of gotten a middle of the road B on my speech. I literally skipped pages of research, to try to squeeze the speech in the allotted time frame. I really only used one just because I luckily remember the citations information. I wasn't aware that we were supposed to use citations in our speech so next time around this will not be an issue. No it was worse in my opinion. I think next time if I am having a time issue I will just go over the time limit. In a perfect world I would be able to condense the information into the allotted time.