Reflection Essay
What I enjoyed most about this course is that I learned a lot of new skills and improved the way I give public speeches. I believe that it is even harder to deliver a speech online and not have the audience present in real time. That is why I feel that I am ready for speeches in front of any kind of audience in the future. I find the literature we used for this course stimulating and inspiring.
I can't say that there is something I didn't enjoy about a course, but I think it would be even better if this wasn't an online course but a real one in a classroom full of students. The reason for that is that I like to see instant reactions to my speech delivery. However, this was the harder one, so I feel that this was a great experience for me. I am now more comfortable in preparing speeches and I feel the connection with my fellow students. We were all in this together and supported each other. That created a good studying atmosphere and fostered good education.
I like the way we used literature and that we had to cite our sources because it is the most professional way to prepare for a speech. It also give us more credibility. We can rely on our own thoughts and observations, but there are great thinkers who already dealt with the same issues we were addressing, and it is inspiring to use their thought to support ours. It is always encouraging and inspiring to find that a great philosopher also tackled the same problems that we did.
I was glad to be able to select the topics for my speeches because I felt that it have me the freedom for expression. I acquired so many skills that help me adjust the speech for the audience and the occasion. I learned a lot about the elements of speeches and I found out that there is a difference between informative and persuasive speech.
I understood the importance of research and finding evidence. It was also useful to learn how to construct arguments in the best possible way.
I am now more familiar with the use ethos, pathos and logos, which are Aristotelian methods of argumentation. It is interesting to see that the foundation of informative and persuasive speech dates from as early as Ancient Greece. I know that there were great thinkers and philosophers in Ancient Greece, but Aristotle is one of my favorites.
I wasn't very self-confident about delivering a speech before this course, but I feel that I am much more relaxed when doing it now. I feel liberated and energized by audience and their responses.
I believe that I started to develop my original oral style and I will continue to work on it. This was all new for me and I thought it would be difficult. It was challenging, but fun. Above all it was very educational and the skills that we learned in this class can be used in any profession. Good oral skills are essential to motivate people.
I learned about netiquette and now I know how to treat other students with respect no matter from which culture they come. This kind of communication is educational. We all created a comfortable environment in which we supported each other and that is what I liked the most.
The speech I felt the most comfortable delivering was classmate debate, because it was challenging for me. I am not used to debates especially if I have to prepare it with another student, but in the end I was comfortable doing it. I learned the power of having good arguments.
The speech I was least comfortable delivering was the introduction speech because it was the first and I was not sure if I would be good at it and if I would attract the audience. When I listened to the speeches of others I felt more comfortable and prepared for what was going to be next.
