Jason+Lo.

10/24/09 OI #4 Self Assessment In this assignment, we had to pick a passage from our outside reading book and read it to make it interesting to the audience. My passage was from the novel, //Jurassic Park//, by Michael Crichton. The purpose of my speech was to make the tyrannosaur attack scary and suspenseful by acting out the tyrannosaur's motions and it attacking the Land Cruisers. Overall, my speech was okay, but it could have been better. In the speech, I did a few things well. First, my rate was good since I did not rush. Next, my nonverbal expressions such as acting like the tyrannosaur were helpful because it helped the audience picture the scene. Also, some of my verbal expressions, such as variations in volume, were okay. Furthermore, my poise and posture were good because I was not as stiff as the last speech. Lastly, my overall fluency was okay because I only stumbled about three times in my speech. There are many things that I did not do well in my speech. For instance, in some climactic lines, such as the tyrannosaur attacking the Land Cruisers, my vocal expressions were lacking because I did not emphasize these parts with my voice. Next, my eye contact was not great because I did not sustain it for long periods of time. Also, I should have used more facial expressions. Furthermore, my volume in the introduction was not good because at the end of sentences my voice faded. Lastly, my articulation could have been better because when I said “a million,” it sounded like “a billion.” My favorite line in the passage was, “Tim looked up and saw the tyrannosaur crashing down the cyclone fence with a giant hind limb” (Crichton 185). This line took place at 2:46 in my speech. In this scene, I acted as the tyrannosaur by keeping my arms close to my body and crashing down my leg on an imaginary fence. For my vocal expression, I raised my voice slightly and I emphasized “giant hind limb.” I feel that I expressed the tone of the situation well because I showed this frightening scene by acting as the tyrannosaur crashing down the fence and coming toward the Land Cruisers. This selection and performance had a big impact on me as a performer. For instance, I was able to use the most body motions I have ever used in a speech. Also, some insight that I have gained is that when performing a speech, sustained eye contact is difficult, but it is necessary to look natural in a performance. I have learned many things from this speech. For example, I learned that sustained eye contact is important. Next, I learned that nonverbal expression can boost your speech to a whole new level. Some areas for improvement for my next speech are volume, facial expressions, eye contact, and articulation. To improve them, I might record myself while I practice to see if I am lacking in these areas. Furthermore, one obstacle that I overcame in this performance was not holding back with my nonverbal expressions. In addition, I gained more confidence in speaking in front of the class. Lastly, for my next speech, I will improve on my eye contact, facial expressions, verbal expressions, and articulation. Finally, I think that I deserve a B on this speech. First, my rate, poise, posture, fluency, and nonverbal expressions such as my body motions were good. On the other hand, my eye contact, facial expressions, volume, and vocal expressions were lacking.

10/31/09

Hands Only Speech Self Assessment In this assignment, we had to pick a topic, and using only are hands, vocal, and facial expressions, demonstrated how to do it to the class. In my speech, I demonstrated how to make a spam musubi. Overall, I fell that the speech went okay, but some areas needed great improvement. In the speech, there were many things I did well. For instance, my hand motions while I was cooking the spam were pretty clear and gave the audience a visual to look at. Next, my vocal expressions were okay because it varied throughout the speech, reaching a climax at the end. In addition, my poise was good because I did not sway that much in this speech. Furthermore, my eye contact was good because I looked up most of the time, since I had no manuscript. Lastly, my volume was okay since I could hear myself throughout the entire speech. There were also many things that I did not do well. First, my rate was bad because I rushed. In my practices, I finished in about two minutes, but in the speech, I finished fifteen seconds earlier. Next, my facial expressions were lacking because I did not drastically change them till the conclusion. Moreover, my enunciation could have been better because the last letter of my words were not clearly pronounced. Lastly, my posture was bad since I was kind of scrunching my shoulders. My favorite line from my speech was “Step Two: Layer it Rice, Spam, Rice,” at 1:29 on the recording. Here, I raised my voiced and two fingers signaling step two. I also put one hand over another to show the layering of the rice and spam. I feel that I expressed the tone of the passage well because I was trying to make a spam musubi seem like the best and easiest food to make on the planet. This performance had a huge impact on me. First, I was able to perform a speech with no manuscript for the first time. Next, I was able to use more hand motions than my pervious speech. Lastly, some insights that I have gained are that hand motions are just a good as props, and they can really help to illustrate your process visually in ways that words can never do. I learned much through this performance. First, I learned that hand motions are important for you to look natural while you are talking. Next, I learned that it is better to have a natural speech than a memorized speech because you look less robotic. Some specific areas for improvement for me are in facial expressions, enunciation, and rate. To improve these, I will practice at a slow and comfortable rate in front of a mirror so I can work on these areas. Moreover, in this speech, I overcame the obstacle of performing a speech with no manuscript. Lastly, one thing that I gained from this performance was more confidence to not to hold back when I perform a speech. This will help me use more emotions. I think that I deserve a B for this speech. First, my hand motions, vocal expressions, eye contact, volume, and poise were good. However, my rate was horrible since I sped up too much. Lastly, my facial expressions and articulations need some work.

11/11/09

Inspirational Speech Self Assessment

In this assignment, we had to talk about a time of adversity in our life, and then, read an inspirational text that may have inspired us during this time. In my speech, I talked about the time when my robotics team over came the adversity of being the underdog to eventually win the state tournament. The purpose of my speech was to show that if you persevere you can overcome all odds. Overall, I felt that my speech was okay, but it could have been much better. I did a few things well during my speech. First, my volume was good because I could hear myself throughout the performance. Next, my eye contact was okay since I looked up for most of my speech, except when I was reading my inspirational text. Furthermore, my hand motions were good because I incorporated some to add emphasis to words. Also, I used hand motions when I held my hands out at different levels to show comparing the two teams. Lastly, my rate was okay because I went slow and steady. There were also many things I did not do well. First, I did not have enough vocal expressions because I rarely changed the tone, volume, or speed or my voice. Next, my facial expressions were still lacking because I did not change them regularly. Also, my fluency needs improvement because I had semi-long pauses that interrupted the flow of the speech. Furthermore, my posture could have been better because I was slouching. Lastly, my enunciations for the “s” endings were good, but sometimes, the ends of my words were swallowed up. My favorite line in my speech was, “The other team had a tournament table to work with. We had to use the garage floor and bricks as walls.” I said this at 1:32 in the recording. Here, I emphasized the part about the other team with my voice, and I backed off when talking about us. Next, I held my hands out to compare the two teams. I feel that I expressed the tone of the situation well because I was trying to make it seem unfair that the other team had the resources, and we did not. This selection and performance had a great impact on me as a performer. First, this was my first speech on a microphone since I was in the fifth grade play. Some insights that I have gained is that the placement of the microphone is important for volume. Lastly, I learned that enunciation is important because the microphone muffles the sound. I learned much through this performance. For instance, I learned that microphone placement is important for volume. Next, I learned that you have to enunciate twice as much as normal when you do microphone speaking to make it sound clear and crisp. Some areas for improvement for me are vocal expressions, facial expressions, posture, fluency, and enunciation. To improve these, I will practice in front of a mirror and record myself. In addition, one obstacle that I overcame was that I was able to perform a speech with no word for word manuscript. Furthermore, one thing that I gained was more confidence in speaking with a microphone. Finally, to show improvement in the next speech, I will also start my practices by doing facial expression warm ups. I would give myself a B for the speech. First, my volume, rate, eye contact, and hand motions were good. On the other hand, my vocal expressions, facial expressions, posture, fluency, and enunciation need improvement. 12/6/09 Culture Speech Self Assessment

In this assignment, we had to recite a speech about a culture that has influenced us. My speech was about the Chinese culture, and my purpose was to show the audience how it affected my life. Overall, I think I did okay, but many major things need to be improved. I did a few things well in my performance. For instance, my rate was good because my speech was slow and steady. The introduction was probably the fastest part. Next, my eye contact was okay because I looked up for most of speech, although I did look at the screen and my note card a few to many times. Furthermore, my fluency was good because there were only three unusual pauses. In addition, my vocal expression was okay because my volume changed few times in the speech, but there could have been more variation. Lastly, my poise was good because I did not sway. I also did many things poorly in my performance. For example, I my volume was kind of low because it was hard to hear myself. In addition, I noticed that the volume decreased at the end of my sentences. My enunciation also could have been better because the end of my words were sometimes being cut off and muffled. Once again, my nonverbal expressions were poor because my facial expression stayed the same, and I used few hand motions. Lastly, was posture could have been better because my shoulders were kind of scrunched. My favorite lines from my speech were, “In this festival, we burn fake paper money for our ancestors to use in the afterlife. We then, light incense and candles to put next to their grave and leave food, such as rice, duck, and especially whiskey, as offering for them to eat.” I said this at 2:42 in the recording. Here, I emphasized the word “whiskey” with my voice. I then put both hands out like I was holding something and going from left to right, placed the two foods (rice and duck) and drink (whiskey) down one at a time, as I said them. Finally, I feel that I expressed the tone of the passage okay because I was just informing the audience about a tradition that is very important to me. This performance did not have a huge impact on me as a performer because I did not greatly improve from my last speech. Some insight that I have gained from this speech is that facial expressions are important to look natural. Also, this performance was significant for me because I gained a greater understanding of my Chinese culture. From this speech, I learned much about my Chinese culture from my interview with my Popo (Chinese grandma) and other research. Some areas for improvement for me are nonverbal expressions, especially facial expressions, enunciation, volume, and posture. To improve these I will practice in a louder voice, stand with better posture, be aware of facial expressions, and maybe record myself to hear my enunciation. Furthermore, some obstacles that I over came were using a PowerPoint and reciting a long speech with only a note card. Also, I gained more confidence with note card speeches. Lastly, as I said before, I will practice enunciating clearly, using facial expressions, having a more relaxed posture, and using a louder voice while I rehearse to show improvement for my next oral performance. I think that I deserve a B for this speech because my facial expressions, enunciation, volume, and posture were lacking.

12/17/09 Impromptu Speech Self Assessment In this assignment, we were given a topic and about two minutes to prepare an impromptu speech before we performed. My topic was, “What would you do with a free afternoon?” In my speech, I talked about playing trombone and spending time with my family and friends. I feel that I did better than I expected with my impromptu speech, but it was still very rough. In my speech, I did a few things well. For instance, my volume was good because I could hear myself throughout the performance. Next, my vocal expressions were good because my volume fluctuated depending on my mood. Also, my nonverbal expressions were okay because I used many motions, such as sliding my trombone slide, although I did use the same arm gesture to emphasize points many times. Furthermore, my rate was good because I didn’t talk super fast or slow, and my posture was okay because I didn’t scrunch my shoulders. Lastly, my eye contact was good because I looked up for most of the speech. I also did many things poorly in my speech. For example, my poise was horrible since I was swaying back and forth like a pendulum. Next, my facial expressions were still lacking because I only changed it a few times during the speech. My enunciation could have been better too because the ends of my words were not being clearly pronounced. Lastly, the worst part of my speech was my fluency. For instance, I stuttered many times in my performance. I also said “like” when I was trying to add more content on to a point. My favorite part of my speech was when I said, “I just love buzzing all day long going //buzz//.” This was said at 0:49 in my speech. Here, I didn’t really change my vocal expression, but I did use many nonverbal expressions such as buzzing and pretending to move my slide. I feel that I successfully got across the message that I love to play trombone to the audience because I was acting as if I was playing it in front of the class. I also talked very highly of the trombone. This performance had a huge impact on me as a performer. For instance, this was my first impromptu speech that I have ever done. It also challenged me to think quickly to come up with ideas. One insight that I have gained from this speech is that you need be a quick thinker to organize a speech in just a few minutes. I have learned much from this impromptu speech. First, I learned how to think quickly and improvise most of the content of my performance. Next, I learned how to organize a speech into an introduction, body with subtopics, and conclusion, in just two minutes. A few areas for improvement on my next performance are facial expressions, fluency, enunciation, and poise. To show improvement on these, I will practice enunciating clearly while talking to people, making my conversations more fluent by thinking of what to say faster, not swaying while I speak, and using facial expressions. One obstacle that I overcame was planning and performing a speech with a topic I just received about two minutes prior to my performance. Lastly, because of this speech, I gained more confidence with impromptu speaking. I would give myself a B- on this impromptu speech because my vocal and nonverbal expressions, eye contact, volume, and posture were good. On the other hand, my facial expressions, poise, enunciation, and fluency were lacking.

1/12/10 Book Talk Speech Self Assessment In this assignment, we had to read a book and tell a target audience why or why not to read the novel. The book I chose was //The Da Vinci Code// by Dan Brown, and in my speech, I urged all mystery and adventure lovers to read the novel. Overall, my speech was okay, but many aspects could have been better. In my performance, I did a few things well. For instance, my poise and posture were good because I didn’t sway or slouch. Next, my volume and vocal expressions were okay because I could hear myself, and I changed the volume and tone of my voice. My enunciation was also good because I could understand my words clearly. Lastly, the nonverbal expressions were okay because I included hand motions such as pointing a gun. However, I did emphasize with my hands too much. I also did many things poorly in my performance. First, my fluency was the worst of all of my speeches. For example, I paused trying to find my thoughts between the second and third point, and I stumbled on a few words in my conclusion. Next, my rate was somewhat fast because my speech was thirty seconds faster than in practice. In addition, my facial expressions were a little better in this speech, but they were still lacking. Lastly, my eye contact was decent; however, I didn’t sustain it for a long time while I was reading excerpts. My favorite part of the speech was when I said, “It was by far the best book that I have //written//.” I said this at 4:36 in the recording during the question and answer session. Here, I didn’t change my vocal expression, and my only nonverbal expression was when I pointed at myself. I liked this part of the speech because I made a funny mistake saying “written” instead of “read.” Even though I messed up, I believe that I got across the message that I loved the novel. I feel that //The Da Vinci Code// was a good selection for me. First, I chose it because of the positive reviews critics gave the novel. In general, this was a good choice for me because I like reading about treasure hunts and secrets. This performance had a huge impact on me as a performer. For instance, this was the first time that I had to answer questions in a speech using impromptu speaking. Furthermore, some insight that I have gained from this performance is that I looked more natural during the question and answer portion, and I used facial expressions and English 9 speaking skills here. I have learned much from this speech. For instance, I learned that I looked more natural when I did the question and answer. Also, I learned that pausing or stumbling can destroy the flow and fluency of one’s speech. Some areas for improvement for my next performance are fluency, facial expressions, rate, and eye contact. To improve these, I will practice facial expressions in front of a mirror, memorize excerpts so I can look up more, rehearse parts were I stumble until I do it correctly, and practice at a slower rate. Furthermore, an obstacle that I overcame was answering my classmate’s questions. Lastly, I gained more confidence with longer note card speeches and impromptu answers. I would give myself a B on this speech because my vocal and nonverbal expressions, enunciation, volume, posture, and poise were okay. On the other hand, my rate, eye contact, facial expressions, and fluency were lacking.

3/13/10 Now and Then Speech Self Assessment In this assignment, we had to research a social issue from the Elizabethan Era and today, and recite a speech on it with a partner. Our speech was on gangs in the Elizabethan Era and in modern times. Overall, I feel that I did okay in the group speech, but a few aspects could have been improved. I did a few things well in my performance. For instance, my poise and posture were good because I did not sway or slouch. Next, my vocal expression was okay because I varied the volume and tone of my voice. Also, my eye contact was good because I looked up while I was speaking, although while Drew was talking, I looked at him and the audience. Lastly, my rate and articulation were good because I talked clearly, slowly, and understandably. I was also lacking in a few areas. First, my nonverbal expressions such as hand motions were okay, but my facial expression did not change very much during the performance. Next, my volume was poor because my voice would be clearly audible during the beginning and middle of sentences, but towards the end of sentences, my voice faded. Furthermore, in the speech, I said wrong words like “violent” instead of “violence.” Lastly, I did not look as natural as Drew because my motions looked forced and robotic. My favorite line from my part was, “When they saw one, they would yell, ‘Clubs!’ and try to beat them in the heads with their bats,” at 1:24 in my speech. Here, I lifted one arm and hit my hand signifying the gangs beating their rivals with clubs. Next, I raised my voice when I exclaimed, “Clubs!” Lastly, I fell that I expressed the tone of the passage okay because I spoke in an angry tone, and I pretended to hit someone on the head. Furthermore, this speech had a huge impact on me because it was the first time that I had a group project that went smoothly and on schedule. Next, I have gained much insight from this speech. For instance, I now know that partner speeches are difficult because much practice is needed for the switching of speaking roles. On the other hand, these speeches can be easier because one has less information to say since the content is equally distributed. Finally, I learned much from this performance. As I said before, I learned that practice is important for partner speeches because one needs to get the timing of switching speaking parts down with his or her partner. Also, I learned that visuals can enhance one’s performance, but presentations are difficult to use if one does not practice when to change the slide. Next, some areas for improvement for me are facial expressions, volume, and looking natural. To improve these I will speak loudly throughout sentences, be more relaxed when I speak, and not be afraid to use facial expressions when I practice and perform. Furthermore, one obstacle that I overcame was working well with a group partner because in past projects, my group would procrastinate and bicker. For this speech, assignments were finished on time, and we worked well together. Lastly, I gained more confidence in using a Google Docs presentation during my speech, better teamwork skills, and time management. I would give myself a B because I had good vocal expressions, eye contact, articulation, rate, and poise. On the other hand, I did not look natural, and my facial expressions and volume were lacking. 4/18/10   Call to Arms Part 1 Self Assessment In this speech, we had to research a social issue and inform an audience about it. The social issue that I researched and spoke about was global warming. Overall, my speech was not so great, and I could have done much better. In my performance, I did a few things well. For instance, my poise and posture were good because I stood up straight and did not slouch. My volume was also decent because I could hear myself throughout the whole performance. Lastly, my vocal expression was okay because I varied the volume of my voice in different places. I also did many things poorly in my speech. For instance, my rate was too fast because my speech was one minute faster than in practice. Next, my nonverbal and facial expressions were poor because I used the same hand motions many times, and I did not change my facial expression much. Furthermore, my articulation could have been better because I did not enunciate every word clearly. In addition my eye contact was bad because I looked down at my note card many times. Finally, my fluency was horrible. In my speech, I stumbled about ten times and said the word “um” twice. My favorite line in my speech was, “Imagine walking down the steps of Castle Building and ending up in the ocean. Well, this could happen in ninety years because of global warming.” I said this three seconds into my speech. Here, I raised my voice and used hand motions to emphasize 'Iolani ending up in the ocean. I feel that was able to express that global warming will affect people at ‘Iolani well. This performance had a huge impact on me as a performer. For instance, this was the first speech where I entered feeling unready. Because of this, I stumbled many times since I momentarily forgot what I was going to say. This showed me that I have a long way to go to be a better speaker because I could not smoothly improvise a sentence if I forgot what to say. One insight that I have gained is that fluency is extremely important because it makes the speech seem more natural. I have learned much from this performance. For instance, I learned that fluency is important in a speech because it makes the audience think that a person was well prepared for the performance. I also learned that I still need to improve my improvisation skills to make my speech flow even if I forget what to say. In addition, I learned that practicing with the slide show is important because I forgot to change the slide once in my speech. Some areas for improvement for me are my rate, nonverbal and facial expressions, articulation, eye contact, and fluency. To improve on these I will practice at a slow rate, make my body motions seem more natural, practice using more facial expressions, enunciate my words clearer, and rely less on memorizing my outline so I do not have to try to memorize my speech word for word and look down at my note card as much. One obstacle that I overcame was performing okay after having horrible practice sessions the night before. Lastly, I gained more insight in what I need to improve on. I would give myself a B- or a C+ because my poise, posture, vocal expressions, and volume were okay, but my rate, nonverbal and facial expressions, articulation, eye contact, and fluency could have been much better .