Reflective Essay On Communication Class

You are in class one day when the teacher announces a new assignment: students are to research and give an informative speech about any topic of their choosing. As the student, imagine that you are terrified to not only present the speech in front of your entire class, but to have to go through the process of picking a topic, researching it, organizing your speech, and practicing it as well. At the beginning of my communication class, this was how I felt about producing and giving speeches. I was nervous to talk in front of the class because I have always been very shy and have suffered from extreme speech apprehension. I also dreaded picking a topic and organizing my speeches as well, since I could never make up my mind and I was never good …show more content…
For my informative speech, I had a hard time narrowing down my ideas to a single topic that I could talk about. I was either too embarrassed to talk about something or I was afraid the class would not be interested. I ended up picking “The Psychology of Sleep” as my topic for my informative speech. In my introduction, I stated that I was credible to talk about my topic because I had taken AP Psychology in high school (see credibility statement in informative speech). However, I failed to realize that several other students in the room could have also taken AP Psychology as well, so it is possible that they already knew what I was talking about. For my persuasive speech, on the other hand, I picked a topic right away instead of spending days narrowing down my choices. I picked “Pet Adoption” since I knew a lot of the audience members probably had pets of their own, so they would be able to find my topic relatable (see relevancy statement in persuasive speech). Although the audience would find it relatable, they most likely did not know all the facts behind shelter adoption. Thus, my topic selection skills improved over the semester because I learned how to pick a topic that my audience would find relatable, yet …show more content…
One goal I wish I had worked a little harder towards would be my participation in class discussions. I have always been really shy and especially quiet in class. Oftentimes I would know the answer to a question or have an idea, but not matter how hard I tried, I could not bring myself to raise my hand. I wish I had improved on this skill because in the upcoming years, it will become crucial for me to participate in class discussions. Another goal that I did not meet was improving my nonverbal delivery skills. While speaking, I have always stood very still in one place. There were some instances during the semester where I would make motions with my hands while presenting, however I still stood very still. I think I had a hard time improving this skill because I was always too nervous to move. Luckily, I have improved on my public speaking apprehension, so from now on I should be able to focus on improving my nonverbal delivery skills. Overall, communication class has helped me improve as a public speaker, which will be greatly beneficial in the years to come. During this past semester, I have improved my organizing skills, my topic selection skills, and my public speaking apprehension. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to participate in this class, as it has taught me valuable skills and helped me become a better critical communicator. As Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of