Chapter Presentation 3/23/21
Chapter Eight
The presentation on Chapter 8 focused on the different techniques for supporting one’s idea to present a stronger argument. Amber talked about the importance of having examples and showed that having more details will make an argument more effective by presenting two statements, one with a vague sentence and another with examples. She also differentiated between a brief, extended, and hypothetical example. Examples, through statistics, testimonies, or personal experiences, can be used to reinforce ideas. Using vivid examples and practicing delivery by making eye contact will help engage the audience. Next, Ilya focused on statistics and emphasized to make sure the source is relevant, unbiased, and reliable, because sources can be easily distorted. Having a large sample size in experiments makes a source more reliable. He recommended that statistics should not be too complicated and to use visuals such as graphs to make the statistics clearer. Then, Simon talked about the types of testimonies, which were peer testimony for emotional appeals and expert testimony for greater credibility. When using testimonies, the quote should be brief and it is better to paraphrase quotes that are unclear or lengthy. Some tips he included were to again have unbiased sources and to not skew the quote to the audience by keeping the meaning and putting it into context. Another is giving credit to the author through citations, which was elaborated on by Leeza. She talked about what to include when citing sources, such as the author, organization, title, date published, and the author’s qualifications. She also showed examples and clarified which ones were the cited information. Lastly, Leeza concluded the presentation by summarizing the key points made.
Chapter Nine
Chapter 9 talks about how to organize the body of the speech. It is important to organize your speech so the audience can follow and understand your point more clearly. There are three main parts: introduction, body and conclusion. The presenters gave a checklist for us to break down our arguments, we have to have: specific purpose (the problem/point), central idea (what the audience should do), and multiple main points (reasons the audience should do it).
To make our points more effective, the presenters suggested carefully selecting our points. They have to make sense and directly relate to no less than one of the points. We also have to use precise phrasing because the way you present your work is important to how your audience reacts. Last but not least is strategic arrangement, which is using repeating patterns to put your arguments in an orderly manner.
There are different types of patterns you could use: chronological, spatial, causal, topical, problem-solution, etc. It all depends on which would best suite in presenting the argument.
When speaking about your points, you have to balance the amount of time spent on each point based on the information and complexity of the supporting materials. Another helpful tip is using connectives in the body. Different types of connectives are transitions (end of a thought or idea), internal previews ( talking about what’s next), internal summaries (talking about points that were mentioned beforehand), and signposts (words that suggest the importance of what the speaker is saying).
They ended the presentation with recapping what they said. Basically how (1) organization is important, (2) figure out your main points and how you will organize them, (3) make sure your supporting materials bear direct relevance to your main points, and (4) use plenty of connectives to guide your audience.
Reflections
Amber Li
Since I presented chapter 8, my reflection will be on only chapter 9. We all know we need to have strong points for argument: statistics, testimony, examples, etc. However, if not used and organized correctly, in a way that people can easily follow along and make sense of it, your point will not be convincing. That is what chapter 9 is about, being organized and easy to follow to optimize your validity and persuasiveness. I like how the presenters broke down their points, just like what the chapter taught too. I learned to use patterns, I’ve actually never heard of it and now can see how big of an impact it has to keep organized. I learned this information because I want my arguments to be simple and digestible for the audience. I will use these tips when I am formatting and planning out my speech, making sure I have good points, repeating patterns, and connectives. One thing I really liked about the presentation is how they used funny posts or memes to engage the audience and also relate it to them in a way that they understand/are exposed to frequently.
Vicky Chen
The two chapter presentations on March 21 was about the ways to support one’s ideas and organize a speech. Amber and I took notes of important details from the presentations and we each focused on a specific presentation to write about.
When listening to the presentations, I realized that many information and tips were ones that I have heard before, but processing it and understanding its connection with respect to public speaking allowed me to better understand its importance. When I heard about using visual aid to prevent statistics from getting too complicated in the Chapter 8 presentation, I thought about the Healthy Lifestyles presentation where many presenters had graphs to show the statistics. I felt that it definitely helped make the numbers less confusing. Next time, I will also try to use visual data instead of writing out complex statistics for a simpler and engaging presentation. The presenters also talked about having an unbiased source and not putting the quote out of context when presenting it to the audience. I think that is a valid point, because I have seen cases where the information is put out of context, and I think people should take a stance after knowing the full story. I also learned that people tend to use testimonies and statistics after giving an example to validate the point. Previously, I knew that they were all helpful in an argument, but I did not know that there was an order to it.
There was a lot to learn in the Chapter 9 presentation as well, which focused on the organization and structure of a speech. The presenters talked about having multiple main points and a strategic arrangement so that the speech sounds clear and strong. This is similar to the first presentation, where the purpose was to have a stronger argument. Both also talked about using relevant supporting materials or sources. I learned about the types of connectives and their significance. For example, internal previews give a heads up to what the next topic or sentence will be about. I had not thought about using connectives in my speech before, besides transition words. However, I realized it will make the argument more cohesive and let the audience know where the speech is at that moment. Overall, the presentations were very informative, and I will keep the tips recommended in mind to use for future assignments and speeches.
When I was listening to the presentations, I recorded the information presented by taking notes, and I feel it did help me when formulating the paragraph. However, perhaps next time, I would take better notes by keeping track of key ideas and adding connections rather than only taking down the information I listened to.
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