ASPIRING LEARNER
"Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone"
The Power of Public Speaking
During my sophomore year at Green River community college, I gathered up the courage to sign up for a class that I had been afraid of taking - public speaking. Over the course of 10 weeks, professor Lisa Voso turned that fear into a new-found confidence through one goal: empowering student voices and building confidence in their public speaking through her unique and tailored exercises and workshops. It was through this class that inspired me to pursue learning more about the world of communication and has influenced the work that I continue to do in my everyday life.
My time as an undergraduate has been nothing short of incredible, and I owe a lot of it to the skills that I gained and the lessons that I learned from this experience. Looking back on it, this class helped to lay the foundation that led to creating new opportunities, many of which, would not have been possible without the mentoring of Professor Voso. Whether it was facilitating discussions in group settings through Advising & Orientation or pushing the boundaries as a creative and stepping into the world of vlogging and talking in front of a camera, many of the experiences that I’ve had, have been a reflection of what I took away from this class.
Tasks Accomplished
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Presented in group settings on various topics to develop public speaking skills
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Collaborated with others to provide feedback for presenting students on strengths and areas of improvement
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Engaged in running mock interviews for peers
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Interacted in discussions reflecting on workshops and exercises
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Challenged myself in an area that was outside of my comfort zone
Leadership Skills
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Verbal Communication
Taking a public speaking class allowed for me to develop my verbal communication skills in a way that encouraged me to also step outside of my comfort zone. Something that I’ve come to realize is that through implementing the lessons that I learned from this class, I have become better at speaking publicly in group settings while also being able to spark conversations in a more welcoming way to those who I just meet. This has become a valuable experience for me because I’ve always been afraid to share my voice with others, even if it was with those who are close to me. The skills that I have built upon as a result of taking this public speaking class have been applicable to all areas of my life and I now feel more confident articulating my thoughts and having conversations with a wide range of people.
Providing Feedback
Outside of giving presentations, we had the opportunity to practice our speeches in small core groups. This allowed for us to work with each other and help to lift each other up as we all had the same nervous feelings about presenting in front of a class. One of the benefits of being able to practice within these small groups was that it gave us the chance to give and receive feedback on our strengths and areas that could use improvement. Because of the safe and inclusive space that professor Voso created within her classroom, we were always encouraged to share our thoughts both in our own self-reflection but also through providing feedback for our peers. At first, I was timid about providing feedback as I always had a hard time articulating my thoughts. After seeing the impact of providing both advice and affirmation on what my peers were doing well, and receiving that same constructive feedback in return, I came to the realization that this was a way of supporting each other through our public speaking journey through a mutual reciprocity of both giving and receiving feedback.
Responding to Ambiguity
One activity that I distinctly remember from this class was a speech that relied heavily on adaptability and improvisation. The goal of this assignment was to get us to think quick on our feet, with the main message tying into this idea of responding to ambiguity. In this activity, we were given a random topic from a bag and were given a few moments to brainstorm ideas before preceding to talk about this topic for two minutes. I remember my topic being something that was completely out of the ordinary, which was intentional. Our professor wanted to see how we would handle a situation that was completely unpredictable and how we could work through it. This became a moment where I had to respond to the situation in a quick and positive manner for the fear of becoming too overwhelmed would completely throw me off during my improvisational speech. What I learned and took away from this experience is that it’s important to face these moments of adversity or uncertainty with a positive attitude.
Goals
As a college student, quarters seem to fly by in a matter of minutes and because of the accelerated ten-week structure, something that we spent intentional time focusing on was goal setting – reflecting on what we individually wanted to take away from this class at the end of the ten-week period. One of the goals that I had was based off a reflection of my first speech. When I first started giving speeches, I would use the filler phrases “um” and “uh” and it wasn’t until it was pointed out to me, that I realized how much of it was unconscious. Thus, one of my goals for this class was to work on being more conscious of my filler words. One of the action steps that I took in order to work towards that goal was an activity suggested by my professor that allowed for me to become more self-aware of my fillers. In preparation for my speeches, I would practice in front of a mirror while recording myself, as this became a way to look back on my overall presence afterwards, pinpointing areas where I could improve on and continue to become more comfortable in presenting my speeches. Goal setting helps to keep me motivated and is a skill that I will continue to use in my future career as it’s become a positive method to keep myself accountable and is a way for me to assess how much I have accomplished.
Self-Development
Reflecting on the classes that I’ve taken in my time as an undergraduate, this class has been one of the most influential and impactful experiences on my self-development. I came into this class with a huge fear of public speaking and talking in front of large groups. As someone who grew up with more of a reserved personality, this was always a barrier for me because I always had a hard time being the one to start conversations with other people. Although I still get nervous when I speak in front of people, I now have the tools and skills to navigate through these moments of nervousness and vulnerability. On a more holistic level, I’ve found that I now feel more comfortable engaging in more than just group discussions, but also initiating conversations in one-on-one settings.
Lessons Learned
The lessons that I learned from this experience went way beyond the classroom and is something that has significantly impacted other areas of my life. Many of the experiences that I’ve had as an undergraduate have involved engaging with other people, whether that be through individual interactions or in group settings, I find myself utilizing the skills that I learned from this class in my everyday life. I plan to continue incorporating the competencies that I gained from this experience in my everyday interactions, continuing to cultivate meaningful and impactful relationships with those around me in various settings.