Finished Speech Video
Speech
My reason for choosing this topic was because I only have 2 semesters left in college and if I feel the need to become a better student then it’s probably too late. Also potentially at this time next year I could have a real world job. That’s pretty scary to think about, not because I’m ill prepared but because it’s a big jump. How many people listening think they know exactly what they want to do after they graduate. Don’t feel pressured because I’m not one hundred percent sure too. So I feel I need to help myself be ready for these steps, and so I can find a career I want to wake up and do everyday.
Something I’ve tried to focus on more is being more independent and not letting my parents or people hold my hand through certain things. For example, Last spring I was trying to get an internship for the summer. I noticed that this was something I had to do on my own time and a position wasn’t going to show up on my front steps. I ended up getting to schedule a few interviews with these businesses. One was a wealth management firm in Biddeford. They told me it would be a zoom interview and for a whole day before I was asking myself any interview question possible that the person might ask. Sadly the pandemic ruined any chances I had at getting an internship. Now for this year I know what’s to be expected and how to go about trying to find an internship. Also I now have experience in an interview, and I know what to expect and the kind of questions that will be asked. I can relate to what AMY CUDDY said about in her Ted Talk about “Faking it till you become it.” Giving yourself confidence in a situation like a job interview is really important because you can be more confident and relaxed and look the part of this job. Portraying confidence in a time that’s very judgemental can give one a big advantage in other candidates. I’m really looking forward to an internship and not just because I need the credits to graduate. I really want to experience the day to day operations in a business. It will help me be more comfortable in my knowledge of the working world and how to go about being a professional in that sense. Like I said earlier about an internship not being handed to me, a job certainly won’t be any different. I really need to fight for myself and put my name out there.
One thing I’ve noticed my parents do that I want to pick up is getting into a routine more. During March and April last year when it was just my roommate and I in our house off campus and doing online classes I had a bad schedule for a while. Basically I’d wake up and go to my few classes and then say I’m going to do homework that day and then put it off until late and say I’ll do it tomorrow. I started really making a schedule for myself and gave certain times of the day to do what I needed. One hour a day I made it to do some kind of workout for Football, and two or three hours after would be for getting some assignments done. I found this incredibly more useful and made my work ethic and energy to do anything a lot higher.
Lastly one thing I’ve noticed over the years in the professional world is that it’s not always what you know, but who you know. I think making connections and networking with people will be very important for me down the road. Creating good relationships with others can help me land a job that I could really want or just help me in life in general for just being known as a good person and professional. A resume is something you need and everyone wants a really good one, but it’s not only about what’s written on it. On my resume seen here I have my important qualities and work experience.
Businesses see many applications and resumes for jobs and I bet it can get really boring. I’m sure they look for people who are unique and different from the rest and are intrigued by those applicants. I know that it’s just not about what’s written on a resume, but how someone is a person, friend and a worker because that matters just as much.
Dry Run Video
Journal 3
For The Lone Wolf Speech I want to focus on How to become a better version of my professional self. The reason I chose this is because I’m a senior and I will be in the professional world very soon. I will connect to the class by asking a question or two to engage them and have them thinking. I will also connect with the class by talking about my experiences and in school and sports and how they can help me in my next step in life. I know a few people play sports at UNE in class and I can show what I’ve learned or how to go about their career here. I will try to talk about what I’ve done wrong at certain times that the audience can take as advice in their college careers. I think another way to possibly connect with the audience is to give some funny experiences where I’ve learned something about the world or myself that would help engage the class.
The reason I chose this topic for the speech again is because I’m a senior in college and writing this could actually help me get more prepared for the jump. There’s no point for me to find a better academic version of myself because if I haven’t already than I’m too late. Since being a freshman I think I’ve learned some good lessons on how to be a better student that can also apply in my professional life.
One big topic I will talk about in the speech is to take more ownership of my life and start doing things for myself rather than people helping me with everything. One example is my internship, I tried to get one for this summer but that stopped because of covid-19. What I did however, was email and talk to all these companies and then have zoom interviews which was a big step for me since I’ve never done that before. Another thing I’ll talk about is what I learned in sports from playing football and being in school that can help me in my next phase. Finally I would talk about being patient because sometimes the right fit or right company isn’t what I’m going to be in right after college. I just have to keep putting myself out there and working my hardest to find something I love.
Peer Review Reflection
After listening to my dry run video my group gave me some good tips and feedback for my final draft. First they said I had to many filler words and to help me fix that I should read and say my speech multiple times so I am more fluid in what I want to say. Another member also said to use my visual in a more meaningful way. I just sort of flashed it in because I was unsure of how to incorporate it into my speech. After hearing his idea I have a much greater grasp of how to flow my visuals smoothly into my speech. As for advice feedback I gave to my peers, for one person I told them to find a different place to record because there was a glare over their face. For another person I mentioned that it was great that their speech was so open about themselves and how they have improved their academic life. I thought what this person talked about was very personal and intriguing and could connect to the audience, but it didn’t exactly answer the prompt question. I told that person to focus more on what you’ll continue to do to become a better student and not just telling students what not to do.
Journal 11 Reflection of Speech
I think that having this process of drafting, peer review, and then final draft was really helpful to have us put our best work out in final form. The ability to have peers give feedback on our work is helpful and I’ve done it in other classes and the results have been the same. The amount of time we got to work on it was also good because it allowed us enough time to focus on each aspect of the project and make it exactly how we want it. Going forward I hope we can do more peer review because feedback from peers helps us see things in our own work we may not normally see. For example in my rough draft speech, I didn’t notice the amount of times I used filler words. I made sure for the final speech I went over it multiple times and tried to correct myself where I would say those filler words.
