Hello all! I will be sharing my advice for passing speech class from an introvert’s point of view. This class was definitely my hardest class to deal with. I am a very quiet person and prefer to observe rather than talk a lot, so the recitation portion pushed me beyond my limits. You can read a little snippet of my thoughts on this course during the semester here.
My speech class at my school was split into two classes for credit: lecture and recitation. Lecture was what a normal lecture is and recitation was where we actually gave speeches. I will be giving advice on both of these.
Lecture
What did you bring to lecture with you?
- Class Spiral Notebook (with notes from readings)
- Pen
- Textbook
How did you prepare for lecture?
In order to prepare for lecture, I would complete the readings for the week and take notes. I would review my notes the night before lecture and before our professor pulled up the Kahoot quiz in lecture.
How did you take notes during lecture?
I really did not take notes in lecture that much, because the Powerpoints were word-for-word with the textbook. I would simply take notes on anything my professor would say that was not in the book.
How did you prepare for exams?
We only had two exams for this class. My professor was really, really nice. The week before the exam, she would sit in a chair and read of the exam (literally). She would tell us what topics were on there and what we definitions/models we should know. I would simply type out what she read off and made sure to review those topics. Another positive aspect to her was that we were allowed to take our exams at home within a time limit. My professor was very understanding and not as demanding, because the class was only worth 1 credit hour.
Recitation
What did you bring to recitation with you?
- Class folder
- Textbook
- Pen
How did you prepare for recitation?
Nothing. Unless I was delivering a speech, I would simply show up to class and take notes if she ever did give us a mini lecture on anything.
How did you write speeches?
- The most important thing I did was listen to what my instructor wanted. She would also give examples of speeches that stood out to her for good and bad reasons.
- Second, read the rubric. It is important to know what he/she is looking for.
- Formulate a random sticky notes of ideas and then organize thoughts/main points from there. I would then write my speech outline which was required for every speech.
- At the end I would write my outline in a condensed form onto index cards (we were allowed index cards when speaking).
How did you prepare for speeches?
- Practice, practice, practice
- Also, if I was giving a speech where we had to have Powerpoint slides I would make sure to practice with these.
NURSE ANNA 