Purpose Statement
This is an impromptu speech and I will focus on which of the two pets is liked by people and for what reason. Thus, the thesis of my speech will compare benefits of dogs and cats.
Introduction
“Ladies and gentlemen, the debate of dogs versus cats has raged over the history and almost every time, dogs are considered to be better. The argument is that dogs make man the best friend while cats do not have this instinct. So why do we keep them in our houses?
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Thesis
Unlike cats, as an owner-dog will give you "unconditional love" and always faithful. Rarely, cats notice your absence in the house. If there is a problem with the homestead, for instance, say an intruder, a dog serves the purposes of noticing you or even protecting. What about the cat? We all know, absolutely nothing.
Dogs are known for being obedient pets. For example, if you command, it will either, lie, or heel. More often cat will smirk and then walk away. It is also clear that training dogs are easier than cats. In fact, training a cat may even be impossible.
Dogs tend to listen to the owner's talk by either tilting their head or a wagging tail. Cats seem to have less interest in human talks or speech. Whenever dogs hear their names, they come over while cats do not even recognize their name being called. At times, dogs seem to understand owners’ emotion and when sad, they may try to comfort. Cats are more interested in their life and do not even recognize owners' emotions.
Conclusion
With this, the reasons why dogs are liked or seem better than cats I'm sure they are many more. These are just a few I have come up with today. Of all pets, dogs are friendlier to human. And cats? Maybe at times, they are good.”
Part II
Reflection
The topic for the speech was "why dogs are better than cats" and I had only three minutes to present to my audiences. At first, I was nervous as I could not think clearly and felt like my thoughts were jumbling out. But since I was already on the stage and audiences were clapping for me I had to calm myself. As part of the speech, I made a conclusion. In my view, I summarized on the major points of the speech. With these skills, it will be easier to write a report of the findings when conducting a research in future.
Throughout the speech, though I had informative materials, it was possible to deliver fluently. The attention of the audiences was not divided in that they did not listen just to snatch my words as they mind wander to other things. With this, they had no hard time keeping their mind focused on my talk. However, I had to focus on various things to keep the audiences active. One of these activities is maintained eyes contact without frequently consulting my notes. All these defined my ability to use an extemporaneous delivery style. Before the presentation, I had clearly organized four main points and focused on the comparison feature between dogs and cats. Also, I prepared to transit effectively from one character to another. I would change from acting like dogs and switch to cats’ behavior.
Though I appropriately used my notes, I had to avoid writing them down or converting into an outline. If this happened, I would have prepared the exact words to use on the talk or delivery. The problem would have been my delivery reflecting a more complex sentence structure but presented in a formal language. From the introduction of the talk to the conclusion, I had to maintain eye contact especially when asking rhetorical questions such as "So why do we keep them in our houses?" I began and ended with a warm smile to warm up the audiences quickly and put them at ease from what they have learned. Further, I had to use gestures in a natural way to demonstrate how dogs tilt their head or wagtails. The postures and facial expressions kept on changing depending on the pet I am describing. For instance, when explaining how cats seem less concerned with human talk even if they are called by their name, I had to make a dull facial expression.
Based on the audience response, the facial expression was appropriate. However, I had to be “my own” and avoid overdoing it. The reason was if I forced or used a facial expression that is not natural, it could have portrayed a negative impact on the speech or compromises my sincerity. Most of the responses and evaluation showed that I was not loud enough to be heard clearly but I spoke with vocal variety.
Overall, I believe that I have a successful speech and reiterating to the audiences the benefits of owning dogs rather than cats. I believe that I managed to clearly phrase my points and portray a true picture of the topic.
Conclusion
Regardless of the limited time that I was given for presentation, I presented four valid arguments between benefits of cats and dogs. Although I think I did well, there are points that need to be improved. First, after I quickly wrote some of the points and thoughts to present, I immediately went off for my speech. This contributed me being nervous and I had to take some time to calm myself in front of the audience. At this point, I think it was good if I prepared slowly or slow down while speaking to avoid being nervous. Next time if given a chance, I would take some time to gather my confidence and avoid just freaking out as much.
Though I made sure that I caught audience attention by asking rhetoric questions, some of them felt they were not directly targeted. This needs to be improved by ensuring that I target the audiences directly by asking close-ended questions. With this, they will be required to raise their hands to answer ( Peelle and Sommers, 2015) . Another mistake that I made was to lack any readable visuals charts. I think I could have carried chats with the position of dogs and cats and how they react to the different situation. Further, without these visual aids, it was difficult to some of the audience to create a mental picture from my speech. From the audiences’ response, I was not loud enough and some of them strained to listen and understand the topic. Thus, I need to adjust my voice, to speak louder and make sure that everyone can hear. At the same time, to avoid speaking continuously or too fast without a pause. A pause in between the speech provides audiences with a time to reflect and think.
References
Peelle, J. E., & Sommers, M. S. (2015). Prediction and constraint in audiovisual speech perception. Cortex , 68 , 169-181.
