Public Speaking

After watching my first speech and then watching my last speech I realized I have learned alot about public speaking this year and I have really improved. On my first speech I was quiet and I said 'like' many times throughout my presentation. In my persuasive speech, which was my last speech, I talked loudly and clearly. I also did not say 'like' that many times in this speech. Instead of 'like' though I said um so i still need to watch my fillers. I think that in the future if I slpw down and think more as I am presenting I can limit the amount of fillers I used. I also think that the persuasive speech was the hardest speech we did this year and the informative was the easiest so im proud of myself for still improving with the harder speech. The last thing I want to work on is my eye contact. Although from the first speech to now I have improved, my eye contact is limited because I tend to look at my power point too much. Next time I will use less information on my power point so that I don't have to read it. Even though I know the information, the nerves always get to me so its easier to just read it so I also need to calm down. Overall, I think I really improved on my public speaking this year and I am more confident in my abilities to make speeches now.

Demonstrative Speech

I did my demonstrative speech on how to do a pirouette. Some things I did well on were my organization. From the last speech I think I was better prepared and I had a more interesting hook. My transitions for the steps were smooth and easy to understand. I think the strongest part of my speech was how I 'dumbed down' the technical terms for people who don't know about dance to be able to understand the steps. This part was the hardest part because I wanted to make sure everyone understood my steps, so I am glad that I was successful in that.

Some things I think I should improve on still were how many times I said 'like'. On my last speech I said that a lot as well and even though I tried to focus on fixing that, when I get up there and am nervous it is a habit. I think to break that habit I should practice my speech more at home and not let there be any pauses because thats when the 'likes' slip in. I also thought I needed to slow down my talking this time. I thought that having a friend up there with me would make the speech easier but now I don't think that is true so in the future I wont be using live help. The main thing I want to improve is how I kept saying 'like' so I am planning to fix that in my next speech.

I did my informative speech on dream analysis. I thought I did well overall but there are a few things I can improve on. My hook in the begining was a smooth transition into my speech but it was a bit boring as well. In the future I will try to come up with a more exciting intro. My power point was a bit crowded and I think I should have tried to cut down the information that I posted on it. I had good information but it was alot to read in the short amount of time I was on one slide. I also didnt look up from my notecards alot. I think next time my speech would be better if I tried to make eye contact with everyone in the class at least once. Throughout my speech I said 'like' alot. This gets annoying and I am going to try to stop that in my next speech. The best part of my speech in my opinion were the facts at the end. The facts I included were interesting and I think it was a good way to conclude. All in all my speech was decent and I am happy that I didnt get really nervous or shaky but next time I will try to improve my power point, eye contact, and how I kept saying 'like'.

Cast the Play

Hortensio: Brad Pitt
Traino: Jake Gyllenhaal
Gremio: Johnny Depp
Lucentio: Tobey Maguire
Petruchio: Bradley Cooper
Baptista: Hector Elizondo

Bianca: Kristen Bell

Katherine: Michelle Trachtenberg

Humor and Satire Terms

Black Humor: This quote is a great example of black humor because it talks about flaws in the school system which is something we don't normally talk about.


"Well, my English teacher was Japanese, my reading teacher told me to look it up, my coach was fat, and my shop teacher was missing fingers. What was the question - why do I hate the public school system?"

Hyperbole: This quote shows exaggeration because you wouldn't really die from laughing.

"I nearly died laughing."

Play On Words: This image shows play on words by taking the meaning literally and illustrating how a phrase can mean different things because the words become the subject.

Situational Humor: This is a summary of an episode of Friends. It shows situational humor because the situation of the lists and Ross meeting the person he just eliminated is ironic and funny.

Joey gets carried away with a mailbox project and ends up building an entertainment center; he mistakenly cuts Chandler's door in half in the process. Then he gets sidetracked on re-tiling Monica's bathroom floor. Phoebe hangs out with her half-brother, Frank Jr., in hopes of getting to know him better; he misunderstands when she tells him she gives people "massages and stuff". The gang all consider what five celebrities would be on their "freebie list"--people they can sleep with without anyone getting upset; Ross finally narrows his list down by eliminating Isabella Rossellini... then he bumps into her.

Welcome!

Hey I'm Amber Hawks. I am a junior at Anderson High School. I'm on the varsity dance team. I love to dance. I also dance with a studio on the west side. I work at Bella Hairstyles as a receptionist. I have three younger brothers named Taylor, Travis and Toby. I have a dog, a cat, and two chinchillas that are my favorite pets. I plan on going to college in California, hopefully UCLA. I have no idea what i want to major in. I love going on vacations and I'm going to Brazil this summer to visit a friend. I also like art, sculpture but mainly photography. Old fashion film in black and white is my favorite to take but i like the digital enhancement ones too. I like music like Coldplay, John Mayer, and Dave Matthews. I hate sitting at home bored I always want to go out and do something.