President Obama's speech on Bin Laden's death

This speech exemplifies a presidential address. The reason for this was for President Obama to let the nation know that Osama bin Laden had been killed. This speech does correspond with this occasion. He starts out with confirming that America’s enemy had indeed died and then goes into further detail on the horrific attacks on September 11^, 2001 and why it was important to every American family. The president was very clear and spoke slowly so that everyone could understand what he was saying which is a good technique. The audiences of this speech are the many families that were affected by the tragic event caused by Bin Laden and the other American families. Obama does a good job of realizes this and shows sympathy toward them. He acknowledges their heartache and suffering. I know these people are the president’s intended audience because he explains their heartache and wants to let them know that they can breath a little bit better knowing Osama Bin Laden is dead. These people would have the most interest in this speech. All in all Obama is a terrific public speaker as he knows who his audience is and makes them feel important as well as talking slowly, not forgetting any facts, and he kept going even when he stumbled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNYmK19-d0U&feature=player_detailpage

Video from youtube.com

Public speaking

Courtesy of YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrrBs8JBQo&feature=player_detailpage

When I think of public speaking, the first speech that comes to mind is a motivational speech from the movie Braveheart. The speech is given by William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, who is the leading Scottish knight at a battle for Scottish Independence. At the time of the battle, Scotland's freedom is being threatened. The soldiers realize that they will die if they fight, but it comes at the cost of Freedom. Every time that I listen to this speech I get chills because of the effect that Wallace's words have. There are multiple reasons that the speech is so effective, but the main reason is because of the seriousness of his words. Each and every word is motivated by the constant gloom of Independence. In the speech Wallace says that death and freedom is better than life and confinement. These words are so persuading and effective that the entire army wants to fight. To make it effective he uses certain future possibilities and certain vocabulary so that everyone in the audience (the army) gets the message. After hearing it a couple of times it sounds like public advocacy. I also think it is extremely persuading because of his background. He has a good deal of ethos or credibility so the audience would tend to agree with him and support him.

Commencement Speech

When I hear the phrase “public speaking,” the most familiar example that comes to mind is speaking behind a podium, addressing a group of people, and providing the audience with a significant message. For me, public speaking is terrifying and whenever I am in the position to deliver a speech to a group of people, I feel very nervous and vulnerable. However, speaking directly to my classmates at our high school commencement ceremony was surprisingly not terrifying at all. I was named the Salutatorian of my high school graduating class. When I heard the news that I would be making a speech at graduation, I immediately started feeling nervous. Not only was I going to be speaking to my classmates, but also to their families. I practiced my speech in front of the mirror numerous times and also presented my speech to my close friends which made me feel as though I was well prepared. When the time came to present my speech at the ceremony, an unusual feeling of calmness came over me. Practicing my speech made it easy for me to present my farewell words to my classmates in a clear, strong way. The audience’s eye contact and undivided attention for the duration of the speech made me feel very comfortable. At the end of my speech, my classmates stood up simultaneously and applauded. Those moments gave me a great deal of confidence and courage to stand before an audience and speak. I’m sure that public speaking will never be my favorite thing to do, but this experience absolutely helped me deal with my fear of speaking.

President Obama's speech (Nikki Schneidman's blog entry)

This speech exemplifies a presidential address. The reason for this was for President Obama to let the nation know that Osama bin Laden had been killed. This speech does correspond with this occasion. He starts out with confirming that America’s enemy had indeed died and then goes into further detail on the horrific attacks on September 11^, 2001 and why it was important to every American family. The president was very clear and spoke slowly so that everyone could understand what he was saying which is a good technique. The audiences of this speech are the many families that were affected by the tragic event caused by Bin Laden and the other American families. Obama does a good job of realizes this and shows sympathy toward them. He acknowledges their heartache and suffering. I know these people are the president’s intended audience because he explains their heartache and wants to let them know that they can breath a little bit better knowing Osama Bin Laden is dead. These people would have the most interest in this speech. All in all Obama is a terrific public speaker as he knows who his audience is and makes them feel important as well as talking slowly, not forgetting any facts, and he kept going even when he stumbled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNYmK19-d0U

video from youtube.com

Natalie Portman's Acceptance Speech

When I think of public speaking, acceptance speeches and the cliché, “I’d like to thank the academy,” comes to my mind. The example I chose was Natalie Portman’s acceptance speech for best actress at the Golden Globes this past year. Seeing someone famous achieve an award for their work and watching their reaction to receiving it makes the acceptance speech all the more believable. Acceptance speeches, in my opinion, show great emotion and a tone of voice in which is a familiarity to all people. Natalie Portman’s naturally kind-hearted personality showed through when she spoke at the Golden Globes. When she spoke of her family, friends, and other people who helped her along the way, it made me, as the audience, empathize with what she was saying. Also, her fluency with words while feeling surprised and out of her element was very impressive, especially because she spoke in front of millions of viewers. Plus, it was enjoyable: her speech wasn’t too lengthy, she controlled her emotions, and she was, overall, pleasant to listen to.

Courtesy of Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLVUwSZtJMs

Lou Gehrig's "I consider myself..."

Henry Lou Gehrig gave one of the best speeches in all of sport history back in the late 1930’s. Faced with a terrible disease that killed him a few months later, Lou Gehrig spoke after his final game in Yankee pinstripes in front of his home crowd. Public speaking in sports usually has to do with motivational speeches given by players or coaches. However in this famous example, Gehrig gives a retirement speech that will always be remembered by sports fans around the world. He embraced his teammates, coaches, and the crowd for all the support throughout his very successful career. During the speech, Gehrig talked about his disease to the fans, and how he was blessed to be educated and able to play the game of baseball. He thanked his parents as well for always being there for him. The way he presented this speech is the reason why it will always be remembered. Gehrig got in front of sixty five thousand or so fans and talked straight from his heart. He used repetition of phrases such as, “Sure I am lucky,” and a killer closing line. This speech fits the occasion of Gehrig’s untimely retirement because it was short, heartfelt, and modest.

Player of the Year Speech

When the phrase "Public Speaking" is brought up, I instantly think about standing behind a podium with an audience present, while giving a speech. I've had many experiences with public speaking, but the most nerve raking speech I had to give is when I won the "Player of the Year" award for football. Players and family members gathered at Damon's for a banquet of Centre County's Player of the Year award. We had a very delicious dinner before the presentation and then gathered to meet each player. When the presentation started, they slowly credited each player and how their season went. When the time came and they started to present the award, i thought to myself, "What am I going to say if I win this award?" As my name was called, I was filled with excitement and joy because it was a great honor to win this award. As I walked up and received the award, I was asked to give a speech. I was extremely nervous because I was not prepared to give a speech. When I reached the podium and looked at the audience, I started to awkwardly smile because I was nervous. When I gave my speech, I didn't speak loud and I took long pauses to think of what I was going to say next. I was just telling myself that I couldn't wait to go home because of public speaking is something I'm not as good at as I want to be and my speech definitely reflected it.