Public speaking was the first module my class completed in TY. I was very nervous about taking part in this class an doing the exam. Speaking in front of anyone isn't something I enjoy and when we were told we had to make a speech for an external examiner I wasn't very enthusiastic about the whole thing.
During our classes, we learnt about how to make a good speech and what to include in your speech to make it meaningful and inspiring. we learnt about all of the different speech techniques that make a good speech. The aim of this module was to make us aware of how to speak in front of others confidently and how to get your point across to the audience.
If I'm honest, 'I believe that this module was useful in the way that we all now know how to make a good speech but if I was to complete this module again, I still haven't gained the confidence to speak in big groups confidently to express my opinion. I think it was useful to some but if the person doesn't want to speak in public, the person wont have the confidence to speak in public.
I decided to do my speech on the impacts of social media on the teenagers of today. I wanted to get the point across that social medias negative impacts have a worse effect on teenagers. The point of my speech was to make people more aware the negative impacts of social media rather than the positives because I believe that people should be made aware of what environment their subjecting themselves too.
The days before the exam were very nerve wrecking, but the exam itself was actually fine between having your power point, flashcards and plenty of time to prepare, it went better than I expected. The examiner asked you a few questions after your speech about why you chose that topic and where you got your information.
Overall, I think this module was useful if you wanted it to be, but if you had the incorrect mind set and weren't up for learning a new skill, you most likely wont see the benefit in it.
My Public Speaking Speech
The Impact of Social Media on Teenagers Today Good morning/afternoon everyone, my name is Rachel Morris and i'd like to speak on behalf of many people who believe social media shouldn't be used by young, naive and uneducated children. Social media is displayed in many forms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. These are the most popular social medias used by the younger generation today. Teenagers are using social media in a negative way, searching for popularity and likes on their most recent photo. I believe social media should be used to communicate with friends and family living abroad, not to have the amount of likes and followers determine where you stand in your generation. Social media is used by most teenagers today, it's a known fact that the children of today use social media in a negative and a positive way. Sixty-six percent of teenagers have used Facebook on a day to day basis since 2015. Many use Facebook to connect with people living abroad, but some uneducated teens use it to intimidate people. The negative impact of social media is the disgusting, violent and disappointing behaviour of some teenagers thinking it is ok to bully others online because you are able to delete or edit your messages after they've been sent. Being a witness of this behaviour makes you wonder if being involved on these websites is a good idea or just another way of being attacked by those who think they're better than you. Being involved on social media can also have a positive impact by boosting your confidence and making new friends. Having social media is another way of communicating with friends and family, you can share photos with them to let them know how you’re getting on and what you’re up to.Many people use that feature incorrectly, such as stalking people and sharing inappropriate photos. The two most popular social medias used by teenagers are Facebook and Snapchat. A lot of teens think that after you send a ‘snap’ it disappears after the time frame added (at a maximum of 10 seconds), which actually isn't the case. Those messages can be unknowingly screenshotted or rediscovered using police software. The impact that these disappearing messages have on teenagers of today is that if somebody is harassing or bullying them through Snapchat, they have no way of proving that unless they are willing to go to the police, wouldn't this be considered embarrassing by the people of today considering everything else that is going on?? Instagram is also very popular today. Instagram allows you to share your favourite pictures and videos to your followers. The amount of likes you get on a photo determines whether you are ‘popular’ or not, this drops many people's self esteem by not reaching the preferred amount of likes on your photo causing them to feel bad about themselves and where they sit in their generation. The impact that this system has on teenagers makes them feel they shouldn't express themselves in the way they want because it's deemed embarrassing to only get a certain amount of likes. In my opinion, this is a major problem today and that for whatever reason people can't express themselves freely, this certainly should not be one of them. Many teenagers are afraid or lack the confidence to confront bullies face to face so they use social media as a barrier. This can also be used against bullies because if they decide to fight back all of their messages have been written down over text and can be used as proof. As you can see there are some positive impacts of social media but there are many more negative impacts on the young people of today, which makes you wonder if it's actually in any way a good idea to subject yourself to that environment just to follow the crowd.