Break break no break

http://youtu.be/zloxPwxllgk

Happy holiday!!!

It's My Turn

Last time in my speech, I asked everyone to go through a small game called "Self-reflection". Now it's my turn to play the game, but only at a smaller scale: my written speech.

I like my speech because it has the "My" factor in it. Personally, I prefer the light-hearted style with a bit of humor and abnormal description. In this speech, all those factors are present. Even though the speech talks about a serious life matter, the tone throughout the speech is not unsmiling and grim at all. In my writing process, I tried to use several funny simile and quotations that came up in my mind to make the theme seem less heavy. Another factor that help to lighten the topic and the speech is the way I approach the question. In order to engage the audience in the series of questions that I have prepared, I turned them into a mini game. In my opinion, such approach could attract and maintain attention from the listeners. Last but not least, I feel confident about my catchy opening.

Of course, my speech is not perfect. My written speech does not sound like a smooth, formal essay or such. It is more of a spoken speech with a lot of interaction with the audience. Thus, when people read the script of it, it is highly likely that they would get confused. Not to mention, the content is relatively long and dense, so people may get bored or lost in the middle of the speech, which could lead to the failure of my speech.


When I had the chance to watch my classmates delivered their speech this week, I learned a lot. First, as I mentioned above, memorization could contribute greatly to the success of a speech. It establishes a control over the flow of the speech and the attention from the audience. I also realize the memorization helps to create a better tone for the speech. When people do not memorize the speech and have to read from the screen, they tend to be monotone throughout the speech. In addition, I found out the effect of media supplement for the speech. For some speech, having media could vastly enhance the delivery as well as the attractiveness of the speech. From what I have seen, I have developed what I need to work on with my speech.

My speech relies heavily on interaction with the audience. Thus, I need to prepare my slides and media components of the speech thoroughly in order to help the audience understand my ideas well. I would also need to practice on pacing. In the "dry" delivery in class, I talked considerably fast . I would have to adjust my pace slower, while maintaining the audience's interest. As my teacher suggested, I should give the listeners a period of time to answer the questions that I pose and to absorb what I say. In addition, I have to work on memorization in order to convey the ideas more clearly and naturally. Without sufficient memorization, my body languages and emotions would be somewhat restraint. Memorization and keeping the audience's attention would be the two biggest challenges in this assignment for me.

I am looking forward to delivering my speech. If you have not had the chance to read my script for the speech, feel free to do so and give some more suggestions. Here is the link: hangmydoan.blogspot.com

Speech Revision - Who Am I

*ask the audience* - Who are you? Who am I? Have you ever questioned about your identity? Have you ever tried to figure out how you should be?

If you have been struggling with finding who you are, then it's OK. Don't freak out! "You are not alone" - quote Michael Jackson. There are millions of people on the world who feel lost, just like you and me. There are people who, until the end of their life, could not find their personality and understand themselves. It's like Peter Pan trying to catch his evasive shadow. Self-discovery is a seemingly never-ending and challenging journey. However, with a little help from the tool called self-reflection, your self-discovery trip would become much easier.

Let's go back a little bit. Before we go deeper into this tool, please allow me to explain why we need to develop self-awareness. Put simply, if you are self-aware, then you would be successful and happy. Knowing yourself, you could make wiser decisions that you don't have to think back about or wondering and regret. Knowing yourself, you could develop and utilize your strength while trying to fix and fill in your weaknesses. Employers like people who understand themselves well. A group work would be smoother if everyone knows their strengths and weaknesses, especially the leaders. Self-awareness makes your life so much easier and enjoyable. If self-awareness is not very important, I wouldn't have tried to pull you away from your computer and YouTube to listen to me rambling here.

Now what do you have to be aware of with self-awareness? Two words: personal identity. This term refers to a wide range of things, from your styles - the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you dress, to your actions and characteristics ("Psychology: How to build personal identity", For Dummies) (put up pictures of style and such) All of the little things in your life help build up your identity.

If you are now ready to save FIFA for another time and go on finding your hidden identity instead, then let me introduce you to a good helpful companion, self-reflection. Self-reflection helps you gain a deep and thorough insights about yourself, both in the past, in the present and in the future. Self-reflection requires you to dig deep down into your soul and mind, before it helps you advance in the self-discovery journey. However, not all types of self-reflection could be useful. A successful self-reflection is a process after which you would feel satisfied that you have learned something about yourself.

Now, you are probably missing your FIFA a bit. What would you say if I let you play a game called 'self-reflection'. Look at this picture. This is the pyramid of reflection.

(Diagram based on "Scaling the pyramid of self-reflection: a model and an assignment for the preparation of inclusive leaders" by Angela Webster-Smith)

 Each step is a level and the base at the end is the final boss. Your weapon would be: a piece of paper, a pen or a pencil, and most important of all, your mind. To pass each level, you need to answer given questions after digging deep in your mind and soul. Take your time, though.

Okay. Ready. Set. Go
*Mario game sound*

1. Character

The first boss we need to tackle is Character. Write down these questions and ask yourself:

- What adjectives would you use to describe yourself? Why

- What adjectives would your friends and family use to describe you? Why?

Are you done soldiers? Before moving to the next level, you need three keys to unlock the door. To retrieve them, simply pick three adjectives that best describe you.

 *Mario game sound*

2. Habits

Congratulations! You've passed the first level. Let's move on to Habit.

- What do you often do in your free time?
Are you writing them down?

Now think carefully about each activities you list and answer the following questions:

- Why do you do those activities?

- What do they say about you?

Have some good deep thought and answers? Take your time, I am here with you - quote Michael Jackson again. Done? Let's keep going then.

3. Actions:

"Action speaks louder than words". Did you here that? Mr. Action is inviting you to conquer him. First, he wants to tell you a story. Did you know that during a research called American Voter, people were classified accordingly to their voting behavior and the reasons behind their votes? Are you surprised? Okay, now Here are his question:

- What would you do in certain situations, especially urgent or critical ones? Why? What could they possibly say about you?

4. Words

Now that you have gone pass Mr. Action, Ms. Words would not let you alone. She wants you to write these questions down and then ponder about them:

- How would you characterize your writing/ speaking style? (Sarcastic, light-hearted, sweet, etc.)
Hold your pencil high and slay these questions my brave soldiers.

5. Attitude

Are you tired? We are halfway there. Try out these question from the Attitude boss:

- What is your attitude toward life? Certain situations? (difficult at school or at work, stress, success, etc.)
- What is your attitude toward this activity? - bonus question

6. Emotion

In this stage, you have to look back at the times you face certain memorable events:

- How do you feel? Why are you feeling this way?

Once you have answered those questions, you may have a light bulb above your head, indicating you have discovered something new about yourself. Are you feeling good? Great, let's go to the next level.

7. Thought

Folks, heads up. This is one of the most important level in our game. Thus, be careful and thoughtful with these challenging questions regarding the times you experience memorable moments again:

- What did/do you think at that moment? Why so?

Take a step further and ask yourself: 

- What do your thoughts possibly reflect about you?

 Are you still with me? We are almost there, so answer these questions to the best of your ability. Then sharpen your pencil. Here comes the last challenge: The Heart boss.

8. Heart

All the steps we have tackled so far are under a huge influence from the heart. They are all puzzle pieces that you need to put together to create the heart. Time to conquer the biggest boss ladies and gentlemen. This time we only have one question:

- What do you believe in? 

Hint: Your beliefs would often be an ideal that closely related to all your previous findings at previous questions. The answer would be the perfect picture in which all other pieces are put together perfectly and smoothly.

Phew, this is the end guys. If you have been able to defeat the bosses and discover many things about yourself, especially your complicated heart, then congratulations. You have come far in this journey and you have a relatively strong understanding of yourself. For those of you who have not been able to do so, do not freak out. This is not an one-time-only game. This is a special game. With time, your experience and many other factors would further shape your traits, and allow you to beat this game easier. In addition, the more you play, the better you would be at it. Thus, remember to play it regularly. As you play, keep in mind the main purpose: Who am I?

References:

Cash, Adam. "Psychology: How to Build Your Personal Identity." For Dummies. Dummies.biz, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry. "Public Opinion." Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy. New York: Longman, 2009. 204-05. Print.

Webster-Smith, Angela. "Scaling the Pyramid of Self Reflection: A Model and an Assignment for the Preparation of Inclusive Leaders." International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation 6.1 (2011): n. pag. ERIC. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.