Lackawanna COM125 2022 February Module 2 Discussion (dq1+dq2) Latest

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 2 Discussion

DQ1 Call a Radio Station

Chapter 4 of our text is about overcoming the fear of public speaking.  You know, the best way to overcome the fear of something is to DO it, over and over again.  Here’s what the text suggests:

Put your fear into perspective

Identify specific fears (to better understand them)

Consider the origin of your fears

Prepare and practice

Use relaxation techniques

Use positive self-suggestion

Reconceptualize the role of the audience

          As an exercise in overcoming fear by doing, each of you is going to call in to a talk radio station (Pretend). You are going to assume the role of one of the regular callers to the station; either liberal or conservative.  This way, it won’t be YOU calling in, you’ll be playing a role.  You may have to do a little research if you’re not really politically active, to find out what these people believe.  Try to engage the host with something he/she wants to talk about.  If you do it right the host will do most of the talking!

       Don't tell the person who answers the phone that you're calling for a class.  This is where the roleplay comes in, you are now a talk show listener who's calling to express your opinion.

       You can don't have to call WILK, you can (Pretend) to call any talk radio station you want.  I only suggest WILK because you won't have to wait on hold very long; most of the other talk stations are nationally syndicated so the wait time is 1-2 hours just to get on the air for 20 seconds with Rush Limbaugh or any of the others.  There are other radio stations that are nearby: WPHT (1210am) in Philly, WOR (710am) in New York, WABC (770am) in New York, and NJ 101.5FM in New Jersey.  You can stream all of them online. 

        You’ll need to record your call.  You can do this with your smartphone (on an iPhone it’s called “voice memo”) or just use a cheesy cassette recorder (if you can find one)!  Make SURE you can successfully record before you call the radio station!( Pretend)

         You’ll have to upload the audio of your call to the discussion area so we can ALL hear it and discuss it, at least as it relates to fear of public speaking.

Again: please note that this is all pretend calling a radio station. You only need to upload the audio of you answering a question or calling to comment on a matter.

DQ2 Audience Analysis

Pretend you’re in a crowd (say, at the mall, in downtown Scranton, or at a concert or sporting event) take a good look at your fellow humans (or remember back all those years ago when we could DO that sort of thing!). Do an audience analysis on them. What is their most common demographic? Demographics being age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.  What values do you think they have?  Do they line up with your values?  Write a specific, detailed report about the kind of audience demographics you witnessed. Include numbers. And don't use "my coworkers," "the other people in class," or "church."

Then explain precisely how you would construct a "Grabber" for a speech on the Benefits of Exercise that would relate to that exact audience. Remember to appeal to the entire audience.  What appeals would you use?  How would you motivate or grab them and get them to listen in the first place? Be specific and tell us how these appeals would affect your audience. Remember the "grabber" is the very first thing you say.