Key Club: Public Speaking Analysis

In the eleven chapter of A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking, the authors talk about

So far, I have altered how meetings are conducted from last year so that the student administration has more control of communicating ideas to the members. Later in the year, I plan to incorporate additional volunteer opportunities and I want to have more group conversations with the members to hear their ideas and try to merge those ideas into positive changes that can be made. This leadership opportunity is starkly different from that of coordinating a 5k. Being the president of NHS has given me additional exposure to public speaking skills, decision making skills, proper ways to conduct meetings, and ways to present myself professionally. Despite their differences, these leadership opportunities have helped me advance myself in my journey to accomplish my goals. The skills I gained and refined from these opportunities will undoubtedly assist me when trying to procure grants, build connections, and become a research team leader.

On October 28th, 2015, Lone Star College of Kingwood hosted an event called the human library. It was held on campus for students who were interested to participate. The human library was created for students to gain knowledge of obstacles individuals experienced in life, such as living in the south as a black woman in the 1950’s, being homeless, and being a religion that is frowned upon in society. The purpose of the event is to teach students about other cultures, social classes, and hardship. The speakers inform our generation their own personal experience rather than information in a text book.

In High School, I was involved in Key Club for 4 years. To be honest, when I first heard of Key Club I thought it was just an organization that collected “keys”. So I decided to go to the first meeting where I learned that Key Club members actually gave back to the community by being actively involved in community events and organizing service projects. During my junior year of high school, I served as the Secretary of the club. As Secretary, I compiled the number of hours that each of the 150+ members served each month at various events. Over the year, I realized that while our club was large, only a small group of members were active and attended the service events. In order to take more action, during my senior year, I became President and

The Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual center was able to collaborate and bring a really amazing author. As everyone welcomed Phil Klay, my first impression was that he was a very funny guy and that his speech was going to be enjoyable. Klay started telling the story of when he was an 11-year-old boy who liked to read books, not any kind of book a child would usually read, but one that involved martyrs. Such books told the stories of people and how they were saved from death. However, he mentioned how “God turned his head” and some woman was killed. Later on, Klay mentions his experience with a Chaplin who was a father of 5 children and tried to keep kids alive during battle and was forced to apply morphine to make their death less painful.

Starting from Girl Scouts to CJSF, my early love for aiding others quickly developed. However, my most pivotal service experience is my involvement in Key Club. As I became further involved in this organization, the thought of advancing my role by becoming an officer became very persistent in my mind. Being extremely shy and withdrawn, the idea of being a leader was incredibly intimidating to even fathom. Despite my shyness and anxiety causing me to doubt myself, my love for serving others outweighed any uncertainty I had in myself. After a daunting speech and election process, I gladly accepted the challenge of a club secretary, which has given me the opportunity to not only serve my community, but the members of my club. My experience as a Key Club officer has enriched my perception of myself and widened my range to serve. It has taught me to take risks and step out of my comfort zone in order to pursue my passions. Key Club has served as a platform for me to become more engrossed in my community and lead me to consider careers in which I can help those in

Grade Point Average, in which they may not comply with by the end of their high school

In the beginning of my sophomore year I decided to sign up for Key Club because I thought it would look great on my college applications. However, I soon realized that Key Club isn’t just an organization to help the community but also to make a difference in someone else’s life. Key Club gives the opportunity to connect with others on a meaningful and personal level. Furthermore, being involved in Key Club has been a life changing experience because it reshaped my perspective on how to make a difference in the world.

Although this is my first year becoming involved with the American Red Cross at Duke, I have experience in working with the Red Cross elsewhere. Throughout my high school career, I became incredibly active in my school’s Key Club. To provide background information, Key Club is an international youth service organization, providing students with opportunities to lead others and serve their community. The Key Club at my school organized blood drives several times each year through the American Red Cross. Students on the executive board of the club were tasked with recruiting volunteers to donate blood, running passes to students, and ensuring that the proper paperwork was completed on time. The

Coming from Cuba has exposed me to the difficulties people undergo daily due to economic circumstances. Globally, countless individuals live in grievous conditions. This is why, since high school and throughout college, I have been involved in several clubs, specialized in my career choice as well as in helping the community. A few of them include Pre-nursing and Physician Assistant Club, Student Government Association, and Phi Theta Kappa. These clubs offered me the opportunity of assisting diverse people while acquiring leadership skills and teamwork strategies. For instance, one of the most astonishing experiences was volunteering at the Women’s Breast and Heart Initiative. This organization made me a mediator in the approach of saving lives

I have always had great passion for helping others and I thought the best to do that is through my community. So, when I heard about service clubs, I took the initiative to try something different. I ended up with one of the best things, Key Club. It’s centered around volunteering and giving back to the community. Through the club, I’ve been given the opportunity to make valuable friendships with likeminded people who want to have fulfilling experiences volunteering. I have always had great passion for helping others and Key club represented the perfect opportunity to express that. After my first year, I wanted to put back into the club what it had given me.

Michelle Obama once said during her Velvet Glove Convention Speech, “We learned about honesty and integrity that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.” This quotation means that learning comes from honestly and integrity, speaking the truth is important in order to succeed in the future. This quotation relates to the Ted Talk speech How great leaders inspire action, by Simon Sinek because he explains how many companies such as Apple succeed with consumers buying there products through the method of the golden circle. Leaders who make an impact in society, companies, and many high officials that inspire us, Simon Sinek revealed there

Fraleigh, Douglas, Joseph S. Tuman, and Peter Arkle. Speak Up!: An Illustrated Guide to Public Speaking. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. Print.

There is no question that after giving about four speeches, I have become a much better overall public speaker. In the beginning of the semester, I would tend to get nervous during some of my speeches and consequently the delivery of my speech would be greatly affected. If I had made a mistake, my level of nervousness would drastically increase and I wouldn’t know how to correct it. Although today I have improved on these aspects. Normally in order to control my nerves I try to think as positively as possible. This is critical because when I start to think even a little bit negatively then I severely hurt my chances of giving a good speech. Instead today, my main priority is to stay very confident and tell myself that I’m going to perform fine.

This paper will go over the three main goals I would like to achieve in my public speaking career. My first goal is to improve upon the structure of my speeches to ensure that the topics that I discuss are in an order that will make sense to the audience. My second main goal I have for improving my public speaking skills is to improve on my confidence before, during, and after my speech. Finally, my last goal is to raise my delivery skills when I am giving my speech to assure the audience that I am confident and that I am a credible person. Together, these goals will help improve my public speaking skills.