Hello, I’m Benjamin Schroeder, a freshman at Iowa State University, and this is a page dedicated to the improvements I’ve made to my communication skills and reflect on the development throughout the 2019 Spring Semester. My process for creating and preparing written and oral works has evolved from both the work experience in English 250 and Spcm 212
Let me start with the beginning Idea generation. My process for generating ideas has not evolved much in and of itself, but the ideas I value have changed. Because of the work that I put into SpCm 212, I learned to value topics that are not unanimously agreed upon or are not spoken on often. This can be seen in my work in English 250 by looking at the topic chosen for the documented essay, organic foods. I took this topic as a way to tear away at something that a lot of people will often think of as universally better.
I learned to change the way I approached a topic depending on the audience. While preparing a speech you need to consider stuff such as the audience background. You would assume a base level of understanding that the students of a 300 level computer science class that you would not expect of the general audience. This dictates what you as a speaker needs to define along with the scope and nuance that the speaker should touch on.
My methods of drafting for written works have not changed a lot I write out rudimentary points and develop them into more complete ideas. This is something that I have learned to implement into my oral presentations as well. Rather than developing oral pieces in a way which was more loose, but created a less structured or more rambly piece, I now follow a similar development process to what I had previously used for a written work. This leads to me having a structured and refined response that I did not previously have.
My methods for revision have stayed for the most part the same. I look at the overall structure make sure it is cohesive and says what I want. Then I asses transitions and the smoothness of the assignment. Finally followed by minor working and grammar tweaks. Following independent revision I may or may not leverage those around me to get further feedback from an outside perspective, and evaluate what these people are saying and look if it is something that needs tweaked.
At the start of the semester my most feared type of assignment was one in which I would have to orally speak. As of now I am a speech and communication minor. I struggled with my ability to be comfortable and through practice I am able to be comfortable.