Taylor Mali poem reflection

Taylor Mali recently visited our school and spoke about the importance of speaking confidently. It was amazing that he had come to our school and it was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Honestly, I learned more from his mini lesson about speaking than I have in my life. Mr. Mali spread the message of speaking assuredly. He told us not to speak softly, to articulate, and to not lean on anything. I believe this is great advice that public speakers should follow. It is something that is essential because otherwise you will look unprofessional. For this video I used the following images for multiple reasons. First I used them to create an image in one's mind when watching this video. Also I used some of these images to exaggerate the message I was trying to send throughout the poem; the importance of laughing at yourself. 

Lyric Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3rgqNBz0M4&feature=share&list=PLyYEYDZM6caILdaH3zvijHoiLInU5m_2b&index=3

For my Stepping up to the Stage class we had to pick a song that we like and preform it. The only catch was that we couldn't sing it, but instead we had to preform it like a poem or monologue. We also had to use our body to portray most of the words sang in the lyrics. Furthermore, we had to change our tone at least three times in the song. Another thing that also made it difficult was the fact that we had to say it in a perspective different than the actual song.

I think my speech went fairly well. I did all the movements I wanted to and more. For example there were some parts that I just decided to add a movement. I also changed my voice three times which I thought was very good since I thought I would struggle with that. Also we were required to have a prop or use something in the room and  I completed this task. I pointed to the windows which I thought was a good idea. One thing that I would like to change was the fact that sometimes I read the lyrics in the same rhythm, therefore making it boring. I would really like to break that habit because it doesn't sound proffesional and it makes it seem like I'm nervous.

Overall, I think I did a good job of completing what was asked of me but I can still work on my rhythm.

Favorite Musical Dance

I chose this video to show because The Sound of Music is my all time favorite musical. I love how all the characters work together, and the whole movie is written very well. I chose this song especially because I just love how all of the kids all of them have their own solos. I also like how there's a "chorus" in the dance as well as the song where they do the same dance over. I believe that this dance is very creative, and I also like how each of the kids look happy. There were some moments that the dance had to be in beat with the song, and it seemed to be very tough, yet the children worked well with it.  For example, when they are "kicking" the child out of the line and to bed they each do something that corresponds to the song. Also each of their dances had to do with something in the song which I thought was incredible. Overall, I think that is very clever and it's very appealing for me to watch. I wish to do something like this in dance class where we do something that has to do with what the song is saying.

Speech

I believe that my speech didn't go as well as I thought. For example, I wanted to do so much more gestures. I also wanted to change my voice a little more, and I wanted to walk around a lot more. Even though, I did have a few mistakes, I still did a few things that I liked in my speech. For example, there was one part of my speech where I emphasized a word, when I didn't mean to, and it turned out very good. I also had a few moments when I caught eye contact with a few people, and it really made the speech a lot better. 

This speech was about a personal experience that has happened in our life, that has changed us. I talked about the time I moved into my new house, and about how I was so excited about the pool. My intentions for this speech, were not to be about the pool and me riding on it, I meant it to be about how I changed as a person from before to now. For example, how I became more mature, and how I changed to being more optimistic and more happy in my life. I had a lot of challenges when I was writing my speech. For example, I had a lot of trouble figuring out what I was going to talk about, because I never really had an adventurous life. I thought and I thought, and finally I came up with this idea, and I knew it was perfect for this class. Before the speech, I definitely felt very nervous, because I felt like I hadn't practiced it enough, even though I practiced more than I should've. After my speech, I felt a lot better that it was over, and it seemed like it went on forever. I wasn't exactly unhappy about my speech, but I was more disappointed that I didn't do the things that I hoped to. Some of the feedback that I had recieved was that I didn't have enough eye contact, and I agreed with that. When I'm nervous, I try to look down at my paper, more than look at other people, because sometimes it makes me feel uncomfortable, and so I really need to work on that.

I feel that the areas of strength for me s my voice and articulation, because I talk a lot to other people, so most of the time I don't feel uncomfortable. Also, I have taken a few theater classes, so I know how to speak and seem like I'm completely comfortable with my surroundings. The areas that I really need to work on is eye contact, and the swaying that I do when I'm nervous. I'm not sure if anyone notices my "swaying" because most of the time I just tap on my legs, or move my hands in a pattern, but I definitely need to work on it. Also I need to work with eye contact, and feeling more comfortable with myself, and looking at others. 

Overall, I feel like I did a pretty good job, and I feel proud of myself that I had received the award, and I hope the next speech goes as well as this one!