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After the Friday morning class with Mary McNulty I was fully able to reflect on my personal thoughts about public speaking. It can be very daunting and hard to stand in-front of a room full of people you don't know and present them your work. It can be very intimidating and overwhelming to do and even the thought of it can cause anxiety.
In fridays class we were shown techniques to regain confidence while public speaking and ways to slowly overcome the fear. I learned to take deep breathes before talking, make eye contact with my audience, the use of body language and clarity of speech. These steps will help me to progress my skills of public speaking.
I was surprised when reading the Jerry Seinfield's quote to learn the real extent of the fear of public speaking. Even though its surprising to me I can still relate to the fear of public speaking.
In response to Daniel's entry I agree the audience judges the speaker very early so it is important that the speaker should be dressed appropriately and have reasonable knowledge about what they are talking about.

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Friday's class with Mary Mcnulty thought me a lot about public speaking. Having never experienced public speaking before I learned just how difficult it can be. Even though we were only asked to speak briefly as a group, I soon realized how intimidating standing in front of a room full of people is. For this reason I can relate to Jerry Seinfeld's quote. Despite being slightly exaggerated, he makes a valid point on how stressful public speaking is for the majority of people.
Thankfully, after Mary gave us some pointers on how to overcome this fear and speak with confidence, I feel far more assured in my public speaking ability. I hope I can portray this new found confidence and overcome my fear of public speaking when I stand up to speak in front of my peers next week.
In response to Eliza Connolly's entry I agree that engaging with the audience is a crucial part of public speaking. If you fail to do this the audience will lose interest. You must keep them interested and the best way of doing this is by engaging with them.

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I found the class on Friday with Mary to be particularly effective in developing the extent of my ability of public speaking. While I agree with Jerry Seinfield's quote to a certain extent, I think its safe to say that for the majority of people that quote is applicable to them today.

Although, there are now many resources open to people today to help them overcome this fear of public speaking, which Mary aided us last Friday, to tame our fear of public speaking.

Mary began with getting an idea of where the class was in terms of their confidence of tackling certain issues such as presenting in front of peers or companies to complaining about certain individuals speaking to low or too fast. Mary aimed to at least develop our presentation skills at least one step forward.

First she aimed to develop our posture, with feet firm on the ground, back straight and eyes looking towards the group. I began to notice quickly  how important a good posture is during a presentation as it can lay the foundation of an effective, interesting and engaging presentation.

She also informed us of the "attention" levels during a presentation from the 5 second mark all the way to the end which I found to be quite surprising but also informative, and will definitely utilise in the near future.

I agree with Isabelle's view that "I think with practice it can become a somewhat comfortable situation", that with practice you can overcome and develop your skill of public speaking

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After reflecting on Jerry Seinfield's quote about public speaking, I can relate to his point as I feel that it is an incredibly daunting task and at times can be overwhelming to stand in front of both strangers and people I know and express my opinion. While doing this, you also have to think about everything else that comes with public speaking, such as getting your message across clearly, addressing the audience members and making sure not to lose the interest of the audience. Just some of the skills that we learned in last weeks class.

During Fridays class, I felt that a lot of the group felt the same way about public speaking which made me feel more comfortable about next Friday's task.

In response to Eliza Connolly's entry, I agree that public speaking is a skill that can be developed through practice and I hope that I can get better and feel more comfortable during public speaking the more I do it.

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After our class with Mary Mcnulty on Friday, I found myself in an entirely different mindset concerning public speaking, Seinfeld's analogy really resonated with me. We can all recognise how daunting speaking in front of a audience can be but I think if you take a step back and consider what's actually happening, it's not as scary as it may appear. A lot of the fear I think stems from worry of what people will think of you, but realistically the audience are going to be much more interested in the information you’re conveying. Mary gave some really beneficial advice on how to portray a professional image and give a presentation in an appropriate manner. I think with practice it can become a somewhat comfortable situation and hopefully I will develop my presentation skills this Friday.

In response to Daniel Lucey’s entry. I also am going to try focus on presentation skills such as “body language, facial expressions and eye contact” . Mary spoke about this a lot and I found it interesting that everyone was intimidated being at the top of the class as this is something we will all hopefully get used to over time.

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I found Friday's class with Mary very eye opening. I have always known that public speaking is difficult for me but I never realised the extent of my fear.

I found all the tips given by Mary very useful in helping me gradually overcome this fear. Reading the quote posted by Daniel, I understood that I truly am afraid of speaking in public especially in front of my peers. But during Friday's class I realised that I was not the only one scared of next week's task and that gave me a sense of comfort knowing that a lot of my group understood what I was feeling.

After listening to Mary and all the useful information I feel slightly more confident going up on Friday and doing my presentation with my group. I now know what I need to do to make sure my presentation is the best I can do and to take a few deep breaths and remember that everyone is nervous.

In response to Isabelle's entry, I completely agree when she wrote "We can all recognise how daunting speaking in front of an audience can be but I think if you take a step back and consider what's actually happening, it's not as scary as it may appear." I think that most of the fear in public speaking is built up before we even begin speaking. We scare ourselves and then realise halfway through the talk that it's not at all what we expected and that the audience is actually listening to the information we are giving them, instead of judging us like we thought they would.

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The session last Friday on oral presentation skills was an eye opener in to how daunting public speaking can be. I can relate to Jerry Seinfeld's quote in that people are more scared of public speaking than that of death. It isn't easy to build up the courage to stand up in front of everyone and be able to speak comfortably. It is a very different view from the top of the room facing the crowd than it is sitting down among your piers.

In Fridays session with Mary McNulty, I believe it was not just me who was nervous of public speaking because the majority of the class were. We had to stand up in front of the rest of the class in small groups and introduce ourselves. During Fridays session I also learned the key tips of oral communication such as your body language, facial expressions and eye contact. These are just some of the things that will go a long way in helping us to develop this skill which will aid us in interviews and different events in the future. The crowd can judge you within the first five seconds of your presentation so it is important to make a great first impression.

In response to Mary McNultys  class on Friday i found it very beneficial. We took the first step in learning about public speaking and we now must create a presentation for this coming Friday. This will be good practice as public speaking is an important skill to have.

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I feel that even though Jerry Seinfeld's quote was said for humor, as he is a stand up comedian who loves to be on stage so has probably never experienced the fear of public speaking. I still believe it is a true statement for the majority of people. Public speaking is an activity that frightens nearly everyone, I know this from personal experiences. People would rather face death then having to do public speaking because of the anxiety and the thoughts of what could happen and how people will react and judge you.

During Mary McNulty's class on oral professional communication, I saw many of the other students like myself were also scared of public speaking. This was highlighted during the lesson as we went to the top of the room in groups and just had to say simple sentences like " Good morning, my name is ..." and even though it seems easy alot of people struggled.

I feel that I learned a lot of key points in Friday's lesson as Mary Mculty provided us with great tips, which gives me and others more confidence for our presentation on Friday. In my opinion Mary Mculty's class was incredibly important as public speaking is an big asset in the business world and in other professions aswell

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On a personal level I can certainly relate to Seinfeld's quote. I myself find public speaking a rather daunting and overwhelming task at times and Seinfeld's analogy, whilst humorous on the surface highlights the deep fears many possess of public speaking. But why? Why do we  possess such an inherent fear? From personal experience speaking in front of a crowd can feel as if you are almost on trial. Your audience is judging and evaluating your every move and forming an opinion of you in the process.
In Friday's session with Mary McNulty we ran through factors which contribute to a good presentation. These included things such as eye contact, body language, clarity of speech etc. I found Mary's points on this a useful aid to my preparations for this Friday's presentation.
In response to Kathy's entry I agree completely that the key to being a competent public speaker is confidence. Without confidence a speaker has no hope of capturing their audience.

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Firstly, i can relate to Jerry Seinfeld's quote as i would not be very comfortable in relation to public speaking. Fridays session helped me to understand where i stand exactly in terms of my problems with public speaking, When Mary McNulty gave us different scenarios and asked us how comfortable we were with each different scenario it made my fear of public speaking somewhat measurable and i feel this was a very beneficial thing to happen to me. Even discussing some of the key things that help present something to an audience put my mind at ease a bit more in relation to my oral presentation this coming Friday. Also i completely agree with Ryan's point that you are able to see how an audience is reacting to your presentation in as little as 5 - 30 seconds, so if you do make a good start it can be very good for the rest of your presentation and your overall confidence.

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Friday’s session on oral presentation skills was a massive eye opener on how much effort, preparation and practice is required. The idea of making an oral presentation is one that can be extremely scary and nerve wrecking for a lot of people. With Mary McNulty we looked at some crucial details to get right to put yourself on the right track towards completing a good oral presentation.  We discussed the key aspects of a good presentation and how everything from eye contact, to body language, to the clothes you wear can influence how successful your oral presentation is.
I believe this is where Jerry Seinfeld’s quote comes into play. I can understand how people would dread the idea of having to make an oral presentation after Fridays session. There’s a lot of things that can stop you from carrying out a good presentation, some things as simple as the way you stand. This makes public speaking difficult for people as it takes a lot of concentration along with hard work and perseverance to be comfortable with it. The amount of knowledge needed is extremely high, not to mention the knowledge required on the subject you’re going to speak on. However, public speaking is a very important skill that needs to be learned. Mary McNulty spoke of how its important to understand that the ability to speak comfortably in public is one which will take a long time to master. To become more comfortable with public speaking its important to learn from the opportunities we get to do public speaking.
In response to Eliza Connolly’s Statement I agree that public speaking is a skill we can all learn through practice. Its one which will suit some people more than others, however its still a vital skill that everyone needs to master.

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I personally find public speaking a very daunting task. Jerry Seinfeld’s quote that public speaking can be worse than death for some can be accurate in some circumstances. People who are generally nervous and shy can find public speaking a traumatic experience. To build up the courage to be able to stand up in front of an audience can be very hard for some people. People who are more outgoing and confident will more than likely find public speaking a walk in the park.

In the lecture on Friday with Mary McNulty we learned a lot about the key notes to the art of public speaking. Mary showed us how to present to the audience. Firstly, you must introduce yourself, your topic and your theme to the audience. You must dominate the space and have your body open. Most importantly you must not read off your slides and must make eye contact with your audience.

In response to Harrys Entry, I agree that if you did not do debating in school, public speaking is an overwhelmingly under trained skill. I think we should have been encouraged more in school to participate in public speaking tasks. This would of allowed us to prepare better mentally to prepare presentations in front of an audience and would not have students dreading to speak in front of the class.

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I find the Jerry Seinfeld's quote about public speaking is more daunting to most people compared to death to be personally very accurate.
The act of public speaking in front of a room full of strangers to be a living nightmare for many people in todays society for a number of reasons. Firstly the skill of capturing an audiences attention for an extended period of time is one that many people don't have for the simple reason its an activity on the whole overlooked in school. Unless you took part in debating at school this is a skill thats overwhelmingly under trained.
This point leads to a persons potential lack of confidence when the focus of people is firmly on you for the duration of your speech. Mary was very helpful in the way she made us stand and address the class by firmly placing your feet on the floor and projecting your voice out across the room and be confident in what your saying. This was very beneficial for me as even in small groups of people, like others, I would tend to put my head down and not speak loudly enough.

In response to Sara's post I would agree that the fear of being vulnerable and have a fear within you that there may be an element of them judging you based on both appearance and how your speech is delivered. Once a person overcomes these obstacles then the whole element of speech making would be easier and confidence in yourself would grow.

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Public speaking for most is a terrifying experience. One which the vast majority of people would rather avoid if at all possible. Jerry Seinfeld's quote on the topic rings true and is a comical view on human behaviour.  The feeling that everyone is watching is a daunting one. People can often be overcome with fear and many never learn to rise to the task of speaking publicly.
In our lecture with Mary McNulty we were shown how to command a space. To plant ourselves on the spot and stand tall. This I felt helped make the room seem smaller and the task less challenging.
Having commanded the space and stepped forward we began to practice speaking in front of the class, the correct body language made the latter task far easier.

We then covered in detail how  people learn differently from one another and prefer various forms of communication. This is something I had come across before but never related it to the task of presenting. I found it very informative and now have new ways of thinking about how to present information. I hope to harness some of this new found knowledge in the upcoming presentation with my team on Friday.
In response to JJ's observation that 'no one receives training in public speaking, an already difficult task and how instruction can greatly ease tensions. Easy prompts such as "good morning my name is..." helped me greatly reduce the focus of my peers stares and allowed me to be more confident in front of large groups.'
I would go along with that. Training in such an area can be vital to lessening the burden of public speaking and to, at the very least, make it preferable to death.

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In relation to Jerry Seinfeld's quote, it almost sounds beyond the point of ridiculous that public speaking and death are in the same category as someones deadliest fears. However, looking past the ridiculousness of the comparison, I can understand the connection of what Seinfeld is trying to tell the public. Although, i knew what i was getting into when deciding this graduate programme, public speaking has always been my biggest fear with the thoughts of going to college.

After Friday's session with Mary McNulty, a sense of reassurance passed through me. McNulty gave the class a series of questions in relation to public speaking and it was there on that i found out that i was not the only one with the dreaded feeling of speaking to the open public. i found the session to be rather rewarding as we were given guidance and tips on how to give a successful presentation, i have the preparation for our first oral communication assessment to be a little easier with the notes i have from the previous class.

in response to Ben Quigley's entry. I feel a strong relation with this entry. although public speaking is so incredibly daunting and more than 99% of people fear the thoughts of speaking to a crowd, but why is it we hate it so much? Do people fear they are being made fun of? or is it that people just have the sense of social anxiety. However, i agree with the statement that had been possessed by Ben, I think we need to realise that public speaking isn't as bad as we really think it is.

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I believe that the claim Jerry Seinfeld makes in this famous quote holds true for most people in society today. The idea of being being keenly watched and judged by a large group of strangers while you endeavor to communicate a message can be quite a daunting task.
After attending Mary mcNulty's lecture on Friday, I think that I have gained a huge amount of knowledge and confidence that i can use in preparing for and carrying out public speaking. Mary highlighted the importance of retaining the listeners attention and how different types of people respond differently to varying categories of media. For example, some people are 'Doers' and others are 'Thinkers', and it is important to design your speech/presentation to ensure that both parties remain attentive to the speaker.
She also illustrated how body language is also very important in public speaking and how a firm base can ensure confidence in the speaker.
The common mistakes associated with public speaking were also discussed, and its clear to me now how so many individuals have such a great fear of speaking in front of strangers or even their peers.
In response to Joshua's Post, I agree that preparation is extremely important. It is essential to be extremely familiar with the content of the speech/presentation so that it runs smoothly .

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In response to Jerry Seinfeld’s quote, I think he takes a quite humorous approach to a very common fear that people have. Nobody likes public speaking. For some it can be quite traumatic and make you feel like you want to die at the thought of it.  Some people just take to public speaking more naturally than others. After Mary McNulty’s session on Friday, I realised that public speaking isn’t as scary as you might think, as long as you know what you are talking about and have a good format in place in order  to keep the audience’s attention, you will do great. One tip that Mary thought us which I found quite helpful was that when you are making a presentation, you break it up into 5 sections;

1.     Introduction

2.     The Main Body (with 3 key themes)

3.     Conclusion

Overall, I found Friday’s session with Mary McNulty very helpful and informative and hopefully with the information and tips she gave us, I will not find public speaking as much of a daunting task as I once did.

In response to Eliza’s entry, I agree when she says that oral professional communication can be a leant skill with practice. I defiantly agree with this statement as like anything in life, you need to practice it to get better at it and the more you practice it the better you will become at it. I believe that oral professional communication is a very important skill to have and can be very beneficial no matter what type of career you go into.

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According to Jerry Seinfeld's quote the majority of people would pick death over a situation where they would be in the vulnerable position of presenting in front of an audience. The taunting task of standing in
front of people and wondering what they might think of how you speak, act or look might be a very difficult obstacle for a lot of people to overcome. Although in most cases if not all the audience doesn’t care for these things rather than what the content of
the presentation is. What would stick with the audience is if the presenter was uninformed about a topic and was not confident in his answers.

Therefore, this statement might very well be true however what I learned from Mary McNulty’s talk on Friday was that being comfortable in front of an audience can come naturally or can be an acquired skill through
practice. Mrs McNulty briefed us on the key elements of a good and bad presentation. Some of the good included being informed on a topic and confidence. Some of the bad were such as being fidgety and clearly nervous. She then requested groups of us to separately
walk up in front of the class and greet them and act confident which I think made us all feel a little bit more comfortable with each other.

Personally, I would not might presenting in front of a group if I was well prepared on a topic . I obviously would need practice to perfect my skills but thankfully I would not place public speaking up anywhere near
‘death’.

In response to Leigh’s statement of  ‘’I personally believe peoples fear of public speaking is mostly to do with the fear of being judged’’  I myself think this is very true for
a large amount of people as I stated above , however once we realize that people are not there to judge you personally it gets much easier to put it past yourself and overcome this fear.

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Public speaking can be an extremely daunting task at times, but in the end, it only takes courage and confidence to overcome such a task. In reference to Jerry Seinfeld’s quote, for some people, public speaking is their biggest nightmare, one which they fear more so than death. However, from our session with Mary McNulty last Friday, I have learned that this should not be the case, and with practice, public speaking should be a walk in the park. The key point which I took away from the session was that of the 4 P’s (Plan, Prepare, Practice, Present). These 4 points are crucial in terms of presenting the perfect presentation. For me, planning is a huge part of public speaking. Its vital to know the material inside out in order to not only successfully present the work but to also answer any possible questions from the audience. Preparation is also a key aspect of public speaking, without it you are likely to “fall down” as it will come across to the audience as if you do not know what you are talking about, which in turn will lose their attention. As the saying goes “Practice makes perfect”. Mastering the art of public speaking will undoubtedly take time, but in reality, all it takes is a bit of practice and hard work. During the session, Mary provided us with plenty of tips on how to present, such as standing up straight and keeping your feet firmly on the ground, while insuring you don’t turn your back on the audience. In my opinion, these tips are crucial in order to successfully present and show the audience that you are confident in doing so.

In response to Eliza Connolly’s entry, I firmly agree that it is extremely important to be “engaging and interactive” with the audience. By just reading out points from a power point you will quickly lose the audience’s attention, while also giving the impression that you have no passion for the subject in which you are speaking about.

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In reference to Jerry Seinfeld's quote I believe that it can be assumed that people are scared not of the consequences of their own actions but rather the opinions of other on the results of your actions. This is evident as the realisation of the worst result of ones action would be death. Despite this even just the possibility of criticism, unjust or not supersedes this fear. I believe I understand to a greater degree why specifically public speaking is able to hold such a powerful grip over our fears because of Mary McNulty's oral professional communication class. This is because almost no one receives training in public speaking, an already difficult task and how instruction can greatly ease tensions. Easy prompts such as "good morning my name is..." helped me greatly reduce the focus of my peers stares and allowed me to be more confident in front of large groups.

In response to Evan O'hea's work I agree with the idea that people can lack self-confidence, further explaining the prominence of a fear of public speaking. It is 'easy' to be hidden in a casket while it shows great courage to open oneself to criticism.

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I felt that Jerry Seinfeld's quote on public speaking is true. Public speaking can be very traumatising for people even more so then death. It can be harder for some people more than others, so it may not always be the case for everyone. However, I feel like after attending Mary McNulty's class that oral professional communication can also be a learnt skill with practice. It may be easier for some starting off but with practice you can learn to gain this skill. During Mary's class last Friday, I learnt a lot about giving presentations and what are the key tips to remember when giving one. I found this very helpful as we will be giving a few presentations throughout this course. It will also be very helpful for interviews in the further.

During Marys session I learnt a lot of different key tips for a good presentation. For example, you need an introduction, the main body (3 key themes) and a conclusion. It is also very important to be engaging and interactive with your audience. Overall, I found the session with Mary was very helpful and I learnt a lot.

In response to Daniel Q's entry I agreed that society can be very judging and giving a talk in front of a group of people can be very daunting. Yet realistically the audience is just trying to take in the information you are giving them not paying much attention to you as such.

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According to Jerry Seinfeld's quote the majority of people would pick death over a situation where they would be in the vulnerable position of presenting in front of an audience. The taunting task of standing in front of people and wondering what they might think of how you speak, act or look might be a very difficult obstacle for a lot of people to overcome. Although in most cases if not all the audience doesn’t care for these things rather than what the content of the presentation is. What would stick with the audience is if the presenter was uninformed about a topic and was not confident in his answers.

Therefore, this statement might very well be true however what I learned from Mary McNulty’s talk on Friday was that being comfortable in front of an audience can come naturally or can be an acquired skill through practice. Mrs McNulty briefed us on the key elements of a good and bad presentation. Some of the good included being informed on a topic and confidence. Some of the bad were such as being fidgety and clearly nervous. She then requested groups of us to separately walk up in front of the class and greet them and act confident which I think made us all feel a little bit more comfortable with each other.

Personally, I would not might presenting in front of a group if I was well prepared on a topic . I obviously would need practice to perfect my skills but thankfully I would not place public speaking up anywhere near ‘death’.

In response to Leigh’s statement of  ‘’I personally believe peoples fear of public speaking is mostly to do with the fear of being judged’’  I myself think this is very true for a large amount of people as I stated above , however once we realize that people are not there to judge you personally it gets much easier to put it past yourself and overcome this fear.

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Jerry Seinfeld's quote is one that holds true for many people. Public speaking can be vary daunting, especially speaking to people you see on a daily basis. There are many things a person must learn before beginning to speak to the public. During Friday's session with Mary McNulty, she gave us important tips and skills on how to speak to a large audience. One of the most important facts I learned from Friday's session with Mary McNulty is that it only takes an audience five seconds to decide whether or not they will pay attention to your speech. Your introduction to the audience may be the most important part of your speech, so it is very important that you capture the audience's attention during the introduction to your speech. During Friday's session, we were taught how to immediately capture the audience's attention, stand as tall as you can, take two steps forward, make eye contact with everyone in the room, smile then introduce yourself and the topic at hand. We also learned how important it was to constantly interact with the audience, e.g answer the audience's questions and making eye contact with the audience. It is also very important to not just keep looking at the board, as this creates a barrier between you and the audience, as by not looking at the audience, you are not engaging with them. Overall I found Friday's session with Mary McNulty to be a very worthwhile and helpful session.

I agree with Harry's point on how being the focus of a large audience can lead to a lack of confidence. It can be very daunting to a person to be the centre of so many people's attention.

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Critical Friends Circle 2 Reflective Prompt

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Critical Friends Circle 2 Reflective Prompt

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In this critical Friends Circle Entry 2 would like to reflect on Jerry Seinfeld quote below given your own thoughts and feelings about oral professional communication (click on the quote to increase its size).

You must:
i) Write your own reflective Entry
ii) Respond to the reflections of at least one of your classmates

Write your entry and response on a word document and attach it to a padlet post or write it in directly

Title your padlet post
To make a padlet post, click anywhere on the padlet wall

This Padlet will close at 5pm, 10th October, 2018

You must put your name to your post and response. No anonymous posts are allowed and cannot be marked

Only those who were in Mary McNulty session 5th Oct are entitled to post.

Daniel