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By participating in this exercise, I was able to assess how much comfort and confidence I would experience speaking in different contexts of familiarity. I found that I had the most comfort during situations that I have previously been in like asking a parent or another acquaintance for a favor or discussing a "nothing" conversation. This might be because I felt less pressure to come across as formal or professional, and instead, felt more relaxed and supported talking with people I know. I still feel comfortable enough in semi-familiar situations like a group project or asking a teacher a question, however I will sometimes hesitate or overthink the tone I used. This shows me that even if I can logically speak, I still have practice to do to speak confidently and fluently with peers or superiors. But I learned that speaking in front of strangers or a large group of people when presenting in front of an audience or taking part in a job interview, was when I was most stressed and felt different. I often become anxious in those situations... largely because I am worried about saying the wrong thing or will forget what to say. And this feeling of discomfort indicates that I need to improve practice with formal / high pressured situations, or to be more prepared and more confident.

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The easiest part of this activity was to create the two truths and one lie. It was enjoyable to think of statements that were lies that people would not expect and creative. Because I was coming from the viewpoint of something I had actually experienced, it felt easy to share details and to be confident about sharing these. This part also allowed for personality and humor to come through my participation, which made the whole activity more enjoyable and conversational in tone, rather than a formal tone.

Nothing was particularly really hard in this activity, however, maintaining eye contact was a little challenging. I have always struggled with maintaining straight eye contact with another person and since this was the first of many activities to improve my oral communication, I found it hard, especially in a group setting. Over time, I realised that maintaining eye contact with someone is a sign of confidence and engagement and worked on it regularly with my close friends and family. By working on this, it made it less awkward to maintain strong eye contact with another person.

I demonstrated and developed on the skill of "engaging in conversation" by using responsive body language and showing active listening skills. Additionally, in order to keep the conversation flowing, it was important to respond with genuine interest toward other people's comments, by nodding, laughing, or responding when appropriate. In order to cultivate a laid-back and friendly group dynamic, I also showed interest in what others were saying and asked comments based on follow-up questions that were brief. Throughout the entire class, I demonstrated that I was engaged in a meaningful conversation with people, as opposed to merely having a discussion.

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The second piece of evidence I recorded was a chicken shop date with a peer, James Kotorac. In this video, I ask questions to James instead of the one being asked the questions. This ensures that I know how to answer questions, and how to ask questions at a professional level. In this interview, I set my interviewee, in this case James as football legend Cristiano Ronaldo to make it more creative and entertaining. I proceeded to ask him a range of questions with strong eye contact, humor, and appropriate body language. This activity tested my abilities to adapt to a specific tone each question, thinking quickly and use common conversation skills to keep the conversation humorous and long. Additionally, this practice helped me build confidence in controlling an interview, rather than being interviewed.

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Have you noticed any improvement in knowledge or skill so far? In what way? Why or why not?

Yes, I have. By taking part in various different practices, I have seen a positive change in my knowledge of oral communication. By conducting these challenges and activities, I became more confident and open to my peers and teachers, making it easier to communicate with them.

What parts of lessons have been less valuable for you? Explain.

Nothing too me has been less valuable as everything we have done so far includes me to interact with new peers. This was one of the most beneficial ways that I improved my oral communication.

Considering what we've completed so far, what areas of oral communication seem to be most important for you to continue to develop? Why is this important to you? (considering you've just completed FFPP, this might tie into pathway planning and your interests)

Personally, I have liked every area of oral communication as everything has helped me to improve my oral communication equally.

How can I continue to support you in class to develop these skills? What would you like to see more of in the classroom?

Nothing in specific.

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In this video, my peer played his role as a job employer and I played my role as the interviewee. Jesse Lavis (the job employer) proceeded to ask me a range of questions to test my ability of quick thinking and oral communication. He asked me questions and I had to answer them to a high level in order to demonstrate my improved oral communication. Throughout the interview, I ensured to not stutter as much, use confident body language and professionally answer all the questions. Although I did laugh a few times during the interview, I did not let it destroy my spirit and kept answering all the questions with a strong tone and body language. Moreover, this practice helped to build my confidence in talking and expressing my ideas fluently. By practicing with a realistic scenario and watching the video back, I was able to identify my key strengths such as confidence and clarity, but also found some weaknesses like laughing in between my answers.

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1. I used to live in Switzerland

2. I have a pet (lie)

3. I have a sibling

For this activity, I made sure to pick something others would not expect form me, and in this case it was living in Switzerland. I lived in Switzerland for just under 2 years and others in my group did not expect this. After my peers guessed wrong, I revealed the lie and they were shocked that I used to live there, and this also gave me opportunities to work on my conversation skills as they would ask me questions.

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How effective were your interview questions in achieving your purpose? Explain how your question types (e.g., open, closed, probing, humorous, formal) influenced the conversation.

My interview questions were very effective in achieving my objective as they facilitated a pleasurable but stimulating conversation that suited the imaginative context of interviewing "Cristiano Ronaldo." Some of the questions such as "What are your future aspirations?" and "What kind of music do you enjoy?" - aided in getting James to respond in a more detailed way but the light-hearted and even a bit personal questions such as "What is your type?" and "Are you single?" added a certain element of fun to interview while maintaining engagement and interest. Since my questions for the most part were open-ended, I was able to generate longer and somewhat more natural responses to my topics and to adjust my second questions reflective to his first answer. Overall, genuine questioning created engagement for myself and my interviewee, and presented a challenge on my part in trying to maintain and direct the flow of the conversation.

Did they allow the interviewee to respond in the desired way?

Yes, this is because the questions were open ended and humouros, it allowed James to react with whatever he felt like. The questions were able to provide individuality and entertainment value to the interview by giving James - who was playing Cristiano Ronaldo - the ability to respond in character. While questions like "What are your future aspirations?" had a slightly more reflective tone, questions like "What's your type?" and "What do you look for in a girl?" had the respondent provide fun, humouros responses that matched what the audience knows of Ronaldo's persona. Moreover, the conversation felt casual, fun, and aligned with the purpose of practicing professional questioning and tone management because of the variety of answers elicited, from humourous to thoughtful.

How did your verbal communication contribute to the overall tone and flow of the interview? Consider your tone, language, use of humor or seriousness, small talk, etc.

My use of verbal communication had a big impact on the general tone and flow of the interview. I spoke in a casual and self-assured way which kept the interaction flowing nicely and also kept it interesting. I added to the lighthearted tone of interviewing "Cristiano Ronaldo" by using fun and language I would use in a normal conversation. To avoid awkward pauses and keep the flow to the presentation, I used small talk and prompt answers in-between questions. I also demonstrated my ability to strike a mix of professionalism and humour, as I altered my tone to be slightly more serious when asking about future goals. Overall, I believe my verbal communication contributed to a relaxed but structured interview that demonstrated assurance, adaptability, and good conversational awareness.

What worked well, and what could you improve?

Something that worked well during the interview weas my ability to deliver the questions smoothly, and maintain a nice flow throughout the conversation. I adapted to different tones with every question as I would be serious when asking Ronaldo (James) about his future aspirations, but then laugh and smile with the humourous questions such as 'What is your type?'

What role did non-verbal communication play during your interview? Analyse how your body language, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact influenced the mood, tone, or rapport with the interviewee.

Although the video was short and the questions were open minded, I kept a straight posture, held strong eye contact and even shook his hand in the ending. This is a sign of confidence and engagement with my interviewee answers. In keeping with the fun tone of the "Cristiano Ronaldo" scenario, smiling and making animated facial expressions brought warmth and humour. These nonverbal cues helped create an easygoing relationship with the subject and lightened the mood of the conversation so that he could stay true to himself and respond confidently.

How would you refine your approach for future interviews?

If I was to do this interview again, I would alter my approach by using a more wider variety of questions types to establish a deeper connection with my interviewee and improving my communication skills. Although the fun and humourous approach did work, I could've asked more meaningful questions or follow up questions to receive more detailed and longer answers to keep the conversation flowing. Additionally, by combining a humourous and stronger variety of questions, I can make future interviews feel more engaging while also improving my oral communication.

Name TWO adjustments that you would make to improve the use of language, question flow, tone, and/or non-verbal cues?

1. Improving flow and variety of questions - For future interview, I would better organise my questions by starting with the humourous ones before asking the deeper and more reflective questions. This would flow the conversation better, and help shift the tone of the interview gradually and not instantly changing it every question.

2. Improving non-verbal's - I would also focus on my hand gestures and posture throughout the interview. Although I feel as my posture was alright, there was room for improvement as I could have sat up right more, have my hands on my legs as a sign of respect, and keeping my legs equally spread apart. I could also use my hands when asking questions to show full engagement with the interviewee.

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Struggle, To try, and Successes Reflection

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Struggle, To try, and Successes Reflection

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This activity promoted speaking in front of a short audience to improve our oral communication. It consisted us to pick a certain topic, and continue with a short speech introducing, and explaining the topic. The intention was to enhance our ability to express ideas clearly while keeping the audience engaged with body language, tone, and expression. After the speech, we evaluated ourselves based on the "Struggles, To Try, and Successes" framework. I noted on the struggles portion that I wanted to increase confidence, ask questions that got the audience engaged, and avoid feeling stuck by not saying something during a minute of talking. In the try phase, I worked on projecting more of the presentation with control and energy, so I worked on body language, loudness, tone/pitch, and confidence. During the presentation I was able to adjust my pitch, loudness, and tone, and I also used my hands as I was successful in that part.