Chapter 9 Topic- Attitudes

I think a person's attitude can contribute a lot to a person's speech. I did not know that there were three dimensions of attitudes that can be received by the person delivering the speech, or the audience. A person's attitude towards a subject or topic brings up beliefs and prior experiences that they can relate to. The three dimensions of the attitude process are what a person knows about a topic, how they feel about a topic, and lastly what they want to do in respect to the topic. I am intrigued by the process that a person goes through in terms of their attitudes when I thought it was more simple. Perhaps then the mind works in mysterious ways and not all attitudes are formed instantaneously. I can see all the relevancy to the three dimensions of attitudes that lead us to our opinions we have today.

Well known speaker in the Presidential race

As I had posted before about delivering a speech, when a person is very involved and/or passionate about what they believe in, it will show in their speech. The knowledge a person has about a topic or subject will only enhance their speech and make them a credible speaker. In terms of the presidential race, Barrack Obama is a great speaker. He is great at obtaining the attention of his audience, men and women c like him for his ability to deliver a great speech. Obama knows what he is talking about and voters want to see this. Many have said that Obama's attractiveness does play a role in his presidential campaign, but I do believe he is an attractive man for his age and status, however I really pay attention to what he has to say about our country and the experience he has. I pay attention to what he is going to do if he is elected, which should be the most important part of his speech. I think power is also another quality that good speakers should have. The power to captivate the thoughts of others and either persuade them or inform them of their topic to give a lasting impression. I know after Obama had delivered a speech one night, my co-worker and I were talking about it the very next morning. It had given us an impression of him as well as such a great speech he delivered, that made it the first topic on our discussion while we worked.

Influenced by a speaker

I have been to many events where people delivered their speech. I know that I have been persuaded at many and thought that it was great but obviously not great enough to leave a lasting impression. However, I was at this one event where a couple from Hawaii was here in California to visit family as well as give their usual speech at a college I attended. I say usual speech because they come out mostly every year to tell their story about their lives and their 3 deceased children. Although their story was sad and touching they delivered their speech in a way that would get into the hearts of those who would hear it and make them want to learn more about their story and try to understand what happened. They were intriguing, interacted with the audience and just had a very charismatic approach to telling their story, not necessarily looking for sympathy.

The opposite of someone delivering a good speech would be a bad speaker. The only thing that comes to mind is a final speech that a speaker in my Speech class delivered. Over the course, and I know many have taken speech class, we learn to deliver our speeches better as the semester ends. I would think that people would learn from other's speeches and try to make theirs better or work on things they are nervous about. I witnessed a person trying to deliver a speech and they were just talking and talking. Their topic made people start going to sleep and start messing around with their gadgets or back packs. I do not know whether it was the topic or the person, but this one speech stood out in my mind. I think in either a speech class or at an actual event, public speaking is a common fear among all. But if someone is so passionate or confident about their topic, they will be able to deliver. Catching the attention of an audience is key and if you do not get the attention early it will be hard to keep their attention throughout the speech.

Social Constructionist Perspective

Communication is the way we tell others information about ourselves, our culture and beliefs, our own style and attitudes, and rules. Each culture in our society has a way and means of identifying that they are apart of a certain group with specific beliefs. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and opinions, but often times we are set apart from eachother for these basic things. We communicate about things we know through our everyday experiences and interactions.

In some cultures we are taught to do and act a certain way. I do not believe that it necessarily has to be from a specific culture, but I think we as people are alike in so many ways. What one culture believes a certain subject is okay to discuss, whereas another culture may reject it are just differences that we have due to what our family taught us. It doesn't have to mean that it came from a specific culture. I think our background and what our family discussed with us is okay to discuss with anyone will shape how or what we will say.

Pragmatic Perspective

After reading the pragmatic perspective, I can see exactly why communication is similar to a game. Although our lives are not a game, it could be save to say that communication is a game. We make moves to get our points across, then usually the person we are communicating with will reciprocate and make a move on us. Like in a game everyone has something to gain. But games are not so fun when they are not going a specific way or how one planned. In communication often times thoughts and ideas are not planned and/or well thought out. This may lead to communication failures such as lack of communication.

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my blog! This is my last semester here at SJSU. I am a Justice Studies major and am just taking this class as an elective. I really like this blog idea, it is very different from blackboard and I think it allows us to be more creative. I also am a very big fan of online classes, I wish more classes were offered online. I look forward to seeing everyone's blog and to a good semester!