Making a speech
 
A hard experience in my freshman year
The authors of the two texts write about their experiences of adjusting to their first-year college life. Have you had any similar experience in your freshman year?
 
To better prepare you for the coming days, your department is holding a meeting to discuss the hard experiences of college. To share your experience, you are going to give a speech on one hard experience you had in the first semester. The following steps may help you with the project.

The following steps may help you with the project.

Step 1 Identify and describe your hard experience
Think about what unhappy experiences you have met with in college. They may be about your life, your study, your relationships with others, etc.
 
Then, decide which experience you will talk about, and think about how you felt and what you did at that time.
 
Emotional words can clearly express your feelings, for example "scared," "happy" and "anxiety" in the text in iExplore 2. The following list of emotional words are foryour reference.
Emotional words
unhappy bitter, depressed, discouraged, down, gloomy, sad, blue, upset, heartbroken
afraid intimidated, frightened, scared, terrified
anxious concerned, nervous, tense, uneasy, worried
bored desperate, disappointed, hopeless
ashamed regretful, sorry
Sometimes the description of your surroundings and behaviors can express your feelings in an indirect way. For instance, in the text in iExplore 1, from the expressions "the dining hall … was too large and intimidating" and "I leaned heavily on my parents," we can see the author was anxious about her college life. You may refer to the two texts for more help.
 
Step 2 Draw lessons from your experience
Whether you have best dealt with the difficulties or not, you can always learn something from your experience. Draw lessons from your experience and give suggestions if possible.
 
Step 3 Write out the draft
Outline and write out the draft of your speech based on Step 1 and Step 2.
 
Remember that an attractive opening and a forceful ending are also important to a speech. The following tips may help you with the beginning and ending of your speech.

TIPS
How to begin a speech:
• Using relevant quotes.
• Asking "what if" questions.
• Using surprising, powerful statistics.
How to end a speech:
• Summarizing the main points.
• Repeating a few key words or phrases.
• Asking a rhetorical question.
• Calling on the audience to take action.
 
Step 4 Make your speech
Make your speech to the class, and invite your classmates to ask questions or give advice. You may use the following checklist to improve your performance.