FINAL THOUGHTS...

When I first took this Communications course, which I needed as part of my pharmacy requirement, I thought classes would be spent giving out speeches, which made me very nervous. Whenever I had to present in high school, my knees would shake or I would literally speak to the ground. So I immediately thought that history was going to repeat itself. But it turned out to be completely different.

I liked the way Andi incorporated social media tools into the class because the class became a lot more interesting and relevant. I realized how useful Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail were and how it’s an easier way to get useful tips from people in the business, expand your network, become more aware of conferences related to your field of interest, get ahead in your career and even get a job!

I enjoyed writing and reading what was posted on the blog.

I also enjoyed having the guest speakers come to the classroom, such as Ernesto and Jill. They provided a different ‘change of pace’ in the classroom by giving us useful information: social media and its benefits, and presenting; but in a different and effective way. I’ve learned from them that having means of clear communication makes you more confident. It makes you understand yourself and others better; and you work more productively. Some of them even responded to what we wrote on the blog, which was very cool.

I also have a new favorite website Ted.com! Not only do I different and creative ideas on how to present information I’ve also learned about interesting topics and stories from the site.

Through my speeches I’ve learned that I need to project more and keep a steady tone of voice while I’m speaking in order to hold the interest of my audience. I need to find a way to engage with my audience more. I learned that my nonverbal communication isn’t always on the same level as my verbal communication. The videos that I’ve posted of myself doing impromptu speeches show: that I don’t hold eye contact as much as I should, I need to make sure the expressions on my face do not display fear, I need to show that my hand gestures don’t show that I’m anxious, or that my body is slanted in a certain way that makes me look as if I’m uncertain. Through this class I’ve learned that these are the things I need to work on and improve on so that I can give even better speeches/presentations in the future. Even though I am still learning how to display more confidence, because of this class I am becoming less nervous when I am giving my speeches.

Although I got sick during the last month of classes and all of my days are limited to me laying in bed, what I really take from this class is that our all of our thoughts and opinions are no longer limited to the public sphere, but a global one. Some of us might be shy or some of us don’t not like to speak in public, but Andi showed us that if we don’t want to speak in public, we can still use these other tools Twitter, Blogger, Facebook to post our thoughts and ideas, and still have them be heard. Our voices are so powerful, what we write or publicly discuss has the capacity to influence someone physically and emotionally, to get someone to question the way the way they think and even to change the way someone thinks about a certain topic.

I have an idea for a possible name for the blog, 'Comm 107's Modern Means of Communication.'

What do you guys think?