Public Speaking - How To Do It Well And Not Panic
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I'm one of those people who's never had a problem with public speaking. (Well, except when I had to do it in a foreign language, but that's a bit more understandable.) So I've never had the same problems most people do when it comes to giving speeches. But I've found I've been able to help several friends who do have problems, so I figured I should put down what I've learned here for the benefit of others.
One theory I've read claims our fear of public speaking actually has its roots in nature - that when you're being stared at by a bunch of strange people, our instinct is to run away, not stand tall and face them. Because back at the origins of the human race, when something stared at you, it usually meant it wanted to eat you.
So what can you do? Whether you're preparing a speech for your high school English class or getting ready to make a presentation at work, here are some things that will be helpful to keep in mind.
Take deep breaths. Relax.
I know this is easier said than done for most people. I certainly have an all-but-impossible time trying to calm myself down when I'm stressed, even when I try and clear my mind and do something I enjoy. But believe me when I say worrying really won't help you. At best, it will change nothing, and at worst, it will affect your performance. So seriously, prepare, do your best, and be as content as you can with that.
If your anxiety is truly that bad, then I suggest volunteering to do your speech as soon as possible. It sounds counter-productive and sometimes gives you less time to prepare, but once it's done and over with, you can finally get a good night's sleep.
When giving your speech, focus on a neutral spot on the wall, or on a friend or colleague.
I'm sure you've heard this one before but I'm going to reiterate it here. If all those staring eyes throw you into a state of unparallelled paralyzing panic, don't look at them. Instead, focus on something on the wall or the face of someone you're more comfortable looking at. Pretend you're giving your speech to just that person. Try your best to melt out everything else around you and just focus on speaking clearly and concisely. Your speech will be fantastic.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Practice your speech at least three times. If you're particularly nervous or want feedback, find a volunteer you can perform for. It will not only help you organize your thoughts and the speech itself, but it might help calm your nerves, too.
Don't memorize your speech.
This sounds so tempting. After all, if you know exactly what you're going to say and when you're going to say it, how can you possibly screw up? Here the thing, though: you're going to stress yourself out trying to get it all in your brain and you won't sound as natural. I haven't memorized a speech I've had to give in years for this very reason.
This one obviously doesn't apply all of the time, as some people genuinely perform better this way. However, I haven't generally found that to be the case in my personal experience. Besides, if the subject you've giving your speech on is something you're passionate about, why are you frightened? You should be ecstatic! You have a captive audience to hear what you have to say. Share your interests and passions with your audience - they will be more likely connect with what you are saying if you can project your enthusiasm onto them, rather than appearing bored or panicked.
Project Your Voice
Some of us have more trouble with this than others, but if you find yourself constantly being told to speak up, you should listen. Unfortunately, if you happen to be soft-spoken, this can be difficult, but people truly can't hear you otherwise, and it will impact your performance.
Use technology to help, not hinder.
I'm sure you've seen this happen nearly every time someone has to give a speech. Someone wants to show a video, a slideshow, and play some music. And how often does it work without any hiccups? I'm sure you don't want to be that poor kid who's awkwardly fussing with cables while the rest of the class stares at you. So how can you avert it? If at all possible, test out the exact equipment you'll be working with in advance. This may be more easy in a workplace than a school classroom, but I'm sure your teacher or professor would be more than happy to help you.
Remember, the more complex technology you're using, the more potential there is for something to go wrong, so it is always wise to plan accordingly. My advice is to always keep it as simple as possible, and if your slideshow decides not to work, you have to be able to deliver a good presentation without it.
So those are my tips to give a good speech. Agree? Disagree? Have something to add? The comments section is below!
Wolf Children
Labels:
anime,
anime film,
anime movie,
mamoru hosoda,
review,
wolf children
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First off, can I just say that it's an absolutely beautiful movie. The animation is top notch and Hosoda creates an atmosphere as only a master can. I love all the character designs too, especially the wolves.
Can I also say that Hana takes home the award for one of the most badass anime characters ever? I think the only fictional mother figure that can compete with her is Mrs. Frisby. The lengths she goes through for her children are nothing short of amazing.
I liked the kids, too. Yuki is adorably spunky and fun and her brother Ame is adorably shy. Along with Hana, they are the stars of the movie and they are appropriately textured characters as main characters should be. I think Hosoda succeeded in his goal of making watching the movie like watching these children grow up.
Now, that's not to say it's a perfect movie. In fact, I actually had several problems with it, and while I enjoyed it (I don't get this engrossed in a movie often) I'm still not sure I'm going to invest in the DVD. So let's dive in!
I've heard criticism leveled at the fact that there's not enough explanation of the wolf-people, but I was actually okay with that because the movie is essentially a fairy tale that is mired in reality, and fairy tales don't really require explanations. Hana may have these strange circumstances surrounding her situation, but the reality of raising her children is shown with painstaking detail in the film, something I wholeheartedly admire.
There are two big problems with this movie, however, that prevent me from saying it is as good as the director's previous outing, Summer Wars. The first being the focus, which seems to change throughout the film. It goes from focusing on Hana and her love story, then to raising her children, then takes a quick detour to "how to survive in the country", before ultimately settling on the story of the children needing to choose their own paths in life. For the most part, I think it works, but it also makes the movie feel a little disjointed. There are also characters who are important to the story yet kind of drift in when they're needed and vanish when they aren't. The old man who teaches Hana how to farm is the most egregious example, but the wolf at the sanctuary and the fox that guards the mountain also don't get much development at all. Sohei didn't get much to do in spite of playing a huge part in Yuki's development. In short, I think the movie tries to tell more stories than it can handle at times.
The other issue I take is the manner in which Yuki and Ame each choose their paths in life. Perhaps this is because I was raised in America's culture and while I think there is some value in conformity, it certainly should not be to the exclusion of yourself as a person. If you are of the interpretation that the children's decisions are the result of them maturing and choosing their paths in life based off of who they are, then it's fine. But I think it comes off more as the kids feeling forced into their decisions (given how the girls react to Yuki initially and the bullying we see Ame endure). Yuki essentially ends up suppressing who she is in order to fit in and Ame runs away. In other words, the two kids end up choosing their paths in life not necessarily because it's what they want, but because they were never really given the other option.
I also find it hard to believe there's not some middle ground. Why choose one side at the expense of the other? At the very least, they should have had more time to make their decisions, as, let's face it, wolf kids or not, adolescents rarely make the best long-term decisions in regards to their lives.
So those are my thoughts. A good movie, to be sure, but I've seen Hosoda do better.
I'm Still Alive, I Swear!
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Both of my free stores (and I'm sure I'll post more soon) are now available on my FictionPress account as well as on this blog, so go check them out!
The Coming of the Wolves
Journey Through Time
Both seem to have been received quite well so far, so I certainly hope you enjoy them!
Happy Halloween (And Some Other Stuff)
The thing is, Halloween proceeds National Novel Writing Month by a day. So I will be holed up in my room starting tomorrow in the little spare time I have, typing away for most of November. My NaNo profile is here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/kumaokaasan, where you can follow my progress and check out the novel I'm working on as my project. I will do my best to be active on the site, but with some changes at my work and trying to complete NaNo, I probably won't be updating this blog much in November.
In December, I plan to have a giveaway on GoodReads of some signed copies of December, my newest novel. (hehe) More details on that to come, and I promise I'm working on July, its sequel. ... Just not in November. *sigh*
FREE SHORT STORY - Journey Through Time
Labels:
creative writing,
literary fiction,
short story
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Journey Through Time
Karen Lofgren
One moment, you’re in ancient Egypt, standing on the banks of the Nile. You can see why this beautiful river was so long held sacred by these people. Off in the distance, the pyramids of Giza stand tall, no longer corroded by time. The dryness and the heat is almost suffocating, the only moisture coming off the river.
A little way down the shore, you see a body, a girl. Your natural human empathy kicks in and you try to go to her side, but you’re rooted to the spot. You are merely an observer to times long gone by, and cannot influence them, no matter how badly you may want to. You see a priest stumble down the caked mud of the bank to the body. A nameless girl, slain in some horrible way, is treated like a queen because the river chose to accept her in death.
Egypt declines and Rome rises, its victories over Carthage to the south heralding its triumph. In just a short while, the Roman Empire goes from city state to a mighty empire that dominates land on three continents. Roads are built. More wars are fought. New religions arise and take the place of those of old. And in many ways the world will never be the same again. Every empire that comes afterward does its best to imitate Rome.
The image fades, and you’re no longer in Rome, untouched by the ages and at the height of its glory. You see the Andes mountains reach up and scrape the very sky. You look upon Machu Pichu in all its splendor, and see the Inca farm in the terraced fields of the mountainsides. The engineering these people mastered so many centuries ago is absolutely incredible. You then watch helplessly as the Spanish come and burn this society to the ground. But they never find Machu Pichu. It will remain forever as a monument to those who built it.
Back in Europe, you bear witness to a light piercing through the Dark Ages. The Renaissance has begun. Breathtaking art, social reform, a somewhat stronger emphasis on science... You witness its birth. It reminds you that just about anything can change in an instant.
Cheers make your ears ring as the French Revolution begins. It is simultaneously terrifying and awe-inspiring. The scent of gunpowder fills your nostrils and panicked shouts permeate the air, while at the same time cries of freedom and hope for a better tomorrow ring. You see hope fade into despair as the Reign of Terror settles in, and you flinch away as the guillotine falls, severing a world in its swipe.
The modern age has crept up on you. Whispers of war blow across Europe. You see young men eagerly enlist as soldiers, only to return years later broken and suffering. You see death, shell explosions, twisted trees, land you can’t believe was once green; and less dramatic but no less painful things, like infection and disease. You see soldiers in the trenches huddled together in the long hours between active fighting, their lives becoming more and more unbearable and jaded as the years pass by.
But it is not only in the trenches of Europe where World War I occurs. Oh no, it is everywhere. From the steamy jungles of Africa where German, British, and Belgian colonies are held, to the eastern front where weary and scared Russian soldiers march, wondering what is to become of their country, to the Ottomans, struggling against Arab uprisings propped up by the British and French.
World War I is terrible, forever leaving a scar on humanity’s collective memory and a swath of destruction and death in its wake.
But in spite of the world’s efforts to prevent it, war happens again. Human nature to obey authority figures and a fear of communism doom Germany to its fate, and you watch them go from boycotting Jewish businesses to a calculated extermination that will forever be remembered as one of the darkest blights on human history.
Finally, you come to Hiroshima, moments before the bomb goes off. There is nothing for a moment, all is still, and then you see a white light that consumes and blinds you. Tears you don’t remember crying stream down your face.
You come back from World War II and see that the exhibits have ended. That was the last one for you to see. You thank the docent who escorted you through different worlds and different lives, a sweet old lady volunteering her time, and you leave the museum.
Book Review - Sleeping Late On Judgment Day
Labels:
angels,
book review,
demons,
sleeping late on judgement day,
tad williams,
urban fantasy
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| Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble |
Author: Tad Williams
Publisher: DAW (Penguin)
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
Version I Read: Kindle
Rating: 4.25/5
It's been a long time since I've done book reviews, so I figure I should get back into the swing of things. And what better book to do it with than the grand finale to Tad Williams' newest series about angel Bobby "Poor Sap" Dollar?
After the horrifying, gut-wrenching experience that was Happy Hour in Hell, I was eagerly awaiting this last book to see how everything was going to shake out. Unfortunately, I found myself not very satisfied with the conclusion. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a good book. Like everything else Tad has done, it was very well-written and the prose and humor is great as always. But some plot threads seemed neglected, some others did not have ample foreshadowing, and the ending, in my personal opinion, did not wrap everything up well enough. These are all things I've never seen before in a Tad Williams novel, and I'll admit they bothered me.
Spoilers, ye have been warned.
Let's start with the plot. It was fine and worked within the context of the story okay, but I've seen Tad do much better, especially in terms of foreshadowing, tying it all together at the end, and having nearly every character play some sort of important role. After two books of some incredibly great, cosmic-shaking setups (Happy Hour in particular was extremely thought-provoking and made me want to see our main characters change something about the way this world was set up), nothing much came of it and several seemingly important plot points were left unanswered. Anaita being the one who created the Third Way and her motivations behind it, while they made sense, didn't feel "big enough" after what had been set up in the two previous books. The noir/mystery feel of the story is also nice (in that the main character runs around investigating a mystery and all sorts of weird stuff happens), but I'm afraid in this book it went a little overboard to the point where the plot was a little more all over the place than it should have been.
As for the ending, I'm positive the ambiguous nature was intentional, but I sure hope he's planning another book to wrap up some of the loose ends, because otherwise I'm going to start writing some fanfiction over here. (Where did Sam go? What was Eligor's deal? What was Karael's deal? What's going on in Heaven? What about Sitri and the neo-Nazis? Who the heck is Gustibus? What about the people Bobby met in Hell?) I guess I was expecting too much, but after the first two books I was really rooting for the Third Way to be a thing that would force Heaven and Hell to sort their stuff out at the very least, but ultimately that didn't really happen either. Then again, Bobby gets Caz back even though he doesn't accomplish much of anything else, and I suppose he's happy and that's a reasonable, logical outcome to what he was facing. So in that respect the ending works just fine. But I'm afraid I wanted a little more.
The characters are great as always. Bobby's narration is both funny and heartfelt, and you really feel like you came along with him on this journey. Clarence (sorry, Harrison) and Sam are also- well-developed. (Thinking about it just now, Bobby and Sam kind of have the same dynamic the Dude and Walter from The Big Lebowski have...) The side characters also serve their purposes spectacularly, like were-pig George and crazy Foxy. Unfortunately, no one else really gets the kind of development they need. The Amazons, while I did genuinely like them, come in here in the last book and took up a lot of space that could have been used for development of the other characters or important, neglected plot threads. I know we weren't supposed to find out, but Gustibus' identity was driving me crazy. (Currently, I'm guessing he's God.) I guess Eligor didn't need a ton of further characterization because he just kind of is who he is, but it would have been nice to see a little more of him. Anaita, same thing. Caz is probably the biggest offender - while it's pretty obvious why she doesn't have much to do in the story, I still feel like she was a major character (she's Bobby's entire motivation, after all) that was criminally neglected. Her being Bobby's motivation was fine - Tad did something similar in Tailchaser's Song where it worked beautifully. In this case, however, I felt she needed a lot more "screen time."
Verdict: So while I have to say this is my least favorite Tad Williams series to date (which is basically saying it's still better than most other things I've read), it is still well worth reading.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
FREE SHORT STORY - The Coming of the Wolves
The Coming of the Wolves
Karen Lofgren
The horizon line is aglow with the end of the day. Long shadows cast themselves over the forest. Soon it will be dark.
With a shawl wrapped around my shoulders, I stumble through the trees, my breath visible in the air. It is the dead of winter, with at least four feet of snow covering the ground, impeding my progress.
Where were they?
I was home. Not in the bustle of the city, or even in my own house, a small cabin nearby. No, I only felt at home here. In the forest.
But even better, I loved hearing them.
The wolves. Gorgeous, intelligent, affectionate creatures. Humankind cannot hold a candle to them. The songs they sing to each other every night are as beautiful as their fur. A haunting melody, echoing through the trees until the very end of time.
I come to a frozen river, autumn leaves still visible under the ice. I touch the hard surface with my boot carefully, before deciding it is safe. I put my full weight on the ice, but my foot slides out from under me, and I barely catch myself. I stand to my full height again, my muscles aching. I’m not as young as I used to be.
Grace, beauty, and resourcefulness. Just like a wolf. Qualities I no longer possess.
No children have been a part of my life, and my parents are long dead and buried. There was no one who would miss me.
Wolves mate for life. Many people believe they actually fall in love.
I fell in love with a man once. I thought we were happy together, but he betrayed me, and our relationship ended. I never married.
All I wanted in life was to be a shape-changer, like so many other young women in the land, so I could take the form of a wolf and live as one until the end of my days. But I was not born a shape-changer. It took many long years for the hard truth to sink in.
I brush a hand through my gray hair. In the end, this is how I wanted it to be.
Ah, there they are.
A pack is near. With no underbrush to conceal them, I can see their dark shapes moving in circles around me. They are shy, fearful. Humans have made them that way. Proud predators, brought to their knees before us. How unfair the world is.
They continue to circle, unsure what to make of me. I spread my arms, welcoming them, but none draw near. Knowing I will need to draw them in, I pull the knife from my coat pocket. It’s small, but it will get the job done.
Like a wolf that has reached the end of its life, I have ventured out into the wilderness to die, even though I have no pack mates to burden. The wolves will go for my throat first, to make sure I am dead before they begin their feast. My body will be torn apart and eaten. My intestines will decorate the ground in an exotic pattern, and only my bones will remain once my carcass has been picked clean. It will be painful, and brutal, but that is the way of nature. That is the way things should be.
The wolves will not approach me, so I will go to them.
I barely feel the pain as the knife slices open my numb skin.
The smell of the blood entices them. I fall to my stomach, my face looking to the side. Some of the more hungry ones pounce forth, and come to me. Their pack will not starve this winter. Not tonight, anyway.
I watch on, embracing my end.
The blood is beautiful against the snow.
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