TedTalk Reflection and Unit 3 Ideas

TedTalk Reflection

Overall, I am proud of this speech. I believe, in terms of the five canons, I effectively conveyed my ideas and the paradigm shift, sufficiently meeting the invention criteria. I also believe because I organized my speech chronologically, it was easy to see the paradigm shift in society (meeting the arrangement criteria). I also focused on memory and delivery. As this was a TedTalk, I ensured that I had no notes but relied only on the prompts on the slides. I also incorporated humor to aid in the effectiveness of my delivery. I do, however, believe I have room to improve regarding my rhythm. For the future, I would like to work on variance in tone and sentence structure. However, overall, I am happy with both the content and execution of my speech.

Unit 3 Ideas

  1. 2nd Amendment, The Right to Bear Arms: I think this topic is very salient in contemporary discourse. With recent school shootings (like Parkland 2018), gun rights are highly controversial, especially for our generation (school shootings). This topic is a controversy because it gun control faces two opposing sides: collective safety vs individual constitutional rights to bear arms.
  2. Vaccinations: Another public controversy to analyze are vaccinations. Vaccinations are controversial because the common good is at odds with individual rights… and conspiracies (like vaccines cause autism and other disorders). On the one hand, individuals have the right to choose what goes into their (and their children’s) bodies, while on the other, vaccines protect the general public health.
  3. Student Debt Crisis: On one side, students want access to affordable, if not free, education as a human right. Student debt traps many young people into vicious debt cycles as they enter adulthood. On the other side of the argument, individuals argue education should not be free because it devalues the significance of higher education. Individuals argue that cancelling student debt makes young people “not work for it” and makes them “lazy” or “entitled.”

Rayna Alexander

I am a sophomore majoring in Political Science and African Studies. I hope to pursue work in academic/think tank research, public relations, government, or public policy. I love kayaking, hiking, graphic design, horseback riding, coffee, and PSU. Let's get coffee!

3 Comments

  1. Your TED talk was amazing! The memorization aspect was extremely impressive. I really like your first two Public controversy ideas. Both are super important right now because of both the new election and the COVID vaccine. I think both would be really fun to explore.

  2. The content of your speech was definitely a huge strength! You are already a great speaker so I am sure that your pacing and tone will improve very quickly : D

    I like all of your topics so far, they are all very serious and pressing issues in our day and age. I’m leaning towards the vaccination idea especially because of the global pandemic and how it has emphasized the importance of public health but I like the other two ideas as well!

  3. I think you did an amazing job on your TED Talk and it was clear that you knew what you were talking about and had it rehearsed. I love your ideas about the next project, especially the one regarding the 2nd amendment because it is so important to talk about.

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