Evaluation of My Demonstration Speech

     After watching the video of my demonstration speech found at http://sharing.theflip.com/session/7052ce0801402288f90bb4238e619770/video/23962741 several times and closely inspecting it, I have come to the conclusion that I did many things very well in this speech.  Despite the fact that I did many things well, I also could have done better with a thing or two.  The first thing I noticed I did well was grab the audience’s attention right in the beginning.  Everyone laughed, but they also became more interested in the speech because of the intro.  After grabbing the audience’            attention, I think I also had a pretty good introduction.  I introduced what I was going to teach everyone, and I explained why they should be interested in learning about what I was going to teach them.  After the introduction I transitioned into the procedure of folding a shirt in a Japanese fashion.  After watching the video of the speech I thought my procedure seemed very organized and understandable.  I demonstrated exactly what I was saying, and even went over some more confusing parts multiple times.  Another thing I thought I did well was make eye contract with everybody in the audience well.  I did not spend much time looking down at the shirt.  I also think I made a lot of hand gestures, which are good for speeches.  The last thing I believe I did well in this speech was get my overall point and lesson across to the audience.  I had a volunteer come up and try the folding technique I taught, and he seemed to have learned well from my speech.  One thing I think I could have improved on in this speech was the volume I talked at.   I was not quiet, but I believe if I talked a little louder I could have kept some people’s attention better.  In the end, watching this video made me feel positively about how I gave my demonstration speech.

Response to Nick Lund's "Obstacles in Writing/Reading TILOHL"

            I completely agree with Nick Lund’s post about the possible obstacles involved in reading and writing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks found at http://nelundlsc100f09.blogspot.com/.  The first thing he says is that it is an important story to be heard because it can help us with making future laws.  There is a lot of debate about whether or not a doctor should need consent to use a persons cells, or anything else from their body.  This story seems to prove that consent should be necessary, so it can really help with decisions like that.  The next point Nick Lund makes is that Millions of dollars were made from Henrietta Lack’s cells, but she was unable to pay for health insurance herself.  This is completely unfair to Henrietta and her family.  If her cells were used to make millions of dollars, the least the researchers and doctors could have done was give some profit to the Lack’s family so they can afford necessary things such as health care.  Nick Lund claims that it is very important for this story to be heard so people can learn from the mistakes that were made previously.  I am behind this one hundred percent because it would be a shame to see anything like this happen to someone again. 

            The next point Nick Lund makes in his blog is how Rebecca Skloot had to overcome a major obstacle while writing this book.  Skloot had to write accurately about the Lacks family, while keeping many different types of audiences interested.  It must have been extremely difficult to keep experts interested in the book, while keeping it exciting so students stay interested as well.  Nick Lund’s blog about the struggles of writing and reading The Immortal Life of Henriettta Lacks is a very accurate analysis.

Demonstration Evaluation

     I watched a video of a demonstration speech about how to make seven layer bars that can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQFHUSkYtOI.  This demonstration speech has many positive aspects to it, and does a great job of showing its audience how to make seven layer bars.  The first thing the woman in the video does very well is grabbing the audience’s attention.  She uses good imagery and description to get the audience interested in what she is going to explain.  Another thing she does well is give a brief history of where she learned of the recipe she is going to give for the seven layer bar.  Giving this history lets the audience know that it has been around for a while so it is probably a safe and effective way of making the bars.  The woman in the video also delivers the demonstration great.  She projects her clearly, and loud enough to hear, but not too loud.  She also makes eye contact with the camera, which is very important during a speech.  Aside from delivering the speech well, she is also very organized.  Before starting the actual demonstration, the woman tells the audience all of the necessary materials and ingredients for the seven layer bars.  While explaining what you need to make these bars, she shows what they look like for a visual aid.  Another very important thing the woman in the video does well is she performs all the actions she is describing.  Doing this is important because the seeing it done helps the audience understand how to do it better.  One more important thing this speech includes is the final product.  At the very end, the woman in the video shows what the seven layer bars should look like when they are finished.  Overall I think this demonstration speech is done very well.  I was not able to find a single drawback in the entire video.  

Response to Paul Yonga's, "Organs for Sale?"

          I respectfully disagree with Paul Yonga's post entitled, "Organs for Sale", found at http://pyongalsc100f10.blogspot.com/.  One of the main arguments in this blog says that people should not be able to sell their organs because it makes them a commodity.  I do not agree with this because people would not be forced to sell their organs, it would be their choice.  If a person wants to sell their body, or parts of their body, for someone else's benefit, they should be allowed to.  The fact is, every person in the world owns his or her body, so he or she should be able to do anything and everything with that body.  I do not think this is a good argument to keep the sales of people's organs illegal.

           Paul's second argument says that people would be putting themselves at a large risk because selling organs involves surgery.  Although I do agree that surgery always puts people at risk of possible failures or mistakes made by doctors, I still disagree with his main point.  As long as people have a choice, selling organs should be legal.  If someone in desperate need of money is willing to put his or her life on the line, he or she should be able to make his or her own decision.  Part of life is making difficult decisions and living, or not living with them.  Paul has several decent arguments about why selling organs should be illegal, but I still believe it should be legal to sell organs because people own their bodies.

 
 

Organs for Sale

   I believe people should be able to sell their organs if they want to.  There are multiple reasons that I believe people should be able to sell, or do whatever they want, with their organs.  The biggest reason I have this strong belief is because the organs belong to a person.  People should be able to do whatever they want with their organs because the organs are their property.  Despite the fact that I believe selling organs should be allowed, I also believe there should be requirements for a person to be able to sell them.  If someone wants to sell his or her organs, those organs should be thoroughly inspected by doctors.  Only organs that are completely healthy and safe should be sold.  

   Another reason I believe the selling of organs should be legal is because it would probably increase the amount of available organs immensely.  Many people die because they are unable to receive a certain organ that they need to live.  But, if people were allowed to sell their organs, more organs would be available, and less people would die due to a failure of finding a new organ.  In the end, the ability for people to sell their organs could contribute to the saving of many lives.

  One more reason I think people should be allowed to sell their organs is because of profit.  Many people in this day and age are in severe need of money, and selling their organs could give them some extra money that might go a long way for them. 

         After reading the article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10786211, my opinion has not changed, but it has been made stronger.  This article completely reiterates all of my beliefs on this topic.  It says organ selling should be legal because people have the right to do what they want with their body, and because it will increase the supply or organs.  I strongly believe the selling of organs should be legal.