TU Tuesday Guest Speaker

        Today when Paul Grondahl came to class I thought he was a very good public speaker. Right away he looked very poised and comfortable talking in front of our class. He didn't seem nervous at all or intimidated by us and he was very calm and controlled. I could tell because he greeted us with a warm smile and asked how everyone was doing. Throughout his presentation he was comfortble talking, but also wanted to get our opinions and questions as well and wasn't afraid to disagree with anyone's comment. He connected with the audience by making direct eye contact with the person who had asked him a question or made a comment so it was more sincere.
       I thought Paul was very clear with what he was trying to say. He didn't beat around the bush he stated his opinions clearly, not trying to make us think one way or another, but just what he thought. He made his opinon even more clear when he repeated things, like when he said to be a great writer you have to read great writing. He didn't say things like "um" or hesitate a lot and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. No one asked him to speak up and people from the back of the room were participating too so everyone was able to hear him. I was never confused and his presentation was easy to follow along with.
       Paul talked about important topics and they were also topics I could relate to. He really caught my attention when he said that being different is important and that as you get older you don't want to be just like everyone else you want to be your own person. I thought that was inspiring because I realize how alike so many people in our school are, including my friends and I, and that it's okay to stand out and be different. He related the topics he was talking about to things in his life to provide details. He gave good advice, like when he said if you want to write a book you have to start with something small first. You have to be able to write an article or a short story before you can write a whole book.
        Throughout the speech he was well organized. He didn't jump around a lot, he would answer a question without getting off topic. He started off by introducing what he does and what he has accomplished and ended by telling us what insipres him and leaving us with good advice about what he thinks you should do to be a writer. He talked about many different things like what it's like to be a journalist, places he has gone and things he has seen, books, other writings and much more but he never talked about it all at once.
        I think the class interacted well with him as a whole. I asked him what was the most interesting thing he has written about because after reading his articles I was interested in the topics he was writing. Everyone seemed interested in what he was saying and I didn't think anyone was tuning him out. There was never a time where there was a long silence because people kept asking questions and making comments to what he was saying and we kept the conversation with Paul going throughout the whole class. Some people asked him a question and wanted to keep talking with him after he answered because they were engaged in what he was saying. I think next year students would enjoy talking with Paul because he is a good public speaker and he made the presentation interesting. I also think students might enjoy an author to come in and talk about books they have written and how they wrote it and why. This might get them interested in the book hearing from the author.