Pre-Ted Talk

Salvete!

I already did my Ted Talk, but I realized that I never discussed what happened leading up to it. I knew that having to speak in front of a lot of people would be hard to do, and it would require a lot of practice. With this knowledge in mind, I decided to complete my presentation a few days before the project is actually do so that I wouldn't have any last minute worries.

A week before

I decided that I wanted to write my script a week before I presented, setting a due date for myself on the Monday before the project was due. I realized that it isn't easy to write a Ted Talk, and it would take a lot more time than I originally expected. I didn't have any creative ideas that would go along with my subject. Thankfully, during gifted IE on Friday the 13th, I was able to, with help, come up with the idea to have the bucket story. I read this inspiration story on a Chipotle bag about two water buckets. (sounds familiar?) One was old, and one was new. The old bucket lost half of its water on the journey from a watering well to a house, and was ashamed for doing so. The bucket then found out that because of the water that it lost, it gave the flowers along the road something to drink, and the ability to live. I had this story in the back of my mind for a while. When I was trying to think of something that could be used to relate to Latin, this came to mind, because both Latin and the bucket were able to have a positive effect while dying. I knew that I would have to show my product in some way, and I thought that the best way was to have a conversation in Latin. I decided to combine the two ideas together, and have the dialogue of the story be in Latin. I was very excited to write out my script, and it instantly took off, making meeting my goals of finishing my script by Monday very easy.

The Monday before

I decided to film a video for my project. I knew that I had some buckets, and it was very easy to fill it with water and watch it drain out the water. It was not easy to carry a bucket full of holes from the hose to the camera, on a cold day especially. I had to fill it multiple times before I finally was able to film, and it was simply a mess. However, I was finally able to get the footage, and record my voiceovers that day. I also completed a Prezi and Powerpoint, in case one of them didn't work on the day of.

The days leading up to it

I wanted to make sure that the script that I had written in Latin was correct, so I decided to talk to two of my friends about it. I knew that I would probably have some errors, because I was a beginner and it's very easy for even someone who has studied Latin for a year, two, or ten to make mistakes. One of the replies that I got was:

 (I just wanted to mention that both of my friends used lol at the end of their text, the other one being "That's bad no offense lol" They were both trying to hide how bad my grammar actually was by using the "lol" to make the text seem lighthearted.) I went through this project oblivious to the fact that my grammar was so atrocious. I didn't even know what a case is. I however wanted to focus on the problem at hand, which was my incorrect script for my Ted Talk. I decided to worry about my grammar after the project was over. She and my other friend were able to help me fix my mistakes and rerecord the correct version of the script.

I wanted to practice my script during the week so that I didn't have to do it all in one night. I downloaded an app that records one's voice, and then has options to play it back on repeat. I did exactly that, and was able to memorize most of my script through the week. 

The day/night before

I was excited to be done my powerpoint/prezi/script. I thought I could relax and just continually run through the script as I had been doing all week. However, one study hall changed my project. I asked Jacob to watch my project and give me feedback. Having honest feedback is a little rough, but I'm glad that he gave me honest feedback. He told me frankly that the presentation was boring. And was able to help me come up with some transitions between ideas that would interest the audience a little more. I decided that I had to change at least some of my project to make it interesting, and decided to add some interesting facts about Roman culture, and a little bit of humor to the section where I talk about my mistakes. However, this changed up my script, and left me a confused mess. I was determined to memorize all of my script, and I kid you not, I recited my script over 30 times that night. When I got home, I recited it 10 times. I then took a break to study French, then recited my script three times after that. I then took a break to have dinner, and recited my script three times after that. I took a break to take a shower, then recited my script three times after that. After that I did my math homework, and of course recited it three times. I then put my powerpoint and prezi on a flashdrive, and then recited my script three times. Before bed I also recited my project 5 more times. I know that that's a lot of repetition, but it's what helped me to feel comfortable with the changes that I made right before the project.

The day of

I got up early to find an appropriate outfit for the presentation and to look over my notes one last time. I had my Fruity Pebbles with whipped cream, and was off to school. I had a French test that day, and was nervous all throughout it. Finally the Ted Talk came, but I'll save more details about the actual Ted Talk and the aftermath of it for my next blog.

All while still
using Rosetta Stone. I did have to cut back a little, because I focused on the project so much, so my time was reduced to half an hour on some days. The night before, being honest, I did not do any Rosetta Stone. There wasn't anything exciting or new about Rosetta Stone, but I am planning on finding another program to use in addition to Rosetta Stone, and will update you on how that works.

All in all it was a crazy week, but worth it in the end. Thanks for reading my blog, valete!

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