The Bailey Oratorical

I had to attend the Bailey for several of my classes; however, I was actually interested in watching the speeches live this year. Unfortunately, due to personal problems, I was not able to view the Bailey in person like I wanted. I think this definitely detracted from my ability to focus on the speech as well as my overall enjoyment of the speeches. Next year, I hope to be able to actually attend the Bailey in person for the first time, as I was not able to attend the event last year either.

All of the speakers needed to answer the Bailey’s prompt, but I thought it was interesting to see the different ways they interpreted it. In particular, I think that Vy Mai’s speech was particularly powerful. Her speech was my favorite because as she is the grandchild of an immigrant, I as an audience member believed that she has the authority to speak about this issue more than someone who has no connection to the horrors of Vietnam. In addition, I thought her delivery of the speech was very strong. There was real emotion in her voice when she spoke about her grandfather’s torture. I really got the sense that she cared about what she was talking about. I think passion is really a key determining factor of whether or not a speech is effective.

While Alex’s speech was not my favorite, I do think that the reason he won over the other speakers has a lot to do with the way he organized and delivered his speech. He spoke very clearly, passionately, and enunciated his words well. On a technical level, his speech was organized in a way that felt like a narrative rather than a response to a prompt. While the other speakers attempted this as well, I thought Alex’s blended the most seamlessly into the rest of his speech. I liked that he did not try and separate himself from the issue just because he has friends abroad, but rather seemed to recognize that he too was part of the problem.

In addition, I liked the structure of posing a question and then answering that question. The metaphor that Alex used comparing bad roommates to business organizations really worked for me. While Alex elaborates on what this metaphor meant, it was up to the audience to make the connection that, like a bad roommate, businesses working in self interest is a bad thing that will negatively impact your life.

Cat Lannigan’s speech also stood out to me. Like Vy Mai’s, she spoke very personally about her topic. I got the sense that she was actually very frustrated with the current issue of gender stereotyping that goes on, not only in America but internationally as well. As another young woman, I really connected with her point that boys are deemed worthy of respect for far less than girls get. As a girl with a brother myself, I related very strongly to her anecdote about her brother getting a hand shake when she did not.

Nate’s speech was good in that he related to his own experience with gun violence, but I think the reason he didn’t place is likely because he was far too quiet. I could barely hear him even when I turned up the volume on my speakers all the way, which was not an issue for any other speaker. In addition, I know that issues that are controversial often are not received favorably. This is no fault of Nate’s, but the timing of his speech could have either been seen as very topical and important, or like he was capitalizing on an issue because he knew it was relevant.

One of the reasons I thought Ben did not win was the fact that he was so aggressive in his speech. While it is true that an impassioned speech can change minds, audiences do not like to feel like they are being yelled at. Ben’s speech was a lot of that. His statement “science is often wrong,” seemed to contradict the fact that he then talks about citizens getting involved in science and being engaged. I couldn’t really understand where he was coming from most of the time.

Likewise, I couldn’t really understand Sarah’s point about studying abroad. She seemed to be saying that Juniata needs to reform its study abroad program to be more integrating, but everyone I’ve spoken to about their study abroad experience has had nothing but good things to say about how they got involved in the community they studied in. I wonder if it could possibly be because Sarah studied in Ecuador, where the culture and language is very different than in the United States. She spoke about crossing bridges but I couldn’t understand how that connected to study abroad until the very end of the speech. I feel like this point could have been made more clear. She said she didn’t feel like she got enough out of study abroad, but I couldn’t help but feel that perhaps her experience was the exception rather than the norm.

Watching the Bailey, even though it was on YouTube, really made me think about how to communicate verbally with a group of people and how it differs from written communication. As a Professional Writing POE, I’ve always felt like my written communication skills are much stronger than my verbal. Maybe events like the Bailey could be a way for me to strengthen my verbal communication skills as I prepare to enter the workforce. Entering the Bailey is going to be one of my main goals for myself to do before I graduate from Juniata College.