Monday, April 21, 2014

CPR- Cerena



Cerena began to settle in front of the room. With both hands on the podium and glancing down at her freshly developed tribute to her hero, she took a breath. She turned her head to confirm that the picture of her mother be projected on the screen behind her. By simply doing so, she gained reassurance and quickly began to speak over life lessons Cerena’s mother had exemplified through periods of struggle and strife. Cerena envelopes her image of a hero by not only inviting the class to learn of her strong mother, but by creating a fuller grasp with supporting images and real-life examples that allow the audience to take a peek within her life.

Nervous, yet excited she stands
“Don’t give up, you are limitless”, she expands
And how can such words not resonate within
When sometimes we do not even know where to begin

“Love unconditionally”, I often forget
Why are mothers so wise?
Because they give what they get

I feel her power, the sense of relief
When she says “Be kind”, no need for grief
And she relaxes, smiles
I relax, smile

Effective moments were clearly identifiable within Cerena's speech. These points were distinguishable when she took a moment to pause and embrace her disposition (at the beginning). But after a few seconds, Cerena's speed of her speech-while impressive- was somewhat distracting. Fortunately, she later relaxes when speaking about unconditional love. Within this was an effective moment of silence and the subsequent cracking of her voice when giving the example of her mother letting her uncle stay with them. After subtly tearing up, Cerena was able to relax and from then on 100% improved her speed and began conveying a more open body language by using hand gestures. 

Alexander advocates to use poetic/artistic responses in order to create a holistic evaluation for his student. He believes, especially within performative arts such as acting and public speaking, that more components exist apart from simple delivery and content. Alexander is interested in the existing implications and subtext of the speaker. He wishes to dig deeper when analyzing them, leading to a more comprehensible understanding of not only what they spoke of, but how they did so, and the effects it had on the audience. 

3 comments:

  1. I really liked your entire post! I thought it had a poetic quality throughout, not just in the poetic response part, which is reminiscent of your speeches. I especially enjoyed your observation of how Cerena turned her head to ensure that her mom's picture was projected behind her, and how this simple gesture began the speech and provided her with reassurance.

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  2. I agree with Amy - your writing is very eloquent and poetic. I really love the incorporation of Cerena's mother's life lessons as well as the rhetorical question you pose in your poem. Well done!

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  3. Great job Elia! I appreciate how you included only some of the life lessons my mom valued. I like your subtle approach with the poem. It was easy to read and as always, your word choice is perfection. I like the observation you included about me looking back to reassure my moms appearance on the projector. Your observation enlightened my reflection upon my own speech and made me realize something I unconsciously did. Well done!

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