Though I wouldn't credit The Hill's Spencer any value as a human being, he does, unfourtantely, have some rhetorical value.
As I sat and watched an re-run of the ever so realistic The Hills a few days ago, I watched as the manipulative tool Spencer used his rhetoric to make his baby sister cry. His ability to redefine the terms is what makes him an effective rhetorician. In this one instance (although there are many, many more) he takes a situation where he was at fault, redefines the arguement, and turns it back onto his sister. Within a matter of a few minutes, he had convinced her that he was not at fault and it was her "who was making herself cry." As dishonest and cunning as this entire conversation was, I was blown away at how easily Spencer redefined the term. Not only that, but he convinced her that the arguement was unimportant and irrelevant--which made her drop the subject all together.
I despise his character, yet continue to watch it every week...at least this time around, he offered me something to write about.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Response to Palestine/Israeli Discussion
Response to Palestine/Israeli Discussion
April 3rd, 2008
Liz O’Donnell
*As great as the presentation was, I didn't get the speaker's full name. Anyone have it?*
The Niemann Theater was swirling with rhetoric as (Dr. S) delivered his half hour presentation regarding the current state of education and youth in the Holy Land. His discussion was informative and powerful, and fueled by the numerous real-life experiences he was able to share with us about his time spent overseas. As for rhetoric and persuasion, there were various accounts. Some played on the audience’s pathos and some simply filled the room with a nervous tension.
The first observation I made was how he opened up with a joke. Through my public speaking courses and other areas of study, I’ve learned that this is an effective method of grabbing your audience’s attention. As long as the joke is well-mannered and pertains to the subject manner, it allows the audience to see a little of the speaker’s personality, and creates the “likeable” factor. (Dr. S’s) joke also made the point that we were allowed to ask questions throughout the presentation. It had a purpose and a persuasive effect; persuading us to listen and respect what he was about to say.
He utilizied a few other verbal techniques build his credibility as well. He humbled himself by crediting the people in the audience and their experiences. By stating that there were other people in the audience who were more knowledgeable then him, it made them feel good. In turn, it builds his credible character. In addition, he told a lot of stories to play on our pathos. Heinrich even says in his book, “…when you want to change someone’s mood, tell a story.” It’s pretty easy to do this when you are dealing with this particular topic. The stories of death and fear not only helped him prove his point, but they pulled on the audience’s heart. That triggers a whole range of reactions. The audience becomes intrigued, are called to action, or change their opinion regarding the matter. Personal story telling is a very effective rhetorical technique.
(Dr S) used a lot of open ended rhetorical questions to make a point. He used examples that played on deliberative rhetoric: questions that posed an idea about the future. In addition, he finished the question for his audience. By not giving them the change to either think or respond, perhaps he silently persuaded them to take his stance. A good example of this is when he posed the question, “When you think of the word ‘terrorism,’ what do you think of?” Instead of opening it up to discussion, he continued on with what he thought the meaning of terrorism was. This allowed him to take his position on the issue and allow others to follow him.
The other areas of rhetoric I want to speak of pertain to the time allowed for Carthage professor to respond. While I’m not sure I agree to or understand the context under which some of the professors responded, I did pick up on some rhetoric within their responses. For example, one professor choose to speak about his multitude of accomplishments. While I found this to be rather distracting and irrelevant, he did achieve at establishing his credibility. In my opinion, the situation regarding the student speaker was completely indecorous on the part of the professors involved. Although the student was responding at length, the professors and (Dr S) were there for the students. To cut him off in such a rude manner not only offended me and possibly the student involved, but showed a lack of decorum, ethical behavior, and values.
Overall, the presentation was informative, provocative, and contained useful information for the world that we presently live in. The ability for me to sit in on events such as these and distinguish rhetoric is another valuable learning tool as a communications major.
April 3rd, 2008
Liz O’Donnell
*As great as the presentation was, I didn't get the speaker's full name. Anyone have it?*
The Niemann Theater was swirling with rhetoric as (Dr. S) delivered his half hour presentation regarding the current state of education and youth in the Holy Land. His discussion was informative and powerful, and fueled by the numerous real-life experiences he was able to share with us about his time spent overseas. As for rhetoric and persuasion, there were various accounts. Some played on the audience’s pathos and some simply filled the room with a nervous tension.
The first observation I made was how he opened up with a joke. Through my public speaking courses and other areas of study, I’ve learned that this is an effective method of grabbing your audience’s attention. As long as the joke is well-mannered and pertains to the subject manner, it allows the audience to see a little of the speaker’s personality, and creates the “likeable” factor. (Dr. S’s) joke also made the point that we were allowed to ask questions throughout the presentation. It had a purpose and a persuasive effect; persuading us to listen and respect what he was about to say.
He utilizied a few other verbal techniques build his credibility as well. He humbled himself by crediting the people in the audience and their experiences. By stating that there were other people in the audience who were more knowledgeable then him, it made them feel good. In turn, it builds his credible character. In addition, he told a lot of stories to play on our pathos. Heinrich even says in his book, “…when you want to change someone’s mood, tell a story.” It’s pretty easy to do this when you are dealing with this particular topic. The stories of death and fear not only helped him prove his point, but they pulled on the audience’s heart. That triggers a whole range of reactions. The audience becomes intrigued, are called to action, or change their opinion regarding the matter. Personal story telling is a very effective rhetorical technique.
(Dr S) used a lot of open ended rhetorical questions to make a point. He used examples that played on deliberative rhetoric: questions that posed an idea about the future. In addition, he finished the question for his audience. By not giving them the change to either think or respond, perhaps he silently persuaded them to take his stance. A good example of this is when he posed the question, “When you think of the word ‘terrorism,’ what do you think of?” Instead of opening it up to discussion, he continued on with what he thought the meaning of terrorism was. This allowed him to take his position on the issue and allow others to follow him.
The other areas of rhetoric I want to speak of pertain to the time allowed for Carthage professor to respond. While I’m not sure I agree to or understand the context under which some of the professors responded, I did pick up on some rhetoric within their responses. For example, one professor choose to speak about his multitude of accomplishments. While I found this to be rather distracting and irrelevant, he did achieve at establishing his credibility. In my opinion, the situation regarding the student speaker was completely indecorous on the part of the professors involved. Although the student was responding at length, the professors and (Dr S) were there for the students. To cut him off in such a rude manner not only offended me and possibly the student involved, but showed a lack of decorum, ethical behavior, and values.
Overall, the presentation was informative, provocative, and contained useful information for the world that we presently live in. The ability for me to sit in on events such as these and distinguish rhetoric is another valuable learning tool as a communications major.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
"No, you're an egghead."
Last Thursday night (conveniently after I had read the chapter on redefining terms) my boyfriend called me a "nerd."
I told him: "If a nerd is someone who takes pride in their work, likes to expand their realm of knowledge, and works hard...then, I guess I'm a nerd."
That shut him up pretty quick, and I figured I'd gladly accept the label of nerd if it gives me a way to effectively prove my point!
I told him: "If a nerd is someone who takes pride in their work, likes to expand their realm of knowledge, and works hard...then, I guess I'm a nerd."
That shut him up pretty quick, and I figured I'd gladly accept the label of nerd if it gives me a way to effectively prove my point!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
WFIC Luncheon
I attended a luncheon hosted by WFIC (Wisconsin Foundation for Independent Colleges). Essentially, this program was a chance to network with various insurance professionals throughout the Wisconsin area. Being that graduation is in exactly two months and I still don't have a job, or a lead on a job, I'm taking every networking opportunity I get.
I learned during the luncheon that rhetoric and persuasion is a significant part of selling yourself. I probably knew this before, through the readings and our class discussions, but it's an entirely different realm when you're actually "out in the field" putting rhetoric to work.
And I'll shamelessly admit that I pulled out a few persuasive ploys, especially during a conversation with a company I was particularly interested in. Initially, I knew that I needed to get him to like me. (I really need a job, okay?!) I accomplished this by asking him about himself before jumping in and talking about myself. I established a relationship with him by doing this because it showed that I cared about him and what he does. Once we had a conversation about his background and skills, he moved on to asking me questions. I tried my very best to answer in ways that would compliment his previous answers. For example, I told him that I have strong public speaking skills, "just like you had mentioned, you feel that is a very valuable skill, and so do I." Be relating new conversation to old, it showed (I hope) that I was interested enough in him and our conversation to remember what we had just said, and that I wasn't just trying to talk myself up.
And then I made the dumbest mistake I probably could have made, so take note and avoid what I'm about to say. By the time we had sat down for lunch, I was so comfortable with this professional that we had moved past the 'interview' stage and were casually talking about school and classes. When he asked me about my course load, I preceded to tell him all about Rhetoric and Persuasion, how I'm learning to persuade audiences, sell myself...basically manipulate. Good choice, Liz...tell someone who you're attempting to persuade to hire you that you're actually taking a course in manipulation.
I guess, in conclusion, I realized it's best to use persuasion and rhetoric---not talk about it...oops. I ended up making a joke out of my error and he laughed--he didn't seem fazed but I can't help but think I just shot myself in the foot.
?
I learned during the luncheon that rhetoric and persuasion is a significant part of selling yourself. I probably knew this before, through the readings and our class discussions, but it's an entirely different realm when you're actually "out in the field" putting rhetoric to work.
And I'll shamelessly admit that I pulled out a few persuasive ploys, especially during a conversation with a company I was particularly interested in. Initially, I knew that I needed to get him to like me. (I really need a job, okay?!) I accomplished this by asking him about himself before jumping in and talking about myself. I established a relationship with him by doing this because it showed that I cared about him and what he does. Once we had a conversation about his background and skills, he moved on to asking me questions. I tried my very best to answer in ways that would compliment his previous answers. For example, I told him that I have strong public speaking skills, "just like you had mentioned, you feel that is a very valuable skill, and so do I." Be relating new conversation to old, it showed (I hope) that I was interested enough in him and our conversation to remember what we had just said, and that I wasn't just trying to talk myself up.
And then I made the dumbest mistake I probably could have made, so take note and avoid what I'm about to say. By the time we had sat down for lunch, I was so comfortable with this professional that we had moved past the 'interview' stage and were casually talking about school and classes. When he asked me about my course load, I preceded to tell him all about Rhetoric and Persuasion, how I'm learning to persuade audiences, sell myself...basically manipulate. Good choice, Liz...tell someone who you're attempting to persuade to hire you that you're actually taking a course in manipulation.
I guess, in conclusion, I realized it's best to use persuasion and rhetoric---not talk about it...oops. I ended up making a joke out of my error and he laughed--he didn't seem fazed but I can't help but think I just shot myself in the foot.
?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Rhetoric Restoration
I'm currently involved in a junior symposium course called Prairie Restoration. It is an education, biology, and environmental course tied into one. During the semester, we are teaming up with a classroom of ninth graders at Harborside Academy to rebuild a section of prairie that was given to us. Initially, I was dreading this course because science is not my strong suit. However, the nature of the course is encouraging because not only are you yourself learning, you're given the opportunity to teach others.
A minor detail that was left out of our sllyabus was that the Harborside Academy is a charter school, and typically enrolls youth who have left public schools for social, academic, or behavioral issues. So, imagine our surprise when each of us was paired with a teenager who, for the most part, was not interested in what we had to do or say.
I knew that some form of rescue rhetoric was needed if I was going to get my student to pay attention to me at all. Shamelessly, I played on his emotions. Here I am, this young college girl paired up with a misbehaving teenage boy. I knew that if I expressed to him what would make me happy, that maybe he'd want to try to impress me and behave. It worked! Now, this may not work for each and every student pair, but I quickly found that the best way to get my student to listen was to make him feel like he was impressing me. As we buckled down and got into the lesson, he actually did start to impress me. Another form of rhetoric that I exercised was simple rhetorical questions. He knew that I knew the the right answers, so instead of trying to figure it out himself, he would just try to get me to answer. Instead of giving in, I turned it around and asked him a rhetorical question. Not only was he surprised that I could get around his question, he felt like I had challenged him, thus he tried even harder to impress me.
All in all, the few hours I had with my student went a lot better then expected. A few rhetorical tricks turned an unfocused teenage boy into a Prairie Restoration enthusiast.
A minor detail that was left out of our sllyabus was that the Harborside Academy is a charter school, and typically enrolls youth who have left public schools for social, academic, or behavioral issues. So, imagine our surprise when each of us was paired with a teenager who, for the most part, was not interested in what we had to do or say.
I knew that some form of rescue rhetoric was needed if I was going to get my student to pay attention to me at all. Shamelessly, I played on his emotions. Here I am, this young college girl paired up with a misbehaving teenage boy. I knew that if I expressed to him what would make me happy, that maybe he'd want to try to impress me and behave. It worked! Now, this may not work for each and every student pair, but I quickly found that the best way to get my student to listen was to make him feel like he was impressing me. As we buckled down and got into the lesson, he actually did start to impress me. Another form of rhetoric that I exercised was simple rhetorical questions. He knew that I knew the the right answers, so instead of trying to figure it out himself, he would just try to get me to answer. Instead of giving in, I turned it around and asked him a rhetorical question. Not only was he surprised that I could get around his question, he felt like I had challenged him, thus he tried even harder to impress me.
All in all, the few hours I had with my student went a lot better then expected. A few rhetorical tricks turned an unfocused teenage boy into a Prairie Restoration enthusiast.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Bars and Rhetoric
I noticed a particularly odd form of rhetoric this weekend when my girlfriends and I spent Saturday night in the city for a friend's birthday. We took a cab to a popular street that housed a few different clubs. The literal second we stepped out of the cab, we had a promoter at our footsteps. "Hey ladies, you look great tonight! You'd look even better in my club! $10 all you can drink over here- don't go anywhere else!" He continued to ramble on and on until my friends and I turned on our heels and went directly the other way---to the bar we had planned on going to.
Was his rhetorically persuasive? No. Was he annoying and unappealing? Yes. I learned that night that there is an extreme difference between being persuasive and being offensive. Obviously, terms such as decorum and other cultural manners can be used to counteract this man's behavior. But part of me wanted to sit him down and explain to him that is use of rhetoric was not going to get anyone in his bar that evening, and that be better find a more decorous approach to promoting his business.
Was his rhetorically persuasive? No. Was he annoying and unappealing? Yes. I learned that night that there is an extreme difference between being persuasive and being offensive. Obviously, terms such as decorum and other cultural manners can be used to counteract this man's behavior. But part of me wanted to sit him down and explain to him that is use of rhetoric was not going to get anyone in his bar that evening, and that be better find a more decorous approach to promoting his business.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
"But ALL my friends are going to go!"
I was driving around for work today when I heard an advertisement on the radio that was not only one of the most horribly written plugs I've ever experienced, but also full of rhetoric.
This Saturday night, come join ALL the hottest Milwaukee minors at the new Sugar Dance Club...located (somwhere)...
It went on to publicize the events details but then here was the kicker. The ad had different teenage girls saying the following phrases as if their life and future depended on the success of this public announcement:
"You just have to be there!"
"Everyone I know is going to be go!"
"This is the coolest event to ever hit Milwaukee!"
" All my friends are going to be there, so I better go to!"
The reason this irritated me so much, beyond the whiny teenage voicing conveying rhetorical lies to their listeners, is that the creator of this message clearly understood how to play on people's logic and emotion. To someone unversed in rhetoric, this announcement may actually convince them to go to this "happening under-age dance club."
But to me, I realized that no, I don't HAVE to be there...not EVERYONE I know is goign to go---it's definitely NOT the coolest thing to hit Milwaukee, and just because one or two of my friends may go doesn't mean I have to.
I guess that the announcement just solidified the fact that rhetoric really is everywhere, and only those who are aware can really identify it. Otherwise, you probably just fall for it.
This Saturday night, come join ALL the hottest Milwaukee minors at the new Sugar Dance Club...located (somwhere)...
It went on to publicize the events details but then here was the kicker. The ad had different teenage girls saying the following phrases as if their life and future depended on the success of this public announcement:
"You just have to be there!"
"Everyone I know is going to be go!"
"This is the coolest event to ever hit Milwaukee!"
" All my friends are going to be there, so I better go to!"
The reason this irritated me so much, beyond the whiny teenage voicing conveying rhetorical lies to their listeners, is that the creator of this message clearly understood how to play on people's logic and emotion. To someone unversed in rhetoric, this announcement may actually convince them to go to this "happening under-age dance club."
But to me, I realized that no, I don't HAVE to be there...not EVERYONE I know is goign to go---it's definitely NOT the coolest thing to hit Milwaukee, and just because one or two of my friends may go doesn't mean I have to.
I guess that the announcement just solidified the fact that rhetoric really is everywhere, and only those who are aware can really identify it. Otherwise, you probably just fall for it.
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