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Rhetoric for Radicals Ch. 2

  • Much of this information seems known, but it’s articulated 
  • Body language when speaking 
    • Rehearsal 
    •  Videotaping 
  • The limits of memorization 
    • Its connection with engagement 
    • Watching someone read is alienating for the audience 
  • Speaking tends to favor one main point
    • It is often low on facts, figures, numbers 
  • Organization 
    • Be prepared 
    • Be focused 
    • Be relevant 
  • Dealing with extemporaneous speaking (Kairos) 
    • Take a moment 
    • Speak slowly 
  • Differences between writing and speaking 
    • Writing’s intimate because it’s done alone and read alone (usually) 
    • Speaking’s public because the audience helps co-create the situation 
    • Different notions of audience 
      • In speaking you adapt to the audience of the moment 
      • In writing you imagine/invoked a perfect audience 
  • He values description 
  • Accuracy isn’t as important as effect 
    • Although he doesn’t endorse lying/manipulation 
  • This position could be dangerous, in that it might permit outright manipulation 
  •  Is language instrumental? 
    • It’s shared 
    • It can injure 
    • Presentation is certainly relevant 
  • Why is emotion cheaper than logic? 
    • Emotion is primitive 
    • Emotion is unpredicable 
    • Emotion is irrational Logic is objective/can be proven or disproven 
    • Emotion can be subjective 
    • Emotions can lead to damage 
    • Emotions are temporary; logic is more longer lasting 
  • Who is the media for? 
    • Corporations play a large part 
    • Commercial ends Including popular culture figures
    • Locals?