Reflection Paper
English 111
Mr. Matthew Weinkman
What I Walk Away With
Cavemen did it with pictures on stone. Alexander Graham Bell did it with a telephone, and Bill Gates did it with the Internet. Communication is an important element in every human society. Being able to convey ideas well enables one to be more effective in accomplishing their goals. The importance of being a good communicator has been underscored in English 111 this semester.
There are three words that have forever been ingrained into my mind, ethos, logos, and pathos. These three words collectively describe the main forms of rhetoric, an effective tool used to persuade an audience. Using these words wisely in class could lead to a good grade. Yet, when class meets for the last time on December 8, the use of this persuasive technique is just beginning.
Five years from now I will be out in the work force. Hopefully, through hard work and dedication I will have earned a promotion. My boss may not share my sentiment. Therefore, I will use rhetoric to convince my boss that I deserve a higher position. My audience will be my supervisor. Before talking to my superior I will make sure that I am on time, working hard, and going above and beyond my job description. I will come across as a diligent worker. That will be my kairos. Before talking with my boss I will make a list for myself of all the things I have done for my department, which would enforce why I deserve the promotion. That will be my support. I will also try to establish a good relationship with my supervisor. It will be important that he likes me. If I do not have a good rapport with my boss I will not have as good of a chance at being promoted. That would be my warrant. Let’s say my life is not going according to plan and I do not make as much money as I would like. My exigency would make me want to talk to my boss about getting a promotion.
Developing effective presentation skills is a way to draw your audience in bygrabbing their attention and holding their interest. In class we were instructed to make a presentation. One of the more impressive presentations was about meal plans. On the surface the topic meal plans is boring. However, the group covering that topic made it interesting and memorable. Keeping their target audience, freshman college students in mind, the team created a spoof of the popular television show, “American Idol”. Each group member portrayed a different judge on the popular television show and proceeded to rate the practical uses of meal plans. All eyes were fixed on the panel as they presented their material in a creative and informative way.
Fast-forward six years from now. It is my first big presentation to my co-workers about increasing profitability in our department. That way the presentation would be more interesting to my co-workers. To begin I would compile statistics about our competitors and show how we compare. This would lend support to my argument. I would keep my presentation more visual. In order to grab the attention of my audience I would create a visual presentation that includes pictures of those attending the meeting at work. I can appeal to their pathos by telling them where our company will be in the future if we do increase productivity or if we do not. This would appeal to emotion, because no one wants to lose his or her job. I would present my information step by step in a logical sequence, an appeal to logos. My co-workers will see how taking these steps will benefit our department. By effectively using rhetoric I can motivate my co-workers to make our department more dynamic.
The importance of creativity is reinforced in Newsweek’’s article, “Creativity Crisis” written by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. According to the piece America is more focused on academics than on creativity. Bronson and Merryman report that IQ test scores are going up every year while creativity test scores are dropping. This works to our nation’s detriment. Executives at IBM feel creativity is the “No. 1 “leadership competency”. Being able to “think outside of the box”, can lead to success. For example: a more creative approach to speaking to a group about physical disabilities could be to have the audience sit in wheel chairs and maneuver about. A presentation about people with vision problems would require the panel to wear glasses for a moment to simulate visual impairment. These two techniques would be an appeal to logos and pathos.
One of the final assignments for the class involved a group project. Although I learned a great deal about my topic I also gained a better appreciation of the challenges that come from working within a group. I learned it is important to schedule meetings in advance. Also, it is necessary to be flexible, because everyone is on different schedules. It is important to try and get along with everyone even if your personalities do not necessarily click. I have come to appreciate that just because someone’s ideas are different from your own it does not mean that your idea is bad. This is an appeal to pathos.
One objective of college is to leave a classroom more adept at meeting life’s challenges then when one first walked in. In English 111 taking an in depth analysis of rhetoric has taught me the importance of the persuasive argument and how it translates into every aspect of life whether it be convincing my family to let me have a degree of independence, school assignments or a career. The class took different directions at times, group projects and oral presentations but at the core was how to make a persuasive argument. I will not miss using the words ethos, kairos, pathos on a daily basis but I never forget to implement these tools as they yield a great deal of power.
aspin115 