Dress Well to Test Well

            Whether it is right or not, appearances do matter. The way you dress and present yourself gives off a vibe to people you meet. I am much more likely to take someone who is wearing a business suite seriously then someone who is in basketball shorts. Even if you try not to judge people on the way they look, it is often subconscious. Just today I was watching a video in my Econ class that proved that blondes got more money when they went door to door soliciting for charity. (I’ve seen first hand accounts of this). Regardless, if you want affective rhetoric than your appearance and the appearance of your visual aids need to look professional and well done.

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            I had a professor last semester who lectured for the whole class, which is to be expected in college. However he lectured off of a word document. Yes, he projected a word document on to the screen and blew up the font to 70 and read off of it. I found out later that semester that he typed up the notes 5 minutes before class, awesome. He was easily the worst teacher, and the most boring class I’ve had so far in college. He was a really smart guy, but the way he presented his material was sloppy and made it seem unimportant. No matter how interesting the information was I could not get past the fact that he was scrolling through a word document. Seriously? If he had put his notes on a power point or even just lectured them from personal notes it would have been so much better. The amount of effort he put into that class was minimal and it showed, by spending a few more minutes making his notes presentable he would have had much more effective rhetoric and captured more of his audience. 

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home

            To say I love Harry Potter, might be an understatement. After all, it is a symbol of our generation. I grew up along side Harry, Ron, and Hermione and for that they will always hold a special place in my heart. It can be easily argued that they Harry Potter books are good, quality books (more like amazing and can never be out done, of course that’s harder to prove). Point being, they are good books that have gained a lot of popularity. Why is it that Harry Potter is a good book? I think that the answer can be found in the rhetoric and writing style of JK Rowling.

            First of all it is detailed, highly detailed; the castle was described in near accuracy to the place Rowling based it off of. Unlike Dickens who (in my opinion) bored us with his details of mundane things, Rowling explains to us every detail of a magical castle home to amazing individuals. All the wands, spells, creatures, and so much more are all foreign to us therefore the details are welcome. The characters have enough normal qualities so that we can relate to them. They are normal kids, who are starting at a new school, with new friends and enemies; for the most part they are just like us. It isn’t too hard for us to imagine ourselves going to Hogwarts (I don’t know about you, but my letter is still in the mail). In addition to the details, and the ability to relate to the characters, there is a common place that Rowling uses through out the story that has nothing to do with spells or potions or wizards. It is the idea that “good will triumph over evil”. This is not a proven common place, but it is a common place nonetheless. Rowling proposes this to us time and time again, and in every case it is true. Good always wins; of course there are causalities and bloodshed. However the important thing Rowling leaves us with is: we, with our actions, not our abilities, have the power to make sure good will win over evil.  

That Awkward Moment When...

            We’ve all done it, lets be honest. I definitely have, I know you have, it is human nature. You are walking by someone you kind of know, but not really so you look away, pretend to be texting, or flat out pretend like you they are invisible to avoid awkwardness. Being at Penn State with over 50 kids from my graduating class, this is a daily occurrence.  But really its better then awkward conversation; we weren’t friends in high school moving an hour and a half north did nothing to change that fact.

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            Nothing is worse then awkward conversation. One on one for 30 seconds is one thing but have you ever been in a situation with a lot of people when someone is speaking and it is just awkward? Maybe it’s at a wedding and the cousin who drank a little too much is on stage making an inappropriate, and flat out awkward, toast. And though everyone is smiling at him, you know they are all thinking “get this kid off the stage this is soooo awkward”. It happens because believe it or not, when speaking to a crowd or even one on one, there are things that are appropriate to say and things that are NOT. When working with rhetoric it is important to keep in mind what is appropriate to say and what is not. You do not want your audience to be uncomfortable. The appropriateness of your rhetoric depends on the situation, as does most things when dealing with rhetoric. Though only a few weeks ago I talked about the powers of subtlety there is a fine line between pushing the social norms and awkward.