Thursday, March 29, 2012

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.
www.someecards.com/
            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. 

3 comments:

  1. This week in my psychology class we focused on social development and social relationships. Research does show that we immediately judge people based on their appearance as if that has any effect on their personality at all, but as human beings its just what we do. So you are absolutely right that appearances do make a difference.

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  2. Are you talking about Dr. Packer? If so then I agree with you. He really didn't teach very well, but he had that nice suit and proved his was very smart. Even though he looks the part, especially with that swagger he had when he walked in every day, he was definitely not meant for a classroom. Looks are nice, but they can always be deceiving.

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  3. Yea Phil I was talking about Dr. Packer! That poly sci class made me want to rip my hair out. I especially liked his laugh when any one asked a question, it was really reassuring. You are right he did have a very nice suit. Still the word document was ridiculous. I've heard he is better in small classes.

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