Persuading

In most recent experience, I had to persuade more than just one person. It seems that I have this experience quite often because each time someone finds out I'm a vegetarian, I not only have to explain to them why but persuade them that it is a good idea. I found that if I don't persuade them, they look at me doubtfully. First I tell them my reason, next I go into some of the pros of being vegetarian. I also tell them that if I raised my own animals then I wouldnt mind eating meat because then I become more level with them. I never try to force anyone into it because I feel that it is everyones own choice. I do like being able to tell them the healthy side of it so that they can think about it for themselves. I find that it also is good not to tell someone that they are eating wrong and harming themselves because then that just puts the person into defense mode and makes them want to argue with you.

Speech buddy videos

In the speech buddy videos, the girl talked about home schooling and public schools. I understand a lot of where she is coming from because I had homeschooling but I also went to public school. From what I know and heard, there isn't that much violence in public school. It seems that if someone is looking for a fight, they'll find anywhere whether or not in school. I did like that she had both pros and cons. She did a good job of talking about both sides. Addressing questions/arguments that the other side is important. Like having a problem and solution to the questions/arguments. I do think that she needed something more like statistics and more facts than stories and opinions. In my opinion it is the best way to persuade and get your audience to agree with you. Overall it was enjoyable and good example of how to show both sides in our speeches.

chapter 14 reading

In chapter 14, it talks about Monroe's five step pattern as well as the problem solution pattern which we talked about in the earlier post. I found most helpful reading about what kind of audiences there are to persuade. I guess that its true that you get a variety of different audience types when giving a speech so it is important to make sure you can meet or at least try to meet the needs of each person to get your point across. there are negative, positive, sympathetic, divided, apathetic and uninformed. I liked how this chapter went over how to deal with each type of audience, showing what techniques to use and what kind of questions to answer for each group. Very helpful and I shall be taking that into consideration.

Sea of Persuasion

I think that persuasion is a part of our every day life and in everything we do, see and hear. If you are watching a television show, you are going to see a bunch of commercials in between. All those commercials are made to persuade you in something. Whether its to persuade you to buy something or with the recent elections, vote for someone. I remember reading a magazine and after wanting to buy that miracle lotion they were writing about. All of the ad campaigns for the election are also still burned into my skull because there were so many of them. There were negative ads and positive ads, so you can also get persuaded to dislike something. While it easy to get caught up in all of this, it's important to look into whatever it is you've decided to purchase or believe through an ad. When you research it, it will make you a better consumer.

Monroe's motivated sequence

Monroe's motivated sequence is basically the directions on a persuasive speech broken down. It consists of getting peoples attention which you can do by shocking them with a story or perhaps a statistic. Then you need to explain the need to the problem and how it can affect your audience. Next you want to have a solution to the problem being presented. Lastly, you need to show people visually what will or can happen if no measures are taken and call them to take action, making them feel important and like they have a hand on the issue. The problem solution pattern is pretty much the same in steps. I think that the main purpose of these two systems is to get the audience involved in what you are talking about. This helps make your topic an important issue and calls the audience out to do something about the issue. I think that these are great methods to use for a persuasive speech not only because it is a good attention holder though out the speech but also because it pretty much rounds out your speech.

Flickr

I think that some of the things being said on flickr about the sexist words arent necessarily correct there are certain words that can definitely be taken seriously when it comes to sexism or racism but when you call someone "girl" or "boy" I don't think that that is sexist at all. I personally use that on a regular day basis. If my girlfriend calls me, I usually answer and say "hey girl!" most of the comments that were there on Flickr didn't seem to mind these words either. Most of them said that as a matter of factly, they use those words as well on a regular day basis. I see sexism more as downgrading a man or a woman when you say that the person can't do a certain thing because they are a man or woman. I don't have a Facebook so I don't know how the whole tagging thing works but reading the comments, it doesn't sound like ppl think it is a big deal at all and I agree!

Speech Buddy Videos: Ones voice

I think what I got most out of the speech buddy videos this week was the tone of voice used and how it affects our speech  from how a person perceives it to how it just comes out sounding in general. I found it interesting that it also affects the time length in which it takes to present your speech. I have noticed that when I practice my speech and time myself at home, it turns out longer than when I actually present it. I know for a fact that it is because the nervousness but maybe if I concentrated on the tone of voice, it would be the same time length. I also think that it is a good idea to watch the tone of voice because it will help people perceive it the way you want them too. Our voice should be clear and loud enough for everyone to hear but not so loud that it sounds like you are shouting. I didnt give "voice" much thought before but now its definitely something to practice!