Speech Comm

[prof-cregg.livejournal.com]

CJ walks into class wearing dark sunglasses and carrying a 20 oz coffee. She looks tired, but extremely happy. It takes her a good 5 minutes to begin talking, and then it's v-e-r-y softly.

201, it's time to get into some really meaty speech writing. I want you to pair up, this is going to be a week long project, and I want you to
1. Choose an issue
2. Take a side (one pro and one con. You do not have to agree with the side you argue)
3. Come up with a speech, a la debate.

This will be a good exercise especially for those of you running for student government.
((ooc:I go back to teaching tomorrow, so speech comm is moving to slow play))

By this time she's had her coffee and has perked up some, but she still doesn't take off her glasses.

301
Let's continue our discussion from yesterday. We had decided that sex, or rather the promise of sex, violence and the threat of violence, peer pressure and the need to conform, and fear were all tools of persuasion. All true, all true...but there are others.

Attractiveness, I mean non sexual, just plain good to look at attractiveness is another. People are more inclined to agree with and help out pretty people. Someplace I have statistics on that.

Furthermore, likability and similarity gets factored in. I suppose this all leads to the peer pressure D'anna brought up yesterday.

So, let's keep talking people!

Comments

301

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

Jack rests his chin on his hands. "The problem with depending on attractiveness as a form of persuasion is that when it doesn't work, you don't have a backup. Not that I've had painful and salutory lessions to that effect here at fandomhigh. It isn't even really persuasion, because if you dazzle with your looks, you aren't offering a substansive argument. Once someone gets away from your -- general you, not specific you -- presense, the argument, such as it is, collapses. Which is why dazzling them only works for short cons.

Not that anything I'm saying is majorly earthshattering, or anything, but it's useful to point out that attractiveness is largely a short-term solution."

Re: 301

[prof-cregg.livejournal.com]

Good point, Jack. Beauty only gets you so far, but if it's the difference between the opportunity to ask and people running away from you in fear saying "my god what is that thing", surely you can see the value of attractivness in relation to influence?

Re: 301

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

It certainly makes initial or short-term contact easier. And don't get me wrong; I'd rather be pretty than not, for lots of reason. But like Ms. Gilmore says below, there are a lot of times when people don't expect any more than "pretty" from you, and don't take you seriously when you actually try to move beyond it.

Re: 301

[marsheadtilt.livejournal.com]

Veronica waves to Jack as she takes her seat.