Public Speaking [January 29, 2013]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"Hey there," Josh said, putting down his coffee to greet the class as they sat down. "We've covered informative speeches. Political speeches--and we'll get to your speeches on political speeches in a minute--cover a weird space between informative speeches and persuasive speeches, and if you're smarter than an eggplant, you can probably guess what our next section is. I'll write it down anyway."

He scrawled "PERSUASIVE SPEECH" on the whiteboard. "There are three ways to persuade people, using ethos: credibility, image, public reputation, perceived expertise; logos: using words and concepts to make your point; and pathos, the manipulation of emotions, feelings, and gut reactions.

"All right," Josh continued. "To use ethos, you must already be an expert in your field in the eyes of your audience. I could lecture credibly on Democratic politics, the executive branch, the legislative branch, and any number of domestic hot button issues. If I tried to convince you about anything related to nuclear physics, you'd laugh me out of the room. Basically ethos is summarized as 'I'm whoever, and I endorse this message', and trusting that who you are is enough to persuade people of how right you are. No one's gonna buy cereal on my say-so, but they might take a second look at a primary candidate I endorse."

He leaned back against his desk. "Logos is using--not shocking--logic to present your arguments. 'I believe this, here are three reasons why you should too.' It's the hardest way to persuade people, but it's also the most permanent. You're teaching people using facts, or at least your facts, since chances are the other side has facts too. Their facts just aren't as good as your facts, and if they are, what the hell are you doing arguing the other side anyway?"

He smiled. "Finally, there's pathos, or using emotions. Scare tactics go here, as do guilt trips. Most of the Republican platform for the last fifteen years has been based entirely in pathos because the Democrats have them on the ropes when it comes to, you know, facts."

He clasped his hands together. "Right then. Next week you're going to have an interactive persuasive speech exercise, and that's all I'm telling you. For now, let's here your speeches about other people's speeches. Oh, and we have two press secretaries today: Jessica Drew and--" he pointed at Maddie, "Skippy there. You're up."

Industrial Arts, Tuesday

[not_a_whiner]

"Sorry for missing out last week," Kaidan said. The Danger Shop had been set up the same way it had the last few times around, but now there were cans and brushes sitting everywhere. "Hopefully you got a chance to keep working on your project last week anyway. And as a result, I'm extending the partnering deadline - you have until the end of the class to come to me and declare a partner. Anyone who hasn't got one is going to get one assigned next week."

There. That ought to do it.

"Anyway, you should be getting somewhere with your woodworking project," he continued, "And since this is our last week doing that, I figured it was time to talk about finishes. Basically, you're not done when everything's in the right place and the right shape, you've got to make it look - and keep - the part. If you don't, you might not just wind up with an ugly project, but it's also going to wear and tear a lot easier."

"First part of the process is sanding," he continued. "You can do it by hand or by using tools, though this class, we're just going to do it by hand. Sanding means smoothing over the wood, making sure it looks good and won't give you splinters. Once you're done sanding, you can get to the finish. They come in a lot of different styles and colors. I've provided some here, so you can go wild."

... Well, for some value of the term 'go wild'.

"Here's some tips on doing the finishing right," he said, walking past handing out some leaflets. "It's important to pick the right finish. Depending on what you pick, you're going to make your project water-resistant, wear-resistant, chemical-resistant. You can influence the electrical conductivity and the surface friction. Think hard about what you're gonna do before you tackle it."

He stopped at the front of the class. "Get to work," he said, "Next week you can show off."