Workshop 1

EOK

October 2010

Ida Borch

Workshop?

• I work

• You shop (or listen)

• No supervision

• The aim: To prepare you for the synopsis, speech contest and for the exam

Today’s literature

• Gabrielsen & Christiansen: The power of speech

– Analysis: The rhetorical situation

– Argument: Practical argumentation

– Arrangement: Organisation

• In a few weeks: Ethos & Elocutio

Today’s literature

• Gabrielsen & Christiansen: Oral Communication

– Analysis: The rhetorical situation

– Argument: Practical argumentation

– Arrangement: Organisation

• In a few weeks: Ethos & Elocutio

Did you notice the alliteration and the list of three?

Always a winner in oral communication – good for both

speaker’s and audience’s memory

Knowledge of The Rhetorical Situation

• Takes you from mere use of intuition to strategic competence

• Makes you a more confident (persuasive) speaker

When is a situation rhetorical?

• A situation is rhetorical once responding to it makes it possible to alter reality

• A situation is not rhetorical when the audience has no choice

• In the military and in totalitarian states rhetorical situations rarely occur. Whereas democracy has vast amounts

When you speak, you steal time

• The time equation: You’re 100 students listening for 90 minutes = 150 man-hours spend on my lecture. That’s 4 weeks work in total.

• So you better give something worthwhile back in return when you speak

Dymamics between the speech and the situation

• Speech and situation influence each other: The situation determines what can be said; the speech affects how the situation is understood

• It’s yet another case of the egg and the hen

Speech/Context

• There is a complex relationship between the speech and the context:

• Ex: “Mission accomplished”-speech

– Was the war won – or did Bush make the Americans (perceive themselves as) winners due to the speech?

• You do not just adapt to – you shape the situation with your choice of words

Context awareness

Lloyd F Bitzer: The Rhetorical Situation

• Exigence: An imperfection marked by urgency

• Audience: Those that are actually able to be moved from one point to another (mediators of change)

• Constraints: The physical and psychological opportunities and limitations in the situation

• = Fitting response (did the speaker achieve what he wanted?)

• http://web.missouri.edu/~ricejr/Fall08/bitzer.pdf

The situational factors in the context

• The subject

• The place

• The time

• The audience

• The speaker

Danish version of Ciceros Pentagram

My understanding

Speaker

Topic

Choice of words + style

Constraints

Audience

Gabrielsen & Christiansen

Speaker

The rhetoricalproblem

The purpose

Circumstances

Audience

The Rhetorical Problem

• A kind of Bitzerian exigence

• A rhetorical problem is a problem that can be altered by the use of speech

• Important: Find the spot on right focus – for yourself, the audience and the situation

Ex. Pro euthanasia

• Dignify-focus: Potential undignified death when unable to end it by own hand

• Law-focus: Law in Netherlands allow – Law in DK prohibits

• Autonomy-focus: Is life (and death) a personal matter or a matter of the state?

• Method-focus: Is it done in humane ways?• Etc• DECIDE FOR ONE – and follow it all the way

through (we’ll get back to later why...)

The Purpose

• What do you wish to achieve?– Reflection?– Understanding?– Consensus?– Commitment?– Change of attitude?– Behaviour?

• Rhetorical persuasion is not necessarily about making people act. It could be that mere reflection is adequate.

The Audience

Everybody presentMediators of

change

The Audience

• Address the entire audience, but be aware that probably only a part of it consist of real mediators of change

– People who will ‘act’ in accordance to your specific purpose

• Ex: I’m not mediator of change in an audience listening to a speech pro death penalty

Speaker

• You must know your own ’ethos’ in the situation (we’ll get back on that one next time)

• You must be consistent and respectful of the relation to the audience

• You must make sure they know your motives for speaking (up).

Circumstances

• Physical circumstances:

– Are we at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park or at Den Sorte Diamant?

– Mike or no mike?

– Av or no av?

– Rostrum or plain floor?

– Indoor or outdoor?

– Come rain or come shine?

Circumstances

• Temporal circumstances:– Is it May 1st or any ordinary day?

– Are you 1st or last speaker – or in between?

– Did something occur that altered the situation (ex. Speaking on Sept 12th 2001 called for addressing the Twin Towers no matter which context )

– Will people be on time or drop in/out

– etc

• (We will pay close attention to your analysis of the circumstances in you examination speeches)

Recapitulation: What, why, who, where

Speaker

The rhetoricalproblem

The purpose

Circumstances

Audience

A situation analysis

• Steve Jobs is preparing his presentation of the iPhone G4 – on the same kind of stage as the app-video you saw in September.

• 2 X 2: Go through the various parts of the situation, and decide what you would recommend him to do in order to deliver a fitting response

Steve Jobs presenting iPhone G4

Speaker

The rhetoricalproblem

The purpose

Circumstances

Audience

What is his exigence; the

reason for speaking?

What does hewant the

audience to do?

Is this a fitting response?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoqh27E6OuU

The noble art of argumentation

This doesn’t work ‘cause the technicians are useless

The noble art of argumentation

This doesn’t work, cause the product generally sucks

The noble art of argumentation

This doesn’t work, cause there are 570 wi-fi Base Stations operating in this room

Make the right choice

• Identification: Find the claim and proofs that will support your position

• Selection: Select the ones that will be persuasive

• Substantiation: Make sure that you can substantiate your claim. Or else it’s just a mere utterance

Toulmin model of argumentation

ClaimProof

Warrant Qualifier

ReservationBacking

Socrates is mortalSocrates is a human being

All men are mortal

Socrates is wildly mortal!Socrates is a human being

All men are mortal

Socrates is wildly mortal!Socrates is a human being

All men are mortal

Even though Plato immortalized him

through his dialogues

Reservation

Socrates is wildly mortal!Socrates is a human being

All men are mortal

At the end of the day, it’s a

biological fact

Even though Plato immortalized him

through his dialogues

Backing

Socrates is wildly mortal!Socrates is a human being

All men are mortal

At the end of the day, it’s a

biological fact

Even though Plato immortalized him

through his dialogues

Toulmins argumentmodel

• Claim

• Proof

• Warrant

• Qualifier

• Reservation

• Backing

ClaimProof

Warrant Qualifier

ReservationBacking

Prospect AIESEC members in the model

You shouldjoin AIESEC

It is good for your career

One should alwaysmake career moves

Perhaps

Unless you’re waybehind schedule with

your studies

It’s highlyrecommended by

the SDU board

Prospect AIESEC members in the model

You shouldjoin AIESEC

We’re getting drunkevery weekend

Having fun is a human right

Totally

Unless you’re waybehind schedule with

your studies

And social networking

benefits relations

Important rule in argumentation

•Logic is not always the most logical thing to use in practical argumentation

Topics – or how to find proof

• Topics (sing: topos, plur: topoi, da: topik) is derived from Greek: Topos = place.

• Topical thinking helps you pinpoint the suitable angles, views or perspectives

Topoi-list

Thematic Topoi Oppositional Topoi Topoi of Evidence

Money apect The individual vs. society Investigations

Environment Change vs. tradition Experience

Helath Quality vs. Quantity General assumptions

Work

Well-being

Time

Investigation:500 mio people can’t

be wrong

Quality vs. QuantityThe concept of

’friends’ is enlarged

General assumption:

Social activities are always fun

Why Facebook is awesome

Environment:It’s good for the

global environment that you can connect only by using a bit of

electricity

Health:You don’t get at

cold from it

Work:Good for personalbranding

Well-being:Laughing at updates is

healthy

Money: It’s for free

Time: No need for

travelling

Individual vs. society:From Know-how to

Know-who is supported by FB

Change vs. tradition:Many elderly people

can access it – it’s easy though it’s new

tech

Experience:Working as single-consultant would be tough without

Be selective

• All the bubbles represent my views upon the matter – will they all help me get the message through?

• Not! Select the right ones for the rhetorical situation, and make ONE overall claim supported by various sub-proofs.

Organizing the speech

1 2 3 45

Intro

Disposition ArgumentationStating the

facts

Finale

Christiansen & Gabrielsen

• Intro

• Proof 1

• Proof 2– Example

• Refutation

• Conclusion

• + metacommunication

Introduction

• Aim: Catch the audience’s interest

• Captatio benevolentia = captivate goodwill

• Many different strategies – two basic types– Beat around the bush– Wham-bam

• Establishes/confirms initial ethos (more on that next time)

Intro-tips

• Rhetorical questions

• Idioms (beware of potential clichés)

• Quotations from sponsoring ethos's

• Tell a joke (beware of shared humour)

• Anecdote

• Local connection to the audience/place

• If a long speech, remember stating the disposition - partitio

Proof

• Use practical argumentation: Claim, proof and potentially outspoken warrant.

• Find the spot on right claims for the situation and exemplify with analogies, concrete details or the like

• Kock et al: Retorik der flytter stemmer: ONE overall claim followed by a number of subordinate data is better than numerous claims.

Rebuttal

• Reminding the audience that you do pay attention to the opposite side of the point – good for both mediators of change and for hostile

listeners

• Is counter-argumentation: You show audience that you are aware there is a different opinion BUT that this opinion is after all not worthwhile

• Sow doubt! (don’t remind them of a better argument than yours)

Conclusion

• Due to the premises of orality the audience cannot remember every word you’ve stated

• Never underestimate the importance of

– Summing up the most important issues (what was it now the woman said?)

– Reminding the audience that we are getting close to the end (how else would they know?)

Tips

• Let the fish bite its tale

• Repeat the main points

• Refer to the example

• Future scenario if/if not

• A rhetorical question

• Be concise, precise and eloquent – cause this is what they remember clearly afterwards

• (if spontaneous clapping, you’ve done the job right. If not...)

How to get about it

Let’s check your memory

• Can you remember what I’ve told you during the last two lessons?

• (Had this been a ‘real’ rhetorical situation, your memorizing what I said was my – not your –responsibility. I would be to blame if you didn’t get the crucial points)

Summing up

• Prior to making a speech:

– Analyze the rhetorical situation

– Argument: FOCUS – and find the right proof to support your claims

– Arrange: Give the speech the right shape

• Next time:

– Analyze your own ethos in the situation

– Use the right words for a fitting response