Three Ways to Persuade

Over 2,000 years ago the Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that there were three basic ways to persuade an audience that you were right: ethos, logos, and pathos.

California State University (2002). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing

Tips for Presenting to Young Audiences

It was my first year in business and I was 20-minutes into delivering a one-hour presentation skills seminar when it was becoming painfully clear that I was losing my audience fast. With this particular group, the early warning signs were all there. It started with some subtle multi-tasking activity followed by a pronounced loss of eye contact by a few individuals at first and then half the group. If you’ve ever had that experience you know that you only have a couple of options at that point. You can try to pump up the energy level and occasionally re-energize an audience; but, let’s face it, the odds are pretty slim. Or you can always start summarizing, cut your loses and go for a well-scripted close. At least there’s some hope that your audience will, at a minimum, hear a few crisp closing points and an interesting story to tie it all together. On that particular day, I didn’t have a chance to do either. The bell rang at precisely 11:22 and Cheryl Bailey’s third period PowerPoint class darted for the door and I was left standing there (unplugging my projector and laptop) wondering what the heck just happened. It was my first time presenting to a group of kids and since then I’ve had to revise my technique considerably for this unique audience.

Endicott, Jim. Presenters University (2003). Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric>Children

Tips for Scientific Communicators: How to Become a Member of the Research Team  

Communicators usually focus on audience needs, and rightly so. But scientific communicators may find it equally important to consider the needs and cultural values of the scientist/engineer researchers they work with. Working within the context of their culture, as well as observing (or at least recognizing) their etiquette and standards, can help us become their trusted collaborators.

Davis, Nancy E. and Mark Hodges. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication>Engineering>Rhetoric

To Be or Not To Be  

During this workshop, To Be or Not To Be, the workshop presenters demonstrate how getting rid of the verb 'to be' increases accuracy, clarity and effectiveness in verbal communication. E-Prime originated in the field of general semantics; it consists of the English language, but excludes all forms of the verb 'to be.' Practitioners in the field of general semantics have developed a number of techniques that promote clear understanding of communication in the world around us. The workshop presenters strive to create an environment for participants to learn the philosophical background and practical application of the English language subset known as E-Prime.

Anderson, Jack R. and Jeffry A. Rybak. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>Minimalism

To Draw and Hold Readers' Attention, Apply a Hollywood Technique

Find the one thing you want people to remember as you write a posting for a Web page, a subject line for an e-mail or a headline for a newsletter.

Writing that Works (2006). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>Minimalism

The Top Five Writing Mistakes in White Papers

A compelling topic and an attractive design will initially draw readers to a white paper. But those readers may lose interest if the paper contains any of five common writing mistakes.

King, Janice M. WhitePaperSource (2006). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>White Papers

Toward a Feminist Rhetoric of Technology    

This article extends current thinking about the rhetoric of technology by making a preliminary inquiry into what a feminist rhetoric of technology might look like. On the basis of feminist critiques of technology in various disciplines, the author suggests three ways in which feminist approaches to building a rhetoric of technology might differ from current nonfeminist approaches to this task. First, feminist scholars should adopt a more expansive definition of technology than that which informs current rhetoric of technology research. Second, feminist scholars should ask different research questions than those being asked by current rhetoric-of-technology researchers. Third, feminist scholars should move beyond the design and development phases of technology, which most of the current research on the rhetoric of technology emphasizes.

Koerber, Amy. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Rhetoric>Technology>Gender

Toward a Theory of Goal Detection in Social Interaction: Effects of Contextual Ambiguity and Tactical Functionality on Goal Inferences and Inference Certainty    

The inferences individuals make about others' goals is an integral, but neglected, aspect of empirical and theoretical work on social interaction. An original theoretical framework is proposed to account for interindividual agreement and certainty of goal inferences. Two experiments applied the framework to explain how contextual ambiguity and tactical functionality affected agreement and certainty. Results generally support hypotheses regarding agreement, such that goal inferences converged (i.e., interobserver agreement increased) as the context and tactic became more compatible, yet results largely do not support hypotheses for inference certainty, as the only significant effect that emerged was that certainty was higher in unambiguous than ambiguous contexts. A reconsideration of the theoretical framework on goal detection is discussed and implications are advanced.

Palomares, Nicholas A. Communication Research (2008). Articles>Collaboration>Rhetoric

Toward an Ethics of Teaching Writing in a Hazardous Context—: The American University  

The following essay is a collaborative effort by a writing teacher and a writing student to make sense out of a situation we experienced together when Sandy Moore, the writer, responded to an assignment given by Michael Kleine, the teacher. In an advanced persuasive writing course, Michael asked students to experiment with the major Aristotelian categories of persuasion: ceremonial, forensic, and deliberative discourse. For the ceremonial assignment, Sandy chose to write an essay of blame about patrons of her workplace, a restaurant/bar. Though ceremonial discourse aims to praise or blame its subject before a public audience, Sandy did not intend to publish the essay outside the context of the classroom. Aware of the charged nature of her essay, Sandy wanted to use the university classroom not as a place from which to launch a public attack on a private workplace; instead, she hoped that the classroom would provide a safe place in which to practice persuasive discourse and to develop her rhetorical skills.

Moore, Sandy and Michael Kleine. JAC (1992). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Rhetoric

Toward an Expanded Concept of Rhetorical Delivery: The Uses of Reports in Public Policy Debates    

Preparing students for civic engagement requires new knowledge about the uses of documents for advocacy and social change. Substantial social change results from repeated rather than from single rhetorical acts. Reconsideration of the rhetorical canon of delivery suggests expanding the concept beyond its present connection to publication (visual design, medium) to a rhetorical situation comprehensively defined. Delivery may take place over time and embrace a web of activities including field work, updates, and interconnections with other publications.

Rude, Carolyn D. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>TC>Reports>Rhetoric

Toward Consistency in Visual Information: Standardized Icons Based on Task    

Argues for continued work on developing standards for icon design. Suggests that icons should be standardized not just within products, but across applications. Suggests that icons be standardized based on the complexity of the task represented.

Gurak, Laura J. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

Towards a Rhetoric of Tactile Pictures  

This paper offers a first step towards a rhetoric of tactile pictures by applying the visual framework developed by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen to a tactile alphabet book. After a brief review of tactile research, this paper explores the ways in which tactile pictures represent objects in the world and the stategies the pictures use to enact interative-represented participant relations. These explorations demonstrate that Kress and van Leeuwen's framework offers valuable insights and a sound basis, but their framework must be adjusted to the semiotic codes used in tactile pictures. It is hoped that this essay will encourage interest and research into tactile rhetoric. Such research would benefit both those who rely on tactile pictures and those who study rhetoric in its many manifestations.

Wiest, Carol. Enculturation (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric

Tracing Visual Narratives: User-Testing Methodology for Developing a Multimedia Museum Show    

As a cognitive framework for making meaning of the world, the narrative provides a powerful form for structuring information, and has been adopted as a useful design framework for many communicative forms, including interactive media. This paper reports on the use of visual narrative for user-testing an interactive museum show. The viewers’ perceived narratives of a sequence of graphics from a show on brain science were compared to the designers’ intended narrative. Mapping the audience’s reading of the visual arguments proved a useful testing structure in developing the show, with color and pattern tracking proving especially critical when viewers experienced novel or abstract information.

Kim, Loel. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing>Visual Rhetoric

TradeOff Cube: A Graphical User Interface Device

Decision support systems for multicriteria problems aim to help users understand the tradeoffs between their priorities (i.e., criteria weights) and their impact on the leading alternatives. Assignment of weights in existing systems requires multiple interface screens, so does analysis of the relationship between criteria weights and outcomes. A single-screen user interface device is proposed - a tradeoff cube - for declaration and viewing of all criteria weights - even if the hierarchy is multi-level and for examining the relationships between criteria weights and performance of alternatives. The tradeoff cube displays the entire hierarchy in a single base square subdivided into rectangles, each of which corresponds to a criterion. Criteria weights are adjusted by modifying the area of the rectangle. Valuations of alternatives are dynamically displayed in an adjacent stack bar chart, where stacks represent the lowest level criteria nodes. The dynamic interactive fluid process dramatically speeds up visualiz

Kirshner, Michael. EServer (2001). Design>User Interface>Visual>Visual Rhetoric

Transferable and Local Writing Skills  

One indication of the state of our profession is the discriminations that we are just getting around to making: useful, even essential, 'sortings out' that, when then, are made, seem embarrassingly obvious. One such 'sorting out' or discrimination is essential for an understanding of what any composition class can do, whether advanced composition, technical writing, feature writing, or whatever. In the writer’s repertoire, there are local and transferable skills. Local skills have to do with a given genre and involve such matters as special forms (e. g., the scientific report), footnoting, vocabularies, special styles, and even the 'tones' that particular fields demand. Transferable skills are the 'basics' of writing: syntactic fluency, control of diction, sense of audience, organizational ability, 'mechanics' such as punctuation and spelling.

Winterowd, W. Ross. JAC (1980). Articles>TC>Writing>Rhetoric

Treating Professional Writing as Social Praxis  

To explore how professional communications are shaped by the worlds of work, scholars have drawn on several different ways of thinking about the relationship between texts and contexts--literary theories, sociolinguistics, organizational theory, ethnography, and theories of composition. I would like to draw on classical rhetoric to develop a philosophical justification for stressing the social and ethical dimensions of business and technical writing. I am not specifically interested here in how we can apply the techniques of classical rhetoric to professional writing, but in how we can revitalize classical rhetoric's general emphasis on ethical and political values. While classical rhetoric assumed ethical and political values that need to be questioned, it does provide a context in which to ask questions about values, questions that are too often ignored in professional writing classes. Classical rhetoric is particularly useful in talking about technical and business writing because Aristotle's three-part conceptualization of theoria, proxis, and techne undercuts the dichotomy of theory and practice that often limits instruction in 'practical' writing to the mere techniques of the craft. Classical rhetoric can also help us develop a broader social perspective on practical writing, a perspective that includes not just the social context of the company or profession but the larger public context as well.

Miller, Thomas P. JAC (1991). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Rhetoric

Trust by Design

Studies regarding how people evaluate a web site's credibility show the critical importance of information design and structure. Users trust sites that are well-designed and well-organized. Poor navigation is the key element that decreases earned web credibility.

Semantic Studios (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Rhetoric

Trying to Measure Bad Things That Never Happen: The Rhetoric of Decision Making in Technical Communication  

Workplace decision-making practices cast the technical communicator into the role of technical rhetorician—a rhetorical specialist who must sometimes make difficult choices. Decisions involving technical communication receive the most scrutiny when bad things happen, but technical communicators often facilitate good things that are never measured. This paper examines three contexts that affect the technical communicator’s understanding of a situation requiring a decision: the rhetorical situation, the cultural context, and the procedural and ethical guidelines. Qualitative assessments that examine the multiple contexts informing the decision-making process are important to understanding the complexity involved in day-to-day decision-making practices.

Smith, Charlsye J. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Rhetoric>Management

Tune Your Voice

What is voice, and how does the writer tune it?

Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric

Twelve Exercises for Improving Dialogue

Dialogue is one of the most difficult aspects of writing to master. There are many pitfalls you must try to avoid, such as: Stilted language Dialogue that does not sound like natural speech. Filler Dialogue that does not further the scene and does not deepen your understanding of the characters. Exposition Dialogue that has the character explain the plot or repeat information for the benefit of the audience. Naming Having one character use another character’s name to establish identity. People almost never say other people’s names back to them, and if they do it is a character trait typical of a used car salesman. Overuse of Modifiers Too many dialogue modifiers such as shouted, exclaimed, cried, whispered, stammered, opined, insinuated, hedged and a million others. Modifiers such as this can sometimes be useful, but are often annoying and used as a crutch for poorly designed dialogue.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric>Screenwriting

Twenty-Two Tips for Writing Software Documentation Users Will Actually Read

How do you go about writing technical manuals for software without going insane? Here are some guidelines you can follow to maintain your sanity when writing software documentation.

HelpScribe (2008). Articles>Documentation>Rhetoric>Software

typographic

An interactive experience informed by type and typography, which aims to illustrate the depth and import of type, and to raise relevant questions about how typography is treated in the digital media, specifically online.

typographic. Design>Typography>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

Typographical Design, Modernist Aesthetics, and Professional Communication    

The technology of in-house publishing is radically shifting the responsibility for document design from the graphic specialist to the individual writer. To apply the new technology, professional communicators need to understand the principles underpinning typographical design and their origin in the functionalist aesthetics of modernism, particularly as articulated by the Bauhaus. While some of the key concepts of modernism--strict economy, universal objectivity, intuitive perception, and the unity of form and purpose--are well-suited to business and technical documents, these concepts are bound to an historical and intellectual milieu. By understanding the influence of modernism on typographical design, professional communicators equipped with the new technology can adapt design principles to the rhetorical context of specific documents.

Kostelnick, Charles. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1990). Design>Typography>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric

Uncovering Organizational Culture: Making Sense of the Corporate World  

Understanding an organization's corporate culture can help explain how to get things done in an organization: communicate, advanced up the corporate ladder, and get project ideas accepted and completed. We can understand culture by identifying values, norms, and assumptions underlying the corporate 'world..' Cultures can he better understood by looking at such things as how an organization responds to crisis, how the intentions of group leaders come to be shared, and how an organization perceives itself. For example, a study of culture at one organization revealed such differing values between two groups, scientists and engineers, that cross-cultural mediation was necessary.

Kahn, Russell L. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Workplace>Rhetoric