In the TED Talk, “How to Skip the Small Talk and Connect with Anyone,” the speaker, Kalina Silverman, builds an argument that supports her theory of “Big Talk” (Silverman, “How to Skip the Small Talk and Connect with Anyone”). This idea involves skipping the trivial questions and going straight to more deep thinking questions. In theory, this should help develop a more meaningful relationship between people. Silverman expands on this concept, as well as, justify it during her presentation. In this textual analysis, I will be focusing on Silverman’s construction of ideas and her methods of which her material is presented. Silverman’s primary purpose during this lecture was the promotion of her idea of “Big Talk” (Silverman, “How to Skip the …show more content…
Her combination of these suggests an overall tone of seriousness, with hints of an inspirational undertone. Her background and professional appearance, both in her appearance and body language justify these tones. During her speech, Silverman rarely includes humorous commentary nor elements to any of her material and approaches this Talk with certainty giving it a serious tone (Silverman, “How to Skip the Small Talk and Connect with Anyone”). The inspirational undertones can be seen with the incorporation of her and her friend’s success stories. This evidence encourages the audience to pursue this idea if they want to make a change in their own lives, as well as, emphasize the impact of her idea in both society and personal life. Her approach to the topic and overall collected appearance create a compelling argument towards her …show more content…
The first factor that worked in her favor was her presentation herself. She was professionally dressed, and her presenting the objective herself, made the information more personable. Despite this, Silverman’s body language worked negatively against her. Her body language was very minimal and did not reflect an image of confidence. Silverman also brought her own personal journal as an example to share. The journal was perceivable evidence that supported her case, but because Silverman held the journal throughout her twenty-minute speech, it restricted her movement and created a barrier between her and the audience. Apart from this, Silverman had several other visual examples of her work that were both appropriate to the media seminar and supported her purpose. For instance, she used a YouTube video in her presentation, that she created to exemplify her idea of “Big Talk” (Silverman, “How to Skip the Small Talk and Connect with Anyone”). The video along with her comments about the video’s impact greatly supported
Conversation Analysis (CA) is the study of talk-within-interaction that attempts to describe the orderliness, structure and sequential patterns of interaction in conversation. It is a method of qualitative analysis developed by Harvey Sacks with the aid of Emmanuel Schegloff and Gail Jefferson in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Using the CA frame of mind to view stories shows us that what we may think to be simplistic relaying of information or entertaining our friends is in fact a highly organised social phenomena that is finely tuned in a way that expresses the teller’s motivation behind the talk. (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 2011). It is suggested that CA relies on three main assumptions; talk is a form of social action, action is structurally organised, talk creates and maintains inter-subjectivity (Atkinson & Heritage, 1984).
It seems as though Ramsey asks a rhetorical question after each point of speaking as if she is trying to get the audience to think and reflect on their own life. This is effective in the sense that Ramsey kept her audience engaged throughout the talk and made them think about how her points of speaking related to themselves, if at all. For example, at the end of her first point of speaking, a personal anecdote, Ramsey asks the audience “When did I stop doing this? When is it suddenly not okay to love the way that we look?”. Her use of rhetorical questions is important here because it makes each member of the audience think about their own life and how they relate to the subject matter she is talking about. A member of the audience who relates to what she is talking about is more likely to find her argument convincing rather than someone who cannot relate to what she is speaking about at all. Through the use of rhetorical questions, or style, in this case, Ramsey crafts a convincing argument by placing a rhetorical question at the end of each of her points of
Philip Zimbardo creates an engaging a talk that will draw many people in. He does this by personalizing himself, using facts and figures, as well as real life situations to support his opinions and is qualified because of his degree and
Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (1999). Difficult conversations: How to discuss what matters most. New York, NY: Viking Press.
At the end, both Rachel Rafelman and Ronald Macaulay are very good writer they brought their thoughts in distinct ways to address their audience. Macaulay strongly opposing the stereotypes of men’s and women’s talks’. Whereas, Rafelman kept her evidence and plugged effective examples to make her context understood. Over all, Rafelman presented her context better than Macaulay.
Because of Keller’s use of pathos to grab attention, using a strong, independent ethos and then backing it up using logos, it was easy to get wrapped up in her cause. Keller’s style was effective and left the audience with the desire to take action.
In the first chapter of her book, You Just Don't Understand, Men and Women in Conversation, Deborah Tannen quotes, "...studies have shown that married couples that live together spend less than half an hour a week talking to each other...". (24) This book is a wonderful tool for couples to use for help in understanding each other. The two things it stresses most is to listen, and to make yourself heard. This book opened my eyes to the relationship I am in now, with a wonderful person, for about four years. It made me realize that most of our little squabble-like fights could have been avoided, if one or the other of us could sit down and shut up for a minute to listen. Most of our fights had erupted from a misunderstanding or miscommunication on either of our parts, and we're only dating! I can only imagine the conflict two partners would have in a marriage with children. This book outlined a lot of couples' problems, where they may have started, and how to circumvent them. After starting to read this book, I realized to do a book report on the entire book would be very difficult, so I chose situations that most related to me to report on.
“The problem is not that television presents us with entertaining subject matter but that all subject matter is presented as entertaining” (87). Postman’s main concern does not rest in the, “...Junk entertainment” (159) shows, but when the programs take the seriousness out of a subject matter. Worse yet, “The problems come when we try to live in them” (77). The obvious gap of discourse can be seen evident when he mentions the Lincoln-Douglas debates, with attentive audiences listening to oratory for a long period of time, while constructing arguments of both opponents claims (45-47). Soon this “Age of Exposition” (77) gave way to the “Age of Show Business” (83). Irrelevant Information found its way through the telegraph, that ultimately creates no effect on the receiver as, “Facts push other facts into and out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation” (70). A variety of information does not mean all can be useful and beneficial. The public's attention shifts to photographs that are attached to a story, creating an illusion of context. “...Pseudo-context provides [no] action, or problem-solving, or change…[but] to amuse” (76). Postman reminds the audience that information will not lose
Brown believes that if a person does not open up himself, then he will not connect with other people on level passed the surface. As I have learned through my Ethnographic Research course, vulnerability has the power to transform an embodied text and to knock at people’s perception of themselves. I have continued to notice when an ethnographer is distant from their text and hesitant to connect on a deeper level. As a result, the ethnographic text lacks the ability to evoke response or limits the influence of the journey on the audience. While there a lot of risk and even pain with exposing one’s emotions through vulnerability, there is even more rewards. Brene Brown is inspiring as a speaker because in addition to developing a strong argument on the power of vulnerability; she has the unique quality of perfectly models her message. Brown expressed in her Ted Talk that she spent a whole year struggling with vulnerability. Speaking about her journey Brown openly admitted, “vulnerability pushed, I pushed back. I lost the fight but probably won my life back… What are we doing with vulnerability?” If she was talking about vulnerability, but was unable to show something of herself, her message would have fallen short. However, Brene Brown not only shows us with her words and her research how influential authenticity is, but she demonstrates it to us on a human level. While I was already aware that vulnerability is an important characteristic to tap into, Brene Brown is an inspiration for how anyone can challenge himself or herself to become even more
McEwan begins the chapter with a quote from Convey (1990), “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This quote speaks to the importance of communication because it describes the importance of
an attempt to dispose the audience favorably toward the speaker and topic. He stressed the fact
... Goldman met Alexander Berkman, one of the two men who would change her life that day. Berkman invited her to join him at a public speech. The other man that changed her life that day, Johann Most, was the public speaker Berkman and Goldman listened to. Goldman was impressed by Most’s speech and Most decided to teach Goldman the method of public speaking and Most’s beliefs.
I have also learned about different types of audiences and speeches including persuasive, informative, entertaining and delivering special occasion speeches. It came to my attention that whenever I was making these presentations or speeches, I needed to do so with confidence, consistence and practice before the actual presentation and completely eliminate the element of panic. It was also clear that capturing the attention of the audience and engaging them in the whole process, it was necessary to have a very strong introduction and also try and use visuals to deliver the message. It was therefore vital to respect each person’s diversity and cultural values (Lucas, 2011).
Dialogue is more than talking. It is not the straightforwardness of talking to or at, rather it is communicating with or between. It is "a relation between persons that is characterized in more or less degree by the element of inclusion" (Buber, 97). Inclusiveness is an acknowledgment of the other person, an event experienced between two persons, mutual respect for both views and a willingness to listen to the views of the other. These elements are the heart of dialogical relations. In this paper I will examine Martin Buber’s theory of communication, its relevance to my life and the critiques of the theory.
Interaction is a significant part of our daily lives. Oral communication with others is inevitable, and therefore it is crucial for us to acquire the skills to do so correctly. Aside from simply stating words or expressing ideas, oral communication serves various purposes. Oral communication allows an individual to express emotions, ideas, and feelings; it gives people the ability to empower, inspire, and motivate those who listen; and it allows people to share knowledge and traditions, as well as build their self-esteem. Oral communication is also useful in leading us to new discoveries, ideas, cultures, and perspectives (O’Neill). Thus, oral communication serves several different purposes in daily life; yet each of these purposes are connected to an even larger purpose. According to the textbook Communication: Making Connections, “Effective communication is critical to living successfully in today’s soc...