Personal Narrative Analysis

Throughout my pitch, I made several choices to make sure my pitch targeted reluctant parents. Firstly, I used inclusive language that helped connect my family and experiences to their own. At the beginning of my pitch I tried to immediately address their reason for coming to my booth since they were, “unsure if online English is the best fit for [their] son or daughter”, and I also wanted to make sure them that, “my parents felt the same way before I started this course.” The use of inclusive language is a key persuasive technique to engage the listener since it makes them feel like they are being directly spoken to. In addition, I also directly related my family to theirs which helped to further solidify that I was there to talk directly to

I specifically mentioned Facebook instead of other social media apps such as Instagram or Snapchat since their generation typically spends more time on Facebook and not other social media. Talking from my experience, neither of my parents knew what Snapchat or Instagram was, and once I explained it to them, their reaction was along the lines of “what’s the point of that?” In addition, I used specific diction and keywords that most parents would be listening for. Some of these words and phrases included the term “transferable skill”, the idea that online English is a “stepping stone in that transition to full independence”, and the “development of learning skills can be applied in other courses, at post-secondary destinations and even in the workplace”. I wanted to make a connection between this courses and how it actually impacts the students since online English is so much more than reading some stories and talking about books. I also wanted to explicitly connect the dots between this course and any future career. Considering most parents are employed, they have firsthand experience with “real world” applications of learning skills and other important skills such as time