Notes From Matt’s Lecture

Rhetoric and Storytelling

Logos – facts presented to make an argument

• Think Progress (data presentation)
• The Daily Show (video then, video now)

Pathos – arousal of emotions

• Negative connotation (fear, tearjerker)
• Aristotle (puts the audience in the right frame of mind)
• Mother Theresa: when I think of the mass I can do nothing; when I think of the individual, I can act.
• Example: story about a person in Africa v facts-and-data. Story gave more than 2x as much.
• Arguing for increased regulations on anesthesiologist (an appeal to fear)
• Save Darfur (kind of like that study)
• Daisy (pbs, youtube)

Ethos – trust the messenger/source; Aristotle says this seems to be the most compelling

• This is a “performed” category
• Greg Nickels
• Huffington Post & Crooks and Liars

You need a combination of all three. Either one from an uncredible source is weak.

Persuasion Through Identification (20th century movement)

• We identify with each other through common goals, beliefs, interests and enemies
• We persuade by creating an “us” and a “them”
• Freshmen Interest Groups
• The nine things I’ve learned from stock photos (about the corporate worklife)

Persuasion Through Framing

• What is the dominant metaphor or concept you want the audience to use when thinking about –fill-in-the-blank–
• Framing is a metaphor itself
  • Estate tax v Death tax
  • Clearing cutting v healthy forests
  • Global warming v climate change
  • Sportsmanship v Honoring the game
• It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear (new book)
• Time v Newsweek (OJ Simpson)
• Arc d’Triumphe v Vietnam War Memorial

Narrative Framing

• Kenneth Burke – we are able to persuade thru stories.
• Not all stories are alike – focus on one of these five:
  • Agent: who did what?
  • Act: what was done?
  • Agency: how was it done?
  • Purpose: why was it done?
  • Scene: in which context was it done?
• what do you privilege as the dominate idea in a narrative?
  • i bought a new car
  • i invested in a brand new volvo
  • the dealer persuaded me to buy a volvo
  • my new job as a lawyer demanded that i buy a new car
• newspaper headlines
  • bush to suspend oil reserve deposits (ap)
  • bush tries to ease soaring gas prices (iht)
  • bush brings in measures to tackle oil price crisis (irish times)
  • fighting gas prices, bush halts filling of emergency oil reserve, urges waiver of clean air rules (ap)
  • souring oil prices put bush under pressure (afp)
  • feeling political heat, president halts new oil reserve deposit (iht)
  • oil prices retreat as US stops increasing strategic oil reserve (Xinhua News Agency)