Marwell & Schmitt

This was much more fun than the others because it was more open to a bunch of different possibilities than the prior posts.  I wanted to do an older advertisement because I think they're hilarious.  Advertisers were able to get away with a lot more back then.

In this commercial from 1961 for Coke, the lady is essentially telling the viewer that by drinking a Coke you can remain thin or even get thinner because you may be substituting it for an unhealthy or more caloric snack.  HAH, this is awesome!

From the Marwell & Schmitt taxonomy, I immediately noticed Reward within commercial. The woman implies that if you drink a Coke, you won't gain weight and you will probably also be able to lose weight and fit into that little black dress you could fit into when you were 5 years younger.

Upon further viewing I felt like I noticed elements of Positive Self Feeling; "you don't need to feel guilty, this bottle of Coke only has the same calories as half of a grapefruit".  "You'll feel better because it's a pick-me-up".  Finally, again the implication that you'll lose weight and look better if you drink a Coke.

I also notice in the same comments, elements of Positive Expertise.  She is telling you from her expertise as a woman and 1950's housewife, that you too can be thinner, won't get fat, and will be able to do the things you need to do, thanks to your little pick-me-up, Coke.

Process premises that I noticed within the commercial were; ego-gratification, as the Coke will make you thin.   Among emotion process premises, pride, happiness/joy.  You'll be happy and proud when you fit into that dress.  Finally I noticed elements of cognitive influences.

I think old commercials are the best and you can almost pick anyone at random and find manipulative elements that relate to Marwell and Schmitt.

Out of Class Presentation

For my out of class presentation, I was able to speak to a group of my peers.  They ranged in age from 20's to 40's.  In my preparation for the speech I referenced some of the class members who had given their breakdown and analysis of their out of class speeches.  These blog posts on their speeches yielded some good inspiration on what I should talk about and the rubrics for their analysis of my presentation.  One post suggested that we choose a topic we are passionate about so that we are able to speak with more ease and conviction.  I took this to heart and gave a speech/presentation on the home sharing website of Airbnb.  I used a common rubric for the audience analysis of the presentation.

Airbnb.com is a website were people can rent and/or rent out homes or rooms within homes for people who are on vacation.  It is part of the new "sharing economy" that is trending in the past 5 years with sites such as this one and the taxi service Uber.  My presentation focused on the recent issues the City of St. George has taken up with locals who are posting their homes and rooms as available for rent.  The city is sending out letters of warning of potential fines for violating codes on short term rentals within the city.  I myself have used Airbnb.com on occasion for vacations and have found it to be a more economical way to vacation as well as being able to be more involved with the community which you are visiting.  I took the stance and persuasion of telling the audience that the City should allow these rentals as they are an economic boon to the city and also extra income to those who are renting.

My analysis from the audience showed that they were sympathetic to my speech and I believe this showed that I was able to connect with them and persuade them that my line of thought and analysis of the situation was correct.  That the city should not try to put an end to these short term rentals.

In preparation and during the speech I felt more at ease, most likely because I felt that my audience was predisposition-ed to be sympathetic to my presentation and not likely to judge harshly.  Overall my speech went well and those in attendances said that it was very good.  However in my heart I know that it could have been much better.  Due to the nature of audience, I did not prepare as well as I should have and had many noticeable slip ups and faux pas throughout the presentation.  I relied too much on the generosity and non-judgmental nature of my audience.

Though I received mostly 4-5 marks (these being the highest) on the sections of my rubrics, I found that the audience noticed that I used quite a few "ums" and "uhs", which I do use typically but not as much as I did during this speech.  This I can attribute to lack of practice.  A few comments also stated that my transitions were not as fluid as they could have been and also I caught myself and my audience caught me self-checking quite a few times.

As I stated, the audience liked my presentation in general and my message.  The liked the attention getter and the structure of my speech.  Examples and three main points were well discussed and informative to them.  My slides conveyed my messages and they seemed to appreciate them but not overly so that they took over, upstaged, my speaking.  The mechanics of my presentation were somewhat flawed and amateur.  I believe I will be able to take their criticisms and apply them to my portfolio speech and speeches in the future by not taking for granted my audience and giving them the preparation they deserve.

Kennedy's Moon Speech & The Mob at the Gates (with a bit of Benevolent Community)

I got tired of listening to Pres. Obama speeches so I was going to do a Reagan one but couldn't find one that I liked so I went with another great speaker, Kennedy.

The speech does not completely stay in the mode of any of the parables and has different themes throughout.  However, multiple sections, some long, some short, delve into a couple of the parables. They being The Mob At The Gates and The Benevolent Community.

Around the 3:50 mark Kennedy touches on The Benevolent Community.  He talks implicitly about what the founding fathers and prior generations did to bring the country together and make it the best country in the world, from their sacrifices and hard work.   This portion also rings of patriotism and the fortitude of America and it's people.

I suggest you at least watch the first 9:18ish of this speech (famous quote of the speech is around the 8:30 mark) .  In this first half of the whole speech, Pres. Kennedy touches on a lot of moments of The Mob at the Gates mentality.  America is the beacon of light to the world and they must get to space first, to protect it from the militarism and evil of the Soviet Union (5:48).  He says that space will be governed by an [American] banner of freedom and  peace.  To Kennedy, America is that nearly divine goodness unto the world.  The hope the world needs to combat communism.

Within the Mob at the Gates parable (around the 7:00 minute mark) he delves into the fear portion of this parable.  He implies and then more overtly states that if America is not first and leader in the space community that those who beat us to it or have more mastery over it, will pursue less than wholesome directions and goals.  America will use it for science and helping the world, while warning that others will use it for global instability, war and conquest.  He is warning the American people what will happen if they do not commit to the ideals of America and being the leader in the space race.

The final portion of the first half of the speech, Kennedy once again moves into the Benevolent Community and speaks to the difficulty of doing things and why we choose to do these difficult things as opposed to choosing easier goals.  To me it is again an implication of rolling up the sleeves as friends and neighbors, doing things to build up the community and nation.  It is also playing on patriotism and trying to inspire the patriotism of the audience to agree with him.  It is very persuasive even years after the speech and ensuing accomplishment of the goal.

The second half of the speech was less inspiring and persuasive, It gets technical and starts to talk about all the specific technology.  He should have just ended with the first half of the speech, he had the audience.  However, I would like to point out to all who read this and watch the speech, to the 11:24 - 11:30 mark on how he pronounces the word "hurricanes".  Interesting.

Process premises that I noticed throughout the speech were; sense of roots as he recalls the founders and ancestors of the country; pride as he appeals to the audiences patriotism and want/need to be the leader of the space race; sense of power to be the leader and in control of space, able to do what they want and not playing catch up; he also touches on fear mostly implicitly.

Larsen's Myths with Special Guest Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a writer and author whose works vary widely in premise and content; from Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, Good Omen, the graphic novel The Sandman, and many more.  He is considered to be a great writer and has won multiple awards. Here he gives a commencement address at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2012.  It is a long address, there are some moments of lull and disengagement, but also within the speech are many examples of Larsen's Cultural Images and Myths.

As with most speeches I've heard for this assignment, he begins with the Wisdom of the Rustic, the premise that we start from humble beginnings and that we will learn from our difficulties and trials through life.  He himself did not have a university education when he began his writing career, but went straight off and began writing and submitting his articles and stories for publishing.  He was rejected many times.  As he wrote more and more his writing got better and better.

This leads us into another of Larsen's Myth's, that of the Value of a Challenge.   This myth of Larsen's says that we will grow and gain knowledge from challenges. If we are not challenged then there is no impetus to grow and better ourselves.  Gaiman had significant challenges in the beginning of his writing career but viewed these challenges as a way to become a better writer.  Now many years later, he is a celebrated author and he credits the early difficulties and those throughout his career, with motivating him to become better at his craft.  He challenges his audience to do the same when they enter times of trouble or are presented with a challenge.

As with the majority of the speeches that have been presented on the class's blogs, the Possibility of Success is a primary focus and motivation.  It is the happy ending that helps connect him with the audience.  The audience for these types of address are typically looking for motivating factors and their happy ending.  He does not disappoint and speaks to his successes and his enjoyment of them or lack thereof.

Gaiman uses some process premises to connect with his audience.  While his speech is not overtly persuasive, he does feel the need to have them believe his words and his message.  He primarily uses attitudes as a process premise.  By appealing to the audience on a level and attitude that they will connect with, that of being creative people who will create art in many/various forms.  By having this attitude with them, it helps his connection with the audience.  Also, he utilizes emotions to varying degrees, both happy and unhappy.  Fear is also an emotion he utilizes to connect with the audience.  He expresses the fears and disappointments that he has experienced in his career. No doubt he understands that these new graduates are facing fear as they attempt to enter the world as professionals.  His ultimate joy and the conviction of his path and theirs will help assuage their own fears.  Finally, a sense of belonging is ever present within the speech, as if they are part of some special brotherhood of artists and writers who can be relied upon for support.

Neil Gaiman effectively utilized Larsen's Cultural Images and Myths to engage his audience and make them feel comfortable and receptive of the message.  While not as dynamic as it could have been, it certainly was able to accomplish the goals of the speech and connect with his intended audience.

HARD WORK AND DIRTY JOBS

DIRTY JOBS

 

In this speech by Mike Rowe for TED Talk, Mike would like to create a focus on jobs that are considered to be skilled labor that is necessary to retain the infrastructure of our country.  He also makes points that we often have assumptions about what it entails to have a job like this and the type of person who does these skilled labor type jobs (manual labor).  He also asserts that there is nothing wrong with a hard days work.  In the Fogg Behavioral Model, there are three main elements, Motivation, Ability, and Triggers.  To varying degrees, Mike Rowe hit's on all of these elements to drive his points home to his audience.

Motivation: 
During his speech Mike utilizes a number of stories and other methods to motivate his audience to take action and accept his message.  I noticed that ANTICIPATION was the primary motivator, he gave the audience HOPE that their were different measures of success and that people could pursue their dreams and still be considered successful.  He also utilized FEAR as a motivator, to show the audience that without the skilled labor positions in our society, our infrastructure was doomed as we cannot hope to repair or build new without sufficient skilled labor positions.  Another aspect of motivation was his use of BELONGING as a core motivator.  He mentions the biases that have arisen from segments in society that are negative toward skilled labor and trades; Hollywood, Madison Ave, Washington D.C., and how they portray skilled labor as less than successful, while many skilled laborers are actually very successful both financially and emotionally because they are doing something they like.  This plays into the biases of social rejection vs. social acceptance within the BELONGING element.

Ability:
The element of Ability was not a large factor within the speech.  He does touch on the fact that people can do these things if they want to, their grandfather's did them and did them well.  He makes it a point to show that it can be done, you just have to have the desire.

Triggers:
This is a point were the speaker fails to properly employ Fogg's elements to their full effect and potential.  While I believe that he demonstrates his ability to be a great facilitator and is able to motivate his audience, he fails to capitalize on the audiences wave of motivation by not having a call to action or having some sort of spark to make them willing to initiate action.  Even a simple request at the end to consider emphasizing traditional jobs and skilled labor would have beneficial for his cause.  He simply ends with a few words that might still be motivators but he does not call them to do anything about it.

Analysis and Process Premise:
Mike Rowe's approach to motivate the audience or persuade them to believe as he believes, is well done.  He incorporates many of the process premises in his speech.  He connects to audience with a personal story and this story also helps to shift or align their attitudes with what his message will be.  He want's them to not make assumptions on what is right and what is wrong (or in his words, what is dirty and what is clean). He uses the emotional influence of the lambs and his predicament to converge the beliefs of the audience to agree with his way of thinking.  He does all this in a non -threating and humorous way so as to satisfy the audience's needs of safety (not from physical harm but as in they are emotionally safe and the journey he will psychologically take them on will be safe as well).  He is deft at using emotion to convey his message in a manner that is likely to be accepted by his audience.  He uses multiple emotions, happiness, fear, guilt, throughout his stories and messages.  They audience probably does not even feel as if they are potentially having their perspective and framing changed.  As far as consistency is concerned and cognitive dissonance, he again uses humor and human stories too connect with his audience and to make them want to be what he wants them to be or more likely think the way he wants them to think.  He conjures images and emotions by using the phrase "grandfather stuff"; most people have pleasant memories or images of a grandfather and Mike makes the audience think of their grandfather working hard at something and having self reliance, able to work hard and honest.  This image creates with the audience the desire to be like their or the proverbial grandfather and also want to do hard work and not think of it in a negative light.