The Good, the Bad, and the Bobbler

Before I continue with my remarkable blog realization for the week, I want to congratulate everyone on a speech well delivered.

That being said, I noticed something not so wonderful about our speeches. As a class, we tend to bob. If you just read that sentence and said, “pshh… Not me,” then I am probably not talking about you (or maybe I am and you should better analyze your presentation skills). No one was doggie on a dashboard bad, but more rehearsal would have benefited most.

Ask yourself, is this you?

I am included in this bobbling group too. I knew it while I was giving my speech too. No matter how focused I was on what I was saying, it amazes me that I was still able to have a running dialogue with myself while presenting.

A brief glimpse inside my head:

…I am looking down at my notes too much. I need to make some eye contact. Okay, I should make eye contact when I actually know what I am saying so I don’t get lost. I don’t like the way I’m standing right now, but I can’t move too much, that’s distracting. Eye contact. Notes. Eye contact, eye contact, eye… don’t know what comes next, notes. I’m still not comfortable with the way I’m standing, but eye contact…

It’s not that I didn’t know my speech, because I did. I don’t even know what makes me feel this need to look at my notes. You could say it was nerves, but that doesn’t make sense to me. From my ‘this I believe’ many of you know I’m a dancer. So putting myself ‘out there’ isn’t really that big of a deal for me. I’ve performed a half-time show, learned in about a week, in front of 110,000 of my closest friends at Beaver Stadium, multiple times. Before those shows I didn’t have a second though. It’s just half time. But fifteen people, who also have to give practically the same speech, makes me cling to note cards.  

{I know, I don’t get it either.}

I’m just going to have to prepare more for the next speech, so I can kick the bobbling habit.

I Love You! (But How Much?)

It might sound silly, but for Valentine’s Day I handed out little valentines with Air Heads, something I haven’t done since elementary school. I spent last Sunday carefully deciding who would get which valentine. Suddenly, I was back in the first grade, debating who actually deserves “UR2 Cool!” and who could receive “Be Mine!” without thinking I had a crush on them. Obviously, none of the boys (out of the three boys who even got valentines) received “Be Mine!” I didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. Seriously, “Friends Forever” is a pretty big commitment. I worried about what my classmates would think of my valentines as a kid, and I was still worried about it in college. By college, we are all supposed to be mature enough to handle a goofy little valentine, so why was I stressing?

I was simply trying to be a good rhetor!

In the past we discussed our rhetorical audience. Our Penn State textbook (Rhetoric and Civic Life) has a chapter taken from The Harbrace Guide to Writing, by Cheryl Glenn, called Understanding the Rhetorical Situation (It’s chapter 5 for those of you who don’t remember and wish to re-read it).  This chapter has a picture of a rack of birthday cards and says, “Even when choosing a birthday card, you’re considering a rhetorical audience,” (RCL 115).

So really, I wasn’t wasting time by selectively choosing a valentine for each of my friends or acquaintances. My goal was to positively influence my audience by picking the perfect message (given I only had three options). Each message would influence my audience in a different way, and I needed to make sure I had everything just right.

What I thought each valentine would say to my audience:

Be Mine! – For girls: I love you, in that friendship kind of way. Let’s forget boys this Valentine’s Day. Who needs them anyways? We can do some serious retail therapy together.

For Boys: (the reason no boys received this one) Hi! I am single on Valentine’s Day and this foolish valentine is my way of telling you that I actually have a crush on you. So, if you want to grab dinner sometime, just the two of us…

Friends Forever! – We are friends and I like you, but if I wrote you an email I wouldn’t sign off with “Love Ya Girl (Boy)!” It’s a universal message that I could give to anyone. It’s the same as signing, “keep in touch” in a yearbook; whether you actually do or not, it doesn’t matter. We are friends, but forever might only mean until we aren’t living on the same floor anymore.

UR2 Cool! – Obviously, I think you’re cool. This valentine creates the perfect amount of distance for; “I’m just being nice and funny on this holiday, but you can’t read into this card because all I’m saying is ‘you’re cool’ and cool has become a broad and generic term.”

After picking out everyone’s valentines, I then had to decide who got what flavor of Air Head. Everyone knows you give your favorite people blue…

Are You Seriously Trying to Sell Me THAT?

Take a look at this advertisement from the 20's:



Yes it is advertising a magic soap that can wash away fat and age. I’ll take 3 cakes, thank you. How could a company convince people to buy a completely bogus product, like magic soap?* (*Taking out of the equation the fact that some people are just really gullible.)

Does the Ad appeal to Ethos?

No. There are no doctors or celebrities endorsing the product. In absolutely no way is there any credibility either. No name or face is attached to this reducing soap. The company’s name LA-MAR Laboratories is given, but not the name of the owner or the person in charge of developing this new spectacular problem solving soap.

Does the Ad appeal to Logos?

Sadly, another no. The small amount of evidence that anybody has even tried this product lies in the vague statement, “one to three cakes usually accomplish the purpose.” Usually? What’s that supposed to mean? And “the purpose?” Do I need a different amount of soap for belly fat compared to if I want to reduce the size of my thighs? No statistics, no facts, not so convincing.

Does the Ad appeal to Pathos?

Actually, yes. This ad appeals to two of the basic needs/desires of people; security and immortality. In order to need security, there has to be an insecurity, right? No matter what year it is, women are insecure about their bodies. In a woman’s mind she can never be skinny enough or young enough. These cakes of soap promise security. LA-MAR is really saying, “By using our soap you can be society’s definition of pretty; young and skinny. It’s as easy as washing with our new revolutionary soap.”  This ad also appeals to the desire for immortality, promising to wash away years of age. These pathos arguments for the product make it a pretty tempting buy.

Think this is just an outdated ad? Think again!

Not only does it give you
a healthy glow... It also
promises to reduce cellulite!

Moisturize daily to reduce
wrinkles!

Many modern companies have products similar to LA-MAR Reducing Soap. Women are still buying products that defy age and reduce cellulite in as little as a week. Companies play to our insecurities and desire to look forever youthful. Thought the first ad was ridiculous? Rethink the ads on TV and in the fashion magazines.

Penn Staters Know How to Win... Winning the Future? No Big Deal






Our friend on the White House staff!



Today I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at President Obama’s speech in Rec. Hall at Penn State. After squeezing people into their seats, I got to stand on the floor and listen to the President talk about investing in innovation. I left feeling inspired, which surprises me. I have previously admitted that I am not too interested in politics.

How did Obama make me interested in his speech???

Watch the speech!

Obviously, there is no surprise that the President of the United States is an excellent public speaker.



Obama knows his audience, his rhetorical audience. His audience is capable of being influenced and bringing about change, and that’s what he wants…Change.

Before getting into the heart of his speech, “You understand that it’s not going to be a cake walk, this competition for the future. Which means, all of us are going to have to up our game,” Obama talked about something college kids love to talk about…football. He referenced the upcoming Super Bowl and Pennsylvania’s Steelers while also recognizing that some of his audience was Eagles fans. In the middle of his speech, he even brought up something Penn State is extremely proud of, Joe Paterno and his 400+ wins.  Knowing what kids care about, he wasn’t afraid to use football to get the crowd excited and interested in what he had to say.



We're official!



Obama also called on the young people at Penn State specifically. Penn State’s motto is “Making life better.” (Don’t worry. I didn’t know that before today either.) So as Penn State students, we should strive to make life better. While Obama’s message is for all of America, especially the youth, standing in that room it sure didn’t feel that way. Obama continually said things like, “here at Penn State,” and called on Penn State students directly. Obama was talking to me (and 40,000 others). He made me feel like it was my job to make the difference, to make the change. Obama was able to keep me interested in a speech I normally wouldn’t care much about. The President knows his audience.

The Exigency-



“We need you to seek breakthroughs and new technologies that we can’t even imagine yet. And especially the young people who are here, we need you to act with a sense of urgency. To study, and work, and create as if the fate of the country depends on you, because it does. It depends on you.”  

- President Obama