With everything we've discussed in class about communications--from senders to receivers to feedback to subject matter for speeches to oral and written critiques--what is the best way to learn about something you don't know, or even dislike? And how does one communicate this effectively, intelligently, respectfully and thoughtfully?
Perhaps Googling something you don't know about comes to mind, or typing it in at Wikipedia. But let's move beyond a cyberspacial understanding to literally walking in someone else's shoes--I call it embodying and inhabiting the subject. Sociologists and ethnographers think about subjects this way, as do anthropologists, marketing gurus, and even some historians.
So, what does it look like if one walk's in the shoes of someone else--literally?
Meet A.J. Jacobs. (Check out his blog here.) He's a journalist, an author, an innovator, and ultimately a COMMUNICATOR--I call him a journalistic sociologist. He applies himself to his craft in inventive, interesting ways.
A recent project of his involved taking the moral imperatives and prescriptions for living from Bible literally. The result is a book titled The Year of Living Biblically. Read and listen to an excerpt here. Read a review of the book here. Listen to an interview, too.
As you listen and you read think about this experiment in terms of what you can learn about communications from it.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What, if anything, about Jacobs's background led to his experiment? Why did he want to conduct such an experiment? To what extent did Jacobs live in the shoes of those in the Bible who preceded him? What did he learn? What was most transformative, interesting, and/or challenging? How did people respond to Jacobs? If you could ask Jacobs a question (besides "Why?"), what would you ask him? Why?
Could you ever see yourself conducting this kind of experiment? If so, what subject would you embody and/or inhabit? Why or why not? By what means would you communicate knowledge of your subject? Why?
Answer these questions in narrative form by writing a one-page, single-spaced response (12-point font, Times New Roman, 1” margins).
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Up to this point in Communication Applications we’ve discussed the communications process (i.e., sender, receiver, feedback, etc.), verbal and nonverbal communication, the purposes of speaking/communication, the structure of speeches, using visuals, and the organization of speeches/presentation, among other topics. This activity prompts you to apply what you’ve learned thus far.
This assignment has two parts. First, I want you to analyze one presidential/presidential candidate speech (if your last name begins with A-H, analyze the Obama speech; if your last name begins with K-W, analyze the Kennedy speech). Analyze or “grade” the speech for content/subject matter, eye contact, posture, body language, facial expressions, pronunciation, articulation, pauses, and persuasive techniques (what evidence does the speaker cite?; recall the thesis/column image on p. 228). Does the speaker use sensory words, similes, metaphors, hyperbole, or irony, for example? Consider as well the speech’s thesis, introduction, and conclusion. Take notes as you listen. I’d HIGHLY recommend listening to the speech once for content, and another time for eye contact, posture, etc.
Second, search on YouTube or Google video for a speech or public presentation of some kind. Using the same categories of analysis you used for the presidential speech, “grade” the speech or presentation you chose. (Be sure to send me the URL of the speech; DON'T FORGET.)
Evaluate these speeches in narrative form by writing a one-page, single-spaced response (12-point font, Times New Roman, 1” margins) for each speech.
You can read about the context, commentary, and analysis of Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech, "A More Perfect Union," here and here. Read the text of the speech here.
As for JFK speeches, listen to his speech about art and poetry here (find another audio file and the text of the speech here), and watch the clip of his Moon Speech at Rice University below. Find the text of the Moon Speech at Rice University here.
