Worksheet Post

Worksheet for this weeks blog

Not too long ago I received an email from FAFSA reminding me to get finished with my financial aid paperwork before it was too late. The overall tone I got from this notice was positive and motivating. Statements like "Missing important upcoming deadlines could affect the amount of aid you may be eligible for," really prompted me to pay attention to the importance of the message. The message had a level of authurity but did not make me feel like I was being nagged to do something. The email went on to say "In order to enhance your chances of getting the most aid possible..." and then listed in bold three helpful options for me to utilize. The tone of this statement in particular is very positive and encouraging. In my past experience when I have received business messages that were positive and motivating they usually referred to something like signing up for a credit card or a loan.

Listening is half the battle

As I was looking through the different meanings the internet had for the term rhetoric there was one in particular that caught my eye. Dictionary.com states that rhetoric is the "skill in using language effective and persuasively." I cant help but wonder is this really something the human population does on a daily basis?

Communication has been the heart of all problems and celebrations in the world throughout history. Take for example the classic Shakespearean tale of Romeo and Juliet. These two people driven heavily by their emotions were willing to do whatever it took to be together because their love was so strong. Unfortunately due to miss communication their goal to fake their own death's and runaway together turned out to be a horrible tragedy of young love ended too soon.

There is of course the other side of the coin where communication when executed correctly can be effective and persuasive. The classic example of that would be Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech. I think this is one of the fine examples of the right amount of ethos, pathos, and logos that can and did persuade people and their thought processes.

I personally feel that half of the battle when it comes to rhetoric is not delivering the right amount of ethos, pathos, and logos to your recipient, it is the recipient being willing to take it all in! I find that many people would rather talk, talk, talk then listen and fully take in all the dimensions of what is being said to them. I think if people were to slow down, intake what is fully being delivered to them and put themselves in the speakers shoes they would be able to take in the full message and not what they just want to hear.

Thoughts on writing

Writing for me has become one of the more difficult tasks that I have to force my self to do while continuing my education. Its not that I am not creative because I know I can be, its just that I end up getting so many ideas I just dont know where to start when executing them on paper. I remember a while back a teacher taught me to just write anything down, even if it was random words that came to mind. This would work to some degree in helping me get some ideas flowing but then I would always find my self getting distracted by other thoughts in my head and forgetting where I was going with my writing. I think one of the areas I need to improve on is the use of my grammar. I tend to write how I talk because the people I usually send messages to are my friends and they understand where I am coming from when I communicate to them. They don't judge me and my grammatical flaws which is probably why I have never enforced proper grammar use in my writings. I am prepared to do what it takes to increase my writing skills because I understand the degree of importance it will serve me in the future in regards to my profession.

My first time blogging

I had a little bit of a rough go getting this thing set up last night, but I have finally got this thing going and hopefully wont have any more issues!