What a challenge not to use Barack Obama as THE speaker I admire! Another challenge is not to use his wife, Michelle Obama - another speaker I admire. Fortunately there are other talented speakers who deserve to be the object of my admiration. Hence, I will focus my attention on the television journalist, María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien. The reason why I chose O’Brien is because she covers racial issues in the United States and she also contextualizes similar racial issues in other countries.
O’Brien’s power to persuade comes from ethos (personal character), pathos (the ability to arouse emotions), and logos (personal character) altogether. In the first case, as an African-American, O’Brien knows what prejudice is. Her parents, for instance, experienced prejudice in America just for being immigrants. This evidence makes her viewers believe that O'Brien knows what she is talking about when she covers racial issues; in the second case, O’Brian talks about issues that African-Americans want to see addressed urgently, but few journalists do so. As an example of O'Brien's works, I could mention her famous documentary ‘Black in America’; finally, in the third case, O’Brian has come a long way covering racial issues, which leads African-Americans to believe that her endeavor to improve African-Americans’ lives through news only can be achieve if she reports the ugly truth African-Americans still deal with on a daily basis.
In my view Aristotle’s classification scheme works perfectly for O’Brien, given that she graciously makes use of ethos, pathos, and logos to convey critical messages through documentaries and news she is in charge of. Shifting gears to my own ability to persuade other people, I would risk saying that the main personal qualities that make me persuasive are my natural ability to arouse emotion on my audience and my self-confidence.
Ibirapuera
W16 - Discussion Question # 3
16 years ago
I really enjoyed this post, Ibirapuera, because it covered one of the touchiest subjects to bring up in conversation in America: race! It's amazing how people will go through so many lengths to avoid discussing it, even in modern times when racism is supposed to be "behind us." It was refreshing to hear that people like Maria O'Brien will shine a spotlight on it, even when it's not popular to do so.
ReplyDeleteI also was very impressed that you were able to apply all three concepts of Aristotle's methods as opposed to just one, especially when the original question required just one concept to be applied to your public speaker of choice! I think that this definitely means that you have chosen an amazing public speaker, and you definitely have sparked my interest in Ms. O'Brien. Would you mind telling me which channel she's on most often? I would love to see her in action! :)
Hi Katla,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for your comments. I am glad you enjoyed it. :)
You are right! Race is of the most polemic topics ever, and unfortunately people do go on and on without dealing with it how they should.
This was one of the first things I realized when I moved to America. Maybe because in Brazil I had experienced a more tenuous kind of prejudice. But in America racism was more like thrown ‘at my face’. I am not quite sure if in our lifetime we will see racism behind us. There is still a long way to go, Katla. If you want to know more about how racism is still masked in the world, refer to Black Skin, White Masks, by Frantz Fanon. The Wretched of the Earth, by Fanon is also an excellent reference. They will help you to understand where we are situated when it comes to racism.
I am really passionate about O’Brien and about the race issue. Maybe this helped me to apply all the concepts at once. Indeed O’Brien, who is currently working for CNN, is an amazing journalist and deserves more recognition than she has been received. If you have on-demand features on your cable plan you will be able to watch the documentary I referred to: Black in America at any time.
By the way, O’Brien recently interviewed Michelle Obama. During this interview, she asked tough questions that, in my view, other journalists had not asked Mrs. Obama yet. If you are interested, here’s the link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSkd0xrhcQ8
Ibirapuera
Hello Ibirapuera! I know it was a challenge for most not to use the President as the speaker they admire. I wanted students to think outside of the obvious - which you did perfectly! :)
ReplyDeleteDo you think O'Brien had to work on her presentation skills? Or do you think that it was something she can do naturally? What about other speakers? Do you think they pay a lot of attention to Ethos, Pathos and Logos? :)
I am sorry I saw your comment only now, Professor Perez.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
Absolutely! I believe some people come to this world with natural talents, and O’Brien is certainly among these people. However, mastering one art or whatever we want to become good at requires practice. I believe O'Brien became a good speaker due to constant practice. And the same concept applies to other speakers.
Again, the extent to speakers pay attention to Ethos, Pathos and Logos depend on what they are trying to accomplish.
Ibirapuera