WK 1 / D2

You don’t have to be morally good to be an orator. I mean, anyone can speak lies or deceptions and still be a public speaker. Take a few politicians and many celebrities for instance. I do, however, believe that in order to be a successful orator it is definitely key to have good morals and be ethically right. And with that said, I absolutely believe that there is a connection between goodness, truth, and public communication, there is especially a connection between the three when the public communication involves persuasion. It is difficult to persuade anyone without speaking the truth because the truth supports your claims validity. The truth is evidence and evidence is extremely important when trying to persuade another. Of course, you could lie and create false truths, but in the end I believe those lies will catch up to you and no one will ever take you seriously again. So in the long run, yes, there is a distinct connection between goodness and truth and public communication.

Powers of Persuasion WK1/ D1

            I admire a lot of speakers and/or writers, many of whom are my sorority sisters. When I have conversations with them, or when I hear them give speeches I am always inspired by their words. One of the key reasons as to why their words are always so inspiring is because they use a lot of emotion (pathos). They relate situations or instances or events to their own lives and to the lives of their audience. I find that I heavily rely on pathos myself when I give speeches or when I try to give advice to another person or when I am in the act of persuading. Another very persuasive characteristic of my speaking/writing is in my choice of words/style or “voice”. I like to have the “voice” I use relate to my audience. For example, if I were talking to a classroom of school children I like to talk in a very friendly, approachable, yet authoritative manner. Or if I were talking to a peer I’d talking more relaxed. “Voice” also depends on the situation I am in as well. I believe this characteristic fits into the idea of pathos and it can be a very effective tool of persuasion. 

Introductory Post

Hello Class!
My name is Erica or "WobbledyWa". I am currently in my fourth year here at SJSU and am working towards my BA in Communication Studies with a Child Development minor. After graduation, I plan to apply to a few grad schools with the hopes of getting into an extended masters program for speech pathology (crossing my fingers!). So far, I have very much enjoyed all of my communication studies courses, and after taking so many comm classes I now understand why communications is so broad and can be applied to just about anything. I have specifically enjoyed my courses in internet communication and interpersonal communication. I feel that all of my communications classes have helped me to become a better speaker/writer as well as aided in my in better understanding how to relate to interact with those who are different than myself. This is the second online class that I have ever taken. I took my first, two semesters ago with Professor Perez and I have enjoyed the blogging aspect of it thus far.

Happy Spring Semester!