Introduction

Welcome to my e-Portfolio! 

My name is Karen Villacis and I am an undergraduate student at The Pennsylvania State University. As a student part of the Liberal Arts College, as well as an aspiring Paterno Fellow, learning how to use rhetoric correctly and effectively is very important to me. I have built this e-Portfolio, titling it Kaleidoscope because to me, it signifies a change in pattern and style that will occur throughout my education here at Penn State. I will continue to develop my rhetoric skills and therefore refining them to my greatest ability. 

This year, throughout the Spring 2012 semester I have learned how to usefully communicate through oral, visual, digital, and written mediums. With multiple compositions, podcast, and digital works, I have undoubtably strengthened the way I communicate using these different modalities. Looking back, a few of of my abilities stand out. When writing a piece that focuses on using emotion, my ability has certainly grown. If emotion is used to motive a reader or simply strengthen an argument, I have refined my ability to do so by using pathos to channel in a reader. Pathos is a theme that is apparent throughout the compositions section of my e-Portfolio. I have also expanded on my skills of public speaking and podcast creation. Using oral and digital communication can be very effective for a rhetorical audience because instead of simply reading, they can hear music or see an image, thus, you as the presenter, are engaging a variety of senses to your piece. Lastly,I have found my voice throughout the multiple assignments this semester. I have found my unique way of writing and speaking that I believe are memorable to a reader or listener. Therefore, I hope you find my collection of works as enjoyable as I do! Please feel free to leave comments or contact me with any questions.

Without further adieu, I present to you my e-Portfolio: Karen's e-Portfolio

Twitter

We have many networking sites. Facebook, Myspace, and the new and upcoming networking site, Twitter.

I took a quick interest in Twitter. We talk about exigence and how when an event happens many people post a status on Facebook about how they feel about the situation. For example, when Joe Paterno died. So many people posted RIP and others wrote, "I still don't agree with what he did but RIP". Twitter is a way to let out how one feels when anything goes wrong.

Looking through some of my tweets, I read some that say, "kid sitting across from me close your mouth when you chew". This is a great example of how when the kid across from me was eating dinner so loud and I couldn't tell him to stop, and none of my friends were around. So I tweeted it. I let out how I was feeling before the opportunity was gone. Kairos and exigences at its finest. Actually, when going through other peoples twitters, I read tweets just like mine. In situations where they were uncomfortable or needed to say something it was clear in a tweet.
Here are some examples of tweets that I have tweeted that are great examples of exigence.

"and your not a bad ass quit acting like one" (I was mad at my friend and clearly could not say this to her face)


"Computer lab is so hot wtfff I need the ac" (I was in a class and wanted to scream from how hot it was in my classroom, and I couldn't, so i tweeted it instead.) 


"Dumb girl asked her friend if a nickle was 10 cents ... No. That wud be a dime" (I was in the study lounge, and as unbelievable as this tweet sounds, its true. I wanted to get up and tell the girl personally the difference between a dime, a nickel, a penny, and a quarter. I couldn't, so once again, I used exigence through twitter. 

If your a person who has a lot to say I highly recommend getting a twitter!

Presentations

Oops is right, it looks like someone didn't practice their public speaking techniques.

These are professionals, they should be able to hold a good rhetoric composure. I mean if they can't do it, can we? As I'm writing this I'm worried about a speech I have to give tomorrow. I know the material, however, knowing that I need to use my rhetoric to cast the audiences attention is important. Not to mention, I also have to get the professor to engage in my rhetorical audience. 

So, I thought about how to do this and I came up with 3 ideas.

1) Make sure to have visuals so that the audience can see what I am discussing. 

2) Allow for the audience to engage in my presentation, by asking them questions.

3) Lastly, make sure I'm speaking with clarity and know what I am discussing, unlike Rick Perry.

Along with my presentation, I have to hand out a sheet with bullet pointed information. From our class discussion last week, I now am aware that bolded, italicized, underlined, size 14, vs size 15 font matters. While preparing the worksheet, I stuck to a font that was easy to read and did not seem juvenile. Also, I made sure the font was big enough to be read but not too big that it distracted the reader. Also, when choosing the font color, I didn't go with anything colorful because I knew it would also take away from the seriousness of the information presented. Lastly, I made sure to bold, italicize and underline only when the information needed to be emphasized. 

Wish me luck on my presentation! Maybe you'll take some tips from here and use it in your future presentations!

Connections

In my anthropology class, I learn about the origins our human communication. We discuss many different events were gestural communication is present. The other day, someone brought up the Joe Paterno memorial service. To start, someone mentioned music. We talked about the different emotions that were triggered by every different song. Then, I brought up the visual montages. People mentioned that some of the images were very repetitive on different montages. And lastly, someone mentioned the speeches from various players, his family, and as well as the speech given by Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike. 

The girl sitting next to me starting elaborating on how all these things relate to logos, pathos, and ethos. Then, this sparked me to bring up the idea how the Joe Paterno memorial service is something that can perfectly fit into the mapping out of a situation. What would branch out would be that the memorial was a great opportunity for exigence. All the people who didn't get a chance to say something were given the opportunity at the service. Also, there was a common place because everyone at the service felt that Coach Paterno was a role model. Finally, from all of this, there was a large rhetorical audience. There were so many people that watched and attended the service that were influenced by the verbal and visual discourse the service provided. 

I think this mapping out can be done with a lot of situations, but what I find the most interesting is how everything like kairos, pathos, logos, ethos, visuals, soundtrack, and verbal presentations can influence the rhetorical audience immensely. If you think about it, the multi-media project coming up is not only to address a social problem, but how well we can use all of these, put it together, and influence the rhetorical audience watching. Im hoping this will come in handy for the multi-media presentation coming up! 

Music

Music, to me, is the ultimate form of Pathos.

During spring break, I had my car so I could drive anywhere I wanted. I didn't have anywhere to go since none of my friends were on spring break, so I just took a nice cruise down good old Tewksbury. If you know my town, you know there are a lot of trees and farms, and if you don't know my town, well, now you know. To set the mood of the 65 degree weather in March, I put on some music, rolled town my windows, and enjoyed the ride.

My iPod was on shuffle and the first song that came on was:
Yellow Bird and Coal Mines by the Scene Aesthetic. I only have two songs from this band so I was about to change the song, however, I kept listening and the song instantly drew on my emotions of a break up I went through sophomore year. The lyrics and the guitar strumming in the background surrounded all my senses and took me back to that time for three minutes.

Then, a change of pace, Welcome to Jamrock by Damien Marley came on. I was immediately drawn to memories of my bus rides to school my senior year in high school, these aren't my favorite memories, since most people drove senior year. However, the song is very relaxing and as I was driving, I was reminded of those bus rides, but I was very relaxed.

Finally, the last song to come on was The Air that I Breathe by All That Remains. This song is very fast pace and full of anger. All of sudden my happy relaxed mood suddenly turned into me bobbing my head back and forth, holding up my air guitar(I may or may not be a good driver) and I was becoming angrier by every verse and I didn't even know why!

Since I am now familiar with logos, pathos, and ethos, the emotions I felt and probably have always felt with these songs was now brought to my attention. I think music is very powerful and it can be a very powerful form of pathos.

Rhetoric

The king of rhetoric: John Stewart

John Stewart has a show on comedy central called, The Daily Show with John Stewart. On his show he talks about issues that occur daily whether it be about scandals, news reports, or the election, he always has something to say. He finds any situation possible and is able to find the available arguments necessary to tackle the situation, thats why I call him the King of rhetoric.

Today, I want to talk about a specific episode of John Stewart's show. 

This is a scandal my fellow penn staters are very familiar, but then again, this is a scandal that is very familiar to many people since it made the headline news. What John Stewart does is take a situation and uses rhetoric in a comedic approach. 

In the beginning he mentions on the witness who walked in on Sandusky raping a child, and he says in a comedic light: 1) the person could have stopped it and called the police or option 2) the person could have called the police to stop it. In both cases, it could have been stopped. This was an excellent way of approaching the situation, he was not pointing fingers he went around it by using rhetoric through comedy. He continues to go on with the scandal, and again, he does not point fingers, he simply uses comedic rhetoric to express how he feels about any given situation.

Moving on from this episode, now that the republican primaries are going on, John Stewart is also exercising his use of rhetoric by not being biased to one party. He is very skillful in how he presents his exigence.

Another T.V. show that I think does an excellent job of using rhetoric is SNL. Just the other night SNL did a skit about Newt Gingrich and his "moon colony". SNL made a joke about something serious that Gingrich keeps talking about. It was hilarious

I think there are many shows that have been entertaining us for years that simply use comedic rhetoric. 

Wheres my water?

Yes, this is a Disney App, but I LOVE IT! I am absolutely obsessed with my new purchase. I purchased it the other night and have been playing it ever since. Now you're probably wondering how does this have to do with rhetoric? Well, just today, I tried persuading my roommate to get it. I was using rhetoric and I didn't even realize until she said "Jeez, Karen. Relax. I'll get it, but you sound like a commercial." 

Then it hit me. Everything that I had just learned about commercials and their arrangement, appeal, style, purpose, and argument; I was using. 

I started asking myself, how did I come off as a commercial? Then, I thought back to the three specific conversations I had with my roommate, Anna, today. 

Conversation 1: 

Me: Anna! When you get the iPhone over spring break the first app you have to download is Where's My Water! 

Anna: What is it?

Me: Its a Disney app--a disney app? Yes, a Disney app. 

Anna: Uh..I don't know its probably an app for a fourth grader 

Me: Fine, your no fun.

As I went about my day, I continued to play my game in all the crazy levels it contains. 

Conversation 2:

Anna: How was class?

Me: Silence..

Anna: ..Karen 

Me: Oh! Sorry I didn't hear you. I've been trying to beat this level since my first class today 

Anna: Let me see 

Me: This is the alligator that needs the water. The green slime breaks through the dirt quickly so I have to find a way around that. Oh and this purple lava can take over the water! 

Anna: Hmm..Try This!

Even with her help, still I couldn't pass it. 

Conversation 3: 

Me: YES!!

Anna: What happened?

Me: I finally beat the level!

Anna: Can I try the next one?

Me: A-ha, and you said this was a game for children. . .you goon.

You can distinctly see the progression as I am persuading her just like a commercial would do an audience. I begin by simply mentioning the product (Wheres My Water). By me just mentioning some information about the App, in this case, just the name, it was perfectly planted in her memory. Then I moved on and talked about specifics of the app, like how it works, and what you have to do. She instantly engaged in the conversation by saying "hmm, try this!" Lastly, when I expressed excitement about the app and my accomplishment, she strayed from her original opinion of the app and asked to play. She was hooked!

Simple rhetoric at its best.

Valentine's Day

http://www.annehelenpetersen.com/?cat=5

If your married with kids, this is a day to dress your child up with red and re-read the Valentine's day cards they received at school. 

If your married, this is a day for a candle light dinner with your husband. 

If you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, this is a day to spend time with them, treating each other to a wonderful day together

If your single, this is a day to spend with family.

Regardless what your relationship status may be, Valentine's Day is a situation made for exigence. 

Some may be ready to tell the one they have been dating for five years, for their hand in marriage. Others, may be scared to tell the one they have been with for a year, that they love them for the first time. 

Most people are able to say what they have to say with a flower, chocolate, a ring, or with the three words; "I love you" 

Whatever you say, it must be said before the special day is over! Thats 24 hours too short. 

However, some miss this opportunity of exigence for love, and this is how we end up with our love stories and songs.

Below, are some examples of love songs where those in love, missed their chance. 

"If we ever meet again, I'll have so much more to say" - This is from Timbaland's song, If we ever meet again. A perfect example, of how someone might have not said what they needed to say and now that person is gone.

"I get so many things that I wanna say to you, I guess this mean that I'm missing you" - This is from The Black Eyed Peas "Alive" song. Which is about, no other than, a boy missing his girlfriend because he never told her how he felt. 

There you have it, Valentine's Day is a perfect day excuse to tell someone you love them!  

Black Mamba

When someone says Kobe Bryant, most people know of him. Whether it be from his incrediable basketball career in the NBA, or from his infamous sexual assault case, the fact is, you know his name, and you recognize his face.

google.com/images

And there it is. The million dollar face of Kobe Bryant. He has been and is the face of many products. Products such as Mcdonalds, Sprite, and Nike.

google.com/images

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyXzzxB0wqs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wTkjxz3bnk

He appears in each one of the ads above. However, have you heard of the black mamba? The Black Mamba is the longest and most venemous snake in Africa. Some of you who read the title of this post knew instantly who "The Black Mamba" is referring to. But if you didn't,  "The Black Mamba", is the one and only, Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant gave himself this nick name because of the way he "attacks" the other players on the court. However, this nick name has transended into an amazing form of Ethos. 

Kobe got the attention of Nike with the nick name he coined, and ultimately created an entire  short film, clothing line, and products.

Nike ended up launching the "Black Mamba" worldwide. 

http://wsuent.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/the-new-black-mamba-shoe/

These are sneakers apart of the collection. They have "Black Mamba" imprinted on the tip of each shoe.

http://theshoegame.com/articles/the-black-mamba-invades-nike-beijing.html

This is a photo taken of the black mamba snake in a nike store in Beijing. 

What is interesting to me (and hopefully you) is that in the Beijing store there wasn't a picture of Kobe himself presented to promote the brand, just the snake. Also, on the sneakers, it does not say "Kobe Bryant" on the tip, rather it says, "Black Mamba". 

I think this is an interesting approach to appeal when it comes to ethos. They are using solely the image of the snake itself rather than Kobe Bryant. For those who walk in the Nike store and simply see the snake, might say "WOW, sweet, a Black Mamba snake thats Nikes' new line." They have no background that the new Nike line is in fact Kobe Bryants. 

On the other hand, for those who use the nick name interchangeably with Kobe Bryant, know who the brand/product is appealing to and why the "Black Mamba" (Kobe Bryant) is a credible figure to be endorsing Nike sport clothing, shoes, etc. 

What do you think? 

Persuasion

I watched this episode last night and I thought it would be a perfect example to show effective use of persuasion.

In the beginning Phoebe explains to Ross that she doesn't believe in evolution, Ross is baffled. Throughout the clip Ross explains his argument of why Phoebe should believe in evolution, backing it up with factual information. This is a technique most useful in trying to persuade an audience. Supporting your beliefs with factual information will give your audience a moment of clarity, "Oh, this is not only she/his belief, it is actually proven."

Phoebe persists on her beliefs. Frustrated, Ross tries a different approach and brings in visual aids. While Ross is still trying to convince Phoebe that evolution is real, he now engages her to use her sight to see fossils that prove evolution. Using visual aids can also be helpful when trying to persuade an audience. Sure mentioning the facts has an impact, but, when an audience is shown a graph, photo, or artifact of proof, you have successfully engaged two of their senses, hearing and seeing. Phoebe is shocked and admits she didn't know you could see the work of evolution on fossils. However, she continues to stand by her view.

Even more frustrated than before, Ross uses a current example of evolution; opposable thumbs. This is another effective way to persuade your audience. Drawing in current events or in this case a current use of thumbs brought on by evolution, allowed Phoebe to relate. If the audience is able to relate to your beliefs, they can better understand your point.

Ross is beyond fed up and brings in a brief case full of scientific facts. Presents it to Phoebe, and Phoebe is not buying it. This is the amazing part. Phoebe takes Ross' argument and flips it on him. She makes him question his own beliefs by implicating her beliefs on him. Phoebe ask Ross, "Is there any chance you could be wrong?" And Ross uses that one ounce of doubt that he could be wrong and disregards everything he was trying to persuade Phoebe on. What Ross tried to accomplish in a matter of days, Phoebe accomplishes in a minute. This is a great way to show that you need to stick to your belief in order to persuade others.

This I Believe

I Believe in Disney Channel

Public Speaking Song

You're walking to the podium, telling yourself not to trip and fall. You look out at the audience and every eye is on you. You try and gulp your nervousness away. You feel your knees start to shake as sweat trips down your face. You open your mouth ready to start. . . and nothing comes out. We have all had these feelings at least once, and we all know what it is. Thats right, it's the infamous symptoms of dreaded public speaking. 

How can we get over this fear and become the eloquent speaker we want to be? We need to treat each word, each sentence, and each paragraph like a work of art. We need to trust our masterpiece. We need to understand the power of our choice of words. We need to listen to ourselves changing our tone of voice. And finally, we need to understand how to position ourselves so that our posture is open and welcoming to the audience. This comes from understanding the power and rules of rhetoric. 

For example, lets take this sentence: the lamp sits on the old wooden table.  

How can we transform this sentence into one that will capture the audience and allow us to fluctuate our tone? By changing our diction. 

For example, that once boring simple sentence can now be this: The antique lamp sits on the rectangular mahogany table. 

By simply changing our word choice, the sentence was transformed completely. Proofreading, revising, editing, and re-reading our work can prevent from grammar mistakes. 

To help our performance in presenting our work, confidence is key. Situate yourself so that your body is facing the audience with your chin up to help a straight posture. When reading your piece, speak as if you were speaking to you closest friends. Be comfortable. Don't rush, but don't speak too slowly either. Speak at a normal pace with a fluctuating tone when needed. All these tricks and tips developed from ancient rhetoric rules and have influenced some of the great public speakers of the world today. 

Opinion-as-Identity

When I came across this video I was reminded of how often we dismiss opinions we disagree with. Why do we engage in this behavior? Is it because were reluctant to change our views? Or is it because society tells us it is not politically correct. Unfortunately, its both; and a majority of Americans follows these "understood rules".

Confidently, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, declared her opinion on a controversial issue on national television and I commend her for her honesty. Who would have thought? A pageant contestent with the goal to win the crown, put her principles above everything. A pageant contestant is supposed to appeal to people of all different ages, and because Carrie stated her opinion on a contreversial issue, she lost her support from fans and it also cost her the crown. However, what Carrie did, puts her above the other contestents because she was staying true to herself, as she explains it. Miss California is a perfect example of someone encouraging rhetorical exchange.

If you were in her situation, what would you have done? If it were me, I know I would have followed the “rules”, and found a way around answering the question so I would not offend those in support of same sex marraige as well as those against it, even if I had strong opinions towards legalizing same sex marriage. Miss California also explains how her, her father and her sister have strong colliding views, but mentions they are open to listening, examining, and negotiating them, which is a key factor in rhetoric. This opinion-as-identity image has stood in the way of rhetorical exchange and has limited the way we can “invent”. Next time, when someone is giving their opinion, listen to them and hear what their saying before you disregard it completely.