by Anna Johansen | Feb 17, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, From Novice to Intermediate, Soapbox, Technique
Looming ten feet tall, their steps shattered paving stones. The rumble of their debate boxes sent panicked crowds fleeing. Several witnesses reported seeing them breathe fire on at least one occasion, and their refutation skills had been known to make small children...
by Joshua Anumolu | Jan 17, 2018 | Communication/Rhetoric, Speech Events, Strategy
In my last post, I covered Reciprocity, the first “principle of persuasion” examined by Dr. Cialdini in his book Influence. In this post, I will discuss the contrast principle, another essential point covered by Cialdini. The contrast principle says that perception is...
by Joshua Anumolu | Dec 30, 2017 | Communication/Rhetoric, Strategy
“A few years ago, a university professor tried a little experiment. He sent Christmas cards to a sample of perfect strangers. Although he expected some reaction, the response he received was amazing—holiday cards addressed to him came pouring back from people who had...
by Harrison Durland | Dec 23, 2017 | Communication/Rhetoric, Technique, Thinking Strategically
Everyone who is reading this has, at some point, taken apart something, examined the pieces, then put them together again—sometimes in a different way. For some, it might have been some old computer or furniture. For many others, it may have been toys such as legos....
by Anna Johansen | Dec 20, 2017 | Communication/Rhetoric, Technique
Let’s say you’re visiting Australia. On the western edge of Cape York Peninsula, there’s a group of people called the Kuuk Thaayorre. The language they speak doesn’t have words for left or right, forward or back. Instead, its speakers describe locations using north,...
by Giovanni Segar | Dec 15, 2017 | Communication/Rhetoric, Speech Events
It was the first tournament of the year, and it was going to be a good one. It had to be. A National Open in my neck of the woods. It was Gonzales/Segar’s time to shine. Nicknamed the two tall Mexicans (guess why), we didn’t have a ton going for us. This was my fourth...
