The Effective Use of Rhetoric in Scientific Communication How to get to know your audience. Keith Gibson Senior Design Consultant Allen Communication Learning Services. Aristotle’s Reasoning. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Simon Locke• The technical sphere is nonrhetorical because it is the
sphere of truth; rhetoric is employed only as “handmaiden” in imparting truth to nonspecialist, public audiences, whose reasoning is “untrained.” –The Public Understanding of Science, 2002
My Claim
• The effectiveness of science communication is directly proportional to the level of knowledge about the audience
Building Metaphors• Thomson’s plum pudding model of the atom• Schrodinger’s cat• Turing test
Telling Stories
• “If we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take.” --John Kennedy
Climate Change Stasis• Fact: How much warming has there been?• Definition: What is an acceptable level of warming?• Quality: Is climate change more dire than other problems?• Procedure: How can we most efficiently slow the warming?
Find a Commonplace
• What does the audience value?• What are their goals?• How can your project help them achieve those goals?
Climate Change Stasis• Fact: How much warming has there been?• Definition: What is an acceptable level of warming?• Quality: Is climate change more dire than other problems?• Procedure: How can we most efficiently slow the warming?