The speaker of this TED Talk, Aspen Baker, made the argument that we need to utilize storytelling and good listening, the combination of the these two things she calls "pro-voice", in order to open the conversation about controversial and polarizing topics, such as abortion, and create empathy among human beings. The other ideas she talked about included:
- People don't need to change their beliefs to become a good listener
- Issues like abortion don't have to be political
- Good listening includes reflective language
- Shifting conflict to conversation takes listening and storytelling
- Personal experiences aren't always predictable
- There is a gap between politics and real life
In this TED Talk the speaker used ethos, pathos, and logos. She used ethos when she said things like "nothing like our service had ever existed", which implies that her company has innovation, because being innovative is a way to establish ones credibility. When she consistently referenced the fact that we need to open up discussions about controversial issues because of the uncomfortable feelings that go along with those issues today, she was using ethos. Some examples of emotional words she used when talking about approaching these issues and conversations were "vulnerable", "exhausting", "sad", and "lost". The speaker used logos when she used the anecdote about the woman who practiced saying the word "God" so she would feel more comfortable talking about God, and this is logos because it helped support her argument that we, as people, need to become better listeners in order to talk about polarizing topics these days.
I picked this TED Talk because I assumed since the topic is abortion that it would be interesting, and it was. I also picked it because access to safe abortions is a human right in my opinion and I was curious to know what the speaker of this TED Talk thought was a "better way to talk about abortion". This relates also to our concept for Never Let Me Go of creation and the ethics around "playing God"--by cloning in Never Let Me Go and by intervening with the process of pregnancy and procreation.
The purpose of this TED Talk presentation was to send the message that "pro-voice" or the ability to listen and share stories with one another is the key to support and respect for all human beings. The speaker does this by literally starting off her TED Talk by sharing a story about when and why she got an abortion in a setting (a TED Talk) where people are actively listening. She probably actively thought about how perfect of a setting a TED Talk would be for the message that she was conveying because it offered her a platform, just like her service Exhale does, to speak about her personal experiences with controversial issues, like abortion, and this all relates to her main point about how we should all be "pro-voice".
Really appreciate the detail and thought you put into the this post. The analysis paragraph was great, and I think this is a great example of a balance of a "what" and "how" of a text. I would have loved a bit more in the technique section with direct examples from the text- it makes the analysis critical and specific! However, the specific words selected are spot on!
ReplyDelete