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Rhetorical Analysis Of Andrew Sinek 's Ted Presentation

Decent Essays

1. Use a contrarian approach. Make a statement of a universally accepted concept, then go against conventional wisdom by contradicting the statement. For example, a market trader starts by contradicting the commonly held advice of buying low and selling high. He says: "It 's wrong. Why? Because buying low typically entails a stock that 's going in the opposite direction—down—from the most desired direction—up." This is a provocative opening that engages the audience right away.
2. Ask a series of rhetorical questions. A common way to engage the audience at the start is to ask a rhetorical question. Better still, start with a series of rhetorical questions. A good example of this tactic is Simon Sinek 's TED presentation. He starts with: …show more content…

That 's over 31 million football fields of rainforest each year."
5. Provide a reference to a historical event. There are times when the day that you present may have some significance in history that can be tied to the subject of your presentation, as an opening gambit. You can easily look up what happened on any day in Today In Sport or a more general site such as This Day In History. You never know what pertinence it might have that will add some pizzazz to your presentation. It 's worth a look.
6. Use the word imagine. The word imagine invites the audience to create a mental image of something. Ever since John Lennon 's famous song, it has become a powerful word with emotional appeal. A particularly skillful use of the word occurs in Jane Chen 's TED talk. She speaks about a low-cost incubator that can save many lives in underdeveloped countries. Chen opens by saying: “Please close your eyes and open your hands. Now imagine what you could place in your hands, an apple, maybe your wallet. Now open your eyes. What about a life?” As she says this, she displays a slide with an Anne Geddes ' image of a tiny baby held in an adult 's hands. There is power in asking the audience to conjure up their imagination, to play along. This tactic can easily be adapted to any topic where you want the audience to imagine a positive outcome, or a vision of a better tomorrow. It

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