Premium Essay

Ted Talk Rhetorical Analysis

Submitted By
Words 1628
Pages 7
The Pillars Of Persuasive Power Rhetoric is the arts of using language to inform and advocate for the truth, to connect ideas, and to develop arguments in particular situations. Aristotle, a well-respected Greek philosopher, considers rhetoric as a means of persuasion. He defines ethos, logos, and pathos as the three essential ingredients to a successful appeal. These three interconnected components are the backbone for the persuasive power inside the TED Talk titled “What Really Happens When You Mix Medications?”. Russ Altman, the speaker of this TED Talk, harnesses different dimensions of each persuasive power to explain to the audience that taking two or more medications can lead to a drug–drug interaction that can either amplify or block …show more content…
When Altman begins telling the story of a patient who has been on a high-cholesterol medication visiting a doctor’s office, he pulls out a pill container. At the point where the patient is given an anti-depressant prescription, a different pill container is shown. While Altman reveals to the audience that it is very hard to study what happens when medications are mixed and how it has never been done before, he hits the pill containers against each other. This action accentuates the fact that drugs are lifesavers but putting multiple drugs together in one body can be a recipe for lethality. Many people need medications daily for rest of their lives. Sometimes, they end up taking potentially dangerous combinations of medications because multiple doctors are prescribing drugs without being aware of what other doctors are prescribing. The doctors may not closely monitor the patients who are taking several drugs at once. Unless a problem is detected, doctors and patients may not consciously think about the threats of taking medications in combination. Consequently, drug interactions have long been a neglected field of study in healthcare. The container pills, in addition with the story, effectively reinforces Altman’s argument. The audience members perceive the necessity of being informed about drug interactions. Likewise, they are encouraged to use the information that is available to them to minimize the risk of such interactions and to improve the success of their

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of TED Talks

...Fifty-two seconds into the video, Chris Anderson reveals the “secret” to what makes TED Talks great speeches. The “secret” isn’t really a secret; it’s how the speaker of the speech has a number one task, to transfer an idea into the audience's’ head. Essentially what this means is as long as the speaker has the intent to help the audience understand how they individually interpret a topic, such as say oranges, and then puts hard work behind that intent, the speech will be great. No one person has the same view, and the purpose of public speaking is to get numerous minds to think, or at least acknowledge, the same idea. If an idea is communicated to an audience effectively enough it could also influence the audience’s future actions. Anderson...

Words: 273 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Ted Talk Rhetorical Analysis

...However, the media often creates bias, misrepresentation and sensationalism which creates misinformation to achieve these goals, throwing all sense of journalism away. Through, the use of misrepresentation, stereotyping and sensationalising, misinformation spreads quicker than ever. The use of stereotyping is highlighted in Pat Ferrucci’s Ted talk “shouldn’t sports be colour blind”. In this Ted talk, Ferrucci addresses the language used in the media when describing athletes of different races. He highlights how the media uses specific language, depending on what race you are. An example of this is a comparison between Tom Brady and Cam Newton. Journalists often describe Tom Brady as "intelligent or praise him for his effort” instead of talking about his raw talent. In comparison to this, when journalists describe Cam Newton, they often refer to him for his physical strength and his natural abilities instead of his intelligence. This often comes from a stereotype that African-Americans are stronger, which originated when African-Americans were slaves. People thought only the stronger slaves survived, which...

Words: 874 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of Ted Talks

...TED - Ideas worth spreading This fascinating website stands as an open-minded organization in which powerful different perspectives are shared by individuals interested in helping society for better knowledge, education, behavior, and reflection to the global community. It surely embraces the nature of ideas for communities or individuals who embark spreading the power of an opinion at a proper understanding. It brings together such a diverse variety of knowledgeable individuals who discuss twenty-minute talks that have an impact spiritually or mentally while invoking vivid imagery and potential persuasion. The rhetorical aspect of Ted talks is to spread the beauty of powerful ideas,...

Words: 458 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Ted Talks Rhetorical Analysis

...Nick Hanauer has a couple of different purposes in his Ted Talks video such as warning his fellow plutocrats about a dangerously growing economic inequality and raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour. An economic inequality has been growing in America and could further develop into a major issue as we have never seen such a gap between the rich and the poor, in addition to the fact the middle class is getting lost in the process. This is why Nick believes that “pitchforks” are coming. “Pitchforks”, being the rise of an angry mob that is mad at the people who are insanely rich (plutocrats) when everyone else has very little. I believe that Nick is very successful in arguing his points because he addresses counter arguments and uses...

Words: 615 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of Ted Talk

...Ted Talks are a way for people to speak out about their own ideas, values or beliefs. Many people use this platform to inform others on specific topics, while using their own personal experiences to do so. The Ted Talk, “ Why Gun violence can’t be our new normal,” is given by Dan Gross, a gun-control activist. Dan starts off his speech with his own personal story dealing with gun violence. He explains how he started to feel like his life was finally going in the right direction and how he just landed his dream job at an advertising agency in New York. Shortly after all of this, his brother was shot in the head on the observatory deck at the top of the empire state building. Dan was shown getting emotional after sharing this with audience and a picture of him and his brother was displayed on the screen. By using narration, emotion and visuals at the beginning of the speech, it gives the audience a chance to connect with the author on a deeper level. It also allows the audience to try to understand what Dan has been through....

Words: 614 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of Hannah Brencher's Ted Talk

...“Smart phones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others or collect information easier and faster than ever.” This mindset towards the ever growing realm of technology is one its users tend to take on. Social media allows instant connection with almost anybody anywhere. While a social media filled world has had its benefits, the “art form” of letter writing is one not to be taken for granted. In Hannah Brencher’s Ted Talk, “Love Letters to Strangers,” she passionately conveys the positive influence handwritten letters have had on her and their receiver's lives. Through a strong appeal to pathos and a profound tone, Brencher argues how the genuine nature of a letter cannot be matched by any innovative digital memo. Brencher uses rhetoric and appeals to the emotions of her viewers by telling anecdotes of a few people that have been impacted by handwritten proclamations of love and support. She garners an amount of ethos because she...

Words: 838 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of Ludwick Marishane's Ted Talk

...Rhetoric Analysis Ludwick Marishane’s Ted Talk Ludwick Marishane is popularly known for his innovation of “A bath without water”. During his presentation on Ted Talks, he makes fun of how he had come up with the idea when sunbathing with his friends in Limpopo, South Africa. By just not wanting to take a bath, he was able to come up with the formula for a dry bath lotion. This innovation has been recognized worldwide and he was named “best student entrepreneur in the world” (Marishane). His innovation did not only save his problems but would be a great solution for millions of people living in areas with a scarcity of water. This essay will analyze how Marishane uses story-telling to motivate, inspire, and persuade his audience. The speaker,...

Words: 1198 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Joe Smith's TED Talk

...In the video for this Lesson named “TED Talks: Joe Smith's How to use a paper towel,” Joe Smith an active figure which in a very funny and in a short speech tries to encourage and advocate the proper use of paper towel. When revealing his trick of the ”Shake and Fold,” Smith starts by presenting an interesting fact, “Thirteen billion pounds are used every year. If we could reduce the usage of paper towels by one paper towel per person, per day, [the figure would be reduced to] five hundred, seventy one Million, two hundred thirty thousand (571,230,000) pounds of paper.” He uses in his opening line, an objective evidence that can easily be proven and can be verified as a fact. It does not only attract the audience attention, but it is also...

Words: 331 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis What Sacajawea Means to Me

...Revised Rhetorical Analysis “What Sacagawea Means to Me,” by Sherman Alexie appeared in the Times Magazine in July of 2002 on the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In the article he begins talking about the struggles that Sacagawea went through during the Luis and Clarke Expedition and ponders whether or not the benefits of colonization are worth the pain and loss caused to others. He comes to the conclusion that Sacagawea and America are contradictions, and makes the reader realize that from so much evil that comes in colonization, there can grow to be so much beauty and brilliance. Alexie’s use of satire, and contrast were helpful and effective in getting his argument across. Alexie’s use of satire in his first paragraph is effective in setting the tone for his entire piece which is a serious on. He begins in the first paragraph with a scenario of a Sacagawea theme park, where the visitor must go through all the trials and tribulations that Sacagawea had to go through. “For the low price of admission, every American” “will be kidnapped…” This not only sets the tone for a serious paper, but also serves the purpose of making the reader think critically about this. He induced in his readers a train of thought and once he did that gave his argument. His use of contrast following helps support his argument as well. Alexie’s use of contrast helps support his thesis that America is a contradiction. His contrast is effective in showing this by placing...

Words: 494 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

John Wooden The Difference Between Winning And Succeeding Summary

...“The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding” The idea of winning and succeeding is described differently by different people from different walks of life. In his Ted Talk, “The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding”, John Wooden makes the statement that a person can win every game of every season and not succeed due to marginal ideals placed upon a team by the school district. John Wooden challenges the idea of a person realizing that perfect grades or ideals do not exist to everyone and do not apply to everyone. He challenges the idea that God created every person in a different way with a different ability to learn and grow. Wooden earns the right to be heard through his techniques used in his talking and through the rhetorical analysis...

Words: 322 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Eng Port

...of evidence to support my claims, ideas and arguments. This class was very helpful in showing how to take research and incorporate it into a project. Overall, this class has allowed me to strengthen my skills as a reviser, helped me “formulate and articulate a stance through my writing”, and helped me to use more forms of evidence to support my claims, ideas and arguments. Project 1 was the simplest of the four projects. I decided to analyze a research article on Marketing and how companies have started to move their businesses into developing nations. At first I didn’t think I would be able to write a rhetorical analysis on this article because of its length but after multiple revisions and help from peers I wrote my final draft. This was the one project where the revisions really helped me grow as a writer. Without these revisions I would have written a terrible analysis because I had no idea how to explain the ideas in the article because it was so short. My peers gave me guidance and used their papers to help formulate my own paper. Prior to this assignment I had written papers detailing articles read but I had never done so with such a short piece. It was hard to fit enough words into the paper without sounding...

Words: 7476 - Pages: 30

Free Essay

Important Online Educational Resources

...III. General Collections (updated to v.2.0 on 1/27/12) IV. How-to & DIY V. Studying with Peers VI. Online Books, eBooks, & Journals VII. Computers, Software, & Programming (updated to v.1.2 on 1/26/12) VIII. Science & Math (updated to v.2.0 on 1/27/12) IX. Logic, Words, & Memory X. Languages XI. Music (updated to v.1.2 on 1/26/12) XII. History XIII. Business, Economics, Finance, & Investing (updated to v.1.2 on 1/26/12) XIV. Food, Nutrition, & Cooking XV. Survival Tips XVI. Documentaries (updated to v.2.0 on 1/27/12) XVII. Other =========== I. TOP PICKS Khan Academy http://www.khanacademy.org/ Academic Earth - Online courses from the world's top scholars http://academicearth.org/ TED - Technology, Entertainment, & Design http://www.ted.com/ MIT Open CourseWare http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/ Stanford Engineering Everywhere http://see.stanford.edu/see/courses.aspx Open Yale Courses http://oyc.yale.edu/ About U. - Collection of free online courses from About.com http://u.about.com/ Wikiversity http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page YouTube EDU http://www.youtube.com/education?b=400 The Open University - Study at the OU http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/ http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/ University of the People www.uopeople.org University of Reddit...

Words: 2831 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Rhetoricalwriting

...A Preface of Quotations Whoever desires for his writings or himself, what none can reasonably condemn,the favor of mankind, must add grace to strength, and make his thoughts agreeable as well as useful. Many complain of neglect who never tried to attract regard. It cannot be expected that the patrons of science or virtue should be solicitous to discover excellencies which they who possess them shade and disguise. Few have abilities so much needed by the rest of the world as to be caressed on their own terms; and he that will not condescend to recommend himself by external embellishments must submit to the fate of just sentiments meanly expressed, and be ridiculed and forgotten before he is understood. --Samuel Johnson Men must be taught as if you taught them not; And things unknown propos'd as things forgot. --Alexander Pope Style in painting is the same as in writing, a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed. --Sir Joshua Reynolds Whereas, if after some preparatory grounds of speech by their certain forms got into memory, they were led to the praxis thereof in some chosen short book lessoned thoroughly to them, they might then forthwith proceed to learn the substance of good things, and arts in due order, which would bring the whole language quickly into their power. --John Milton Introduction Good writing depends upon more than making a collection of statements worthy of belief, because writing is intended to...

Words: 21397 - Pages: 86

Premium Essay

Will Do Next Time

...Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank to accompany A First Look at Communication Theory Sixth Edition Em Griffin Wheaton College prepared by Glen McClish San Diego State University and Emily J. Langan Wheaton College Published by McGraw­Hill, an imprint of The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright Ó 2006,  2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1991 by The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in print form  solely for classroom use with A First Look At Communication Theory provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in  any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any  network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. PREFACE Rationale We agreed to produce the instructor’s manual for the sixth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory because it’s a first-rate book and because we enjoy talking and writing about pedagogy. Yet when we recall the discussions we’ve had with colleagues about instructor’s manuals over the years, two unnerving comments stick with us: “I don’t find them much help”; and (even worse) “I never look at them.” And, if the truth be told, we were often the people making such points! With these statements in mind, we have done some serious soul-searching about the texts that so many teachers—ourselves...

Words: 159106 - Pages: 637

Premium Essay

Testing Page

...Fold along perforation before detatching cards abridge ˘ (´ BRI J) abstract ˘ (ab STRAKT) acclaim ¯ (´ KLAM) adulation ¯ (a j´ LA sh´n) ˘ adversary ˘ (AD vû(r) se r e ˘ ¯) adversity ¯) (a VÛ(R) s´ te ˘d advocate ˘ ¯ (AD v´ ka t) aesthetic ˘ ˘ (e THE tı k) ˘s affirmation ¯ (a f´ r MA shun) ˘ v. condense or shorten. v. applaud; announce with great approval. also n. adj. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational. The NBC sportscasters acclaimed every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat. To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. n. poverty; misfortune. n. opponent. n. flattery; admiration. We must learn to meet adversity gracefully. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his adversary. The rock star thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men. n. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath. adj. artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful. aesthete, n. v. urge; plead for. Despite Tom’s affirmations of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie. The beauty of Tiffany’s stained glass appealed to Esther’s aesthetic sense. The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves. Fold along perforation...

Words: 6076 - Pages: 25