Confidential Tone

Link to Completed worksheet

I was very excited about this particular assignment. The idea of analyzing the tone of some of the messages I get on a daily basis got my head swimming with ideas. Some of the recent messages I have gotten are so negative and abrupt one can't help being offended. I began sorting through my mailbox to find the perfect message to analyze. With each new message I pulled up it became more and more apparent that posting any of them on the Internet would be a very poor decision. I would be risking my own job by potentially breaking the non-disclosure agreement through accidentally leaking something they felt was proprietary, while simultaneously outing one of my co-workers. One thing I know for certain, an angry co-worker does NOT get nicer once they have been outed. So I went with my gut on this one and decided to go with something a little less interesting.

Delta Airlines was very excited about the following message.
"For a limited time, take advantage of American Cellars Wine Club's new customer offer. Enjoy great tasting wines delivered right to your front door — you'll earn 2,500 miles, and the wines are only $6.99 a bottle. Get a free 6-piece Cellar Master Wine Tote (a $37.95 value) and free shipping on your first order just for signing up today!"

As this is a sales pitch the tone is positive as expected. "Enjoy great tasting wines delivered right to your door" implies that I will be happy about what they have to offer. It will benefit me and be convenient. Of course they go on to tell you about additional perks to get you excited. One thing that caught my eye was the exclamation mark at the end of the message. To me an exclamation mark can either be interpreted as aggressive or excited. In the context of this message it conveys an excited tone. I can almost see the perky blond flight attendant tilt their head grinning from ear to ear with a sparkle in their eye, "ting!" The message also conveys a strong sense of urgency. Catch phrases like "limited time" and "signing up today" make the reader think that they have to act quickly to "take advantage" of this offer.

Although I would have much rather analyzed an e-mail from a co-worker, I suppose the Delta Airlines sales offer provides a better option, at least where job security is concerned.

Rhetoric and Modern Communication

"Rhetoric" is one of the words used in English courses that has always intimidated me. An assignment to write about Rhetoric was a little frightening to say the least. To be honest I really didn't know where to begin. As a student I have heard the definition of Rhetoric multiple times. Unfortunately when the subject came up in our last class I caught myself searching my memory for anything at all that came close to resembling a definition. No such luck. As we discussed the subject in class I began to realize why I didn't have a clear definition.



In my world every communication uses rhetoric naturally. Whether intentionally or subconsciously everyone is trying to persuade whomever they are communicating with. When people communicate with peers or close friends they constantly search for validation. The common phrase "You know what I mean?" comes to mind. If whomever they are speaking with does not agree the most common response is to go into more detail or re-iterate what they have already said. I find myself using all three forms of Rhetoric we discussed in every day life. I am personally a logical thinker so I approach nearly all aspects of my life logically first. If logic does not work I appeal to the emotions, if that doesn't work I find a way to make it relate to my audience personally. It is a natural human desire to want others to agree with you or see your point of view.



Unfortunately politics have given rhetoric a bad reputation. When people use the art of persuasion to influence people negatively it begins to lose some of it's natural beauty. Like most things in life, no matter how useful a tool can be in the right hands, it is just as devastating in the wrong ones. Once society realizes that all modern communication has an underlying desire to persuade them, people may lose the ability to see things for what they are. I have found that in the workplace people are constantly searching for a hidden agenda. It is sad to think that the pure form of communication has been so thoroughly tainted that we can no longer take things at face value.

Communication and Academic Writing

From the time we start our academic endeavors at 5 years old, the English language and written form is an integral part of our education. The alphabet is the first thing I remember learning. At the time we have no idea what it will mean, or how agonizing the individual components of that catchy little tune could become if strung together in the right manner. I progressed through elementary school blissfully unaware of the fact that English would be a constant requirement throughout my entire academic career. It wasn’t until Mrs. Fischers 7th grade English class that I realized my true feelings about writing. I found that because questions for essay papers do not have a right or wrong answer, the grading is entirely subjective. For an obsessive compulsive over-achiever this is completely unacceptable. From that “C” forward I hated anything that had to do with English or writing. I even spent a year abroad in a vain attempt to escape the wretched subject. Of course English was a required course, even in Sweden. The best part about taking English abroad was that I actually appeared to be good at it. How can we call something a rule when there are so many exceptions to it? I have long felt that the ability to write an essay paper is about as useful as cursive. In the second grade we were forced to learn cursive. They convinced us that cursive would be the ticket to a successful life, that all teachers throughout the rest of our education wouldn’t accept any papers unless they were written in cursive. Interesting theory, but it really didn’t pan out for them. In fact I have never had a teacher, professor, instructor, or boss who would accept anything written in cursive. The same logic applies to writing. I am an engineering student who works for a Japanese company. If what I have to say can not be communicated through the use of a graph it really isn’t worth saying. The written word is virtually useless in my career field because all meaning is lost in translation. Verbal communication or graphical representations are the only effective means of communication in the real world. Not to mention, the second you write something down a paper trail is created. I have found that this can later be printed and presented out of context to make you look like a fool. In summary, although communication skills are extremely important, one must recognize that communication and Academic Writing are not synonymous, nor are they interchangeable.

Welcome to 402 Test

This is the first of many blogs to come. The purpose of this particular post is to test the system and verify my technical capability. Unfortunately my creative writing talent is virtually non-existent so this is all I have to offer. Hopefully with the help of this course the content will become more entertaining in the future.