Wednesday, August 31, 2005

One teacher in my high school defined a genius:

"A genius is someone who sees connections where others see none."

One of my classmates whispered, "As opposed to a madman, who sees connections where there are none."

posted by TC @ 2:14 PM 0 comments

I suppose high school teachers would like to think they are promoting genius in their students, although by high school, students' creativity has been dampened considerably.

One definition of genius a teacher in my high school used was, "A genius is someone who can tell you what you already believe in a new and clever way."

This would make successful motivational speakers into the standards of genius.

posted by TC @ 2:13 PM 0 comments

Anaphora

The easiest rhetorical device to use in a speech is also one of the most powerful. Anaphora involves beginning each paragraph, section, sentence, ... With the same word or phrase. Churchill used it frequently, as in his Speech on Dunkirk, June 4, 1940:

We shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,
we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender.

The reverend Doctor M L King, Jr., used it in his most famous speech: "I have a dream...," and later in the same speech with the phrase "Let freedom ring...."

It is the easiest to use because it falls out of the outline of the speech. Where you would have subheadings or bullet points, you can introduce each one with the same phrase. After all, you can't say "Bullet" each place, so you put in the same introductory phrase, which shows they belong together.

What phrase? The best choices are either a restatement of the important point ("we shall fight them...") or a common feeling tone ("I have a dream").

posted by TC @ 2:08 PM 0 comments