AREN'T YOU CLEVER?

CLEVERNESS INJECTION

Our fictional friend Sally took Jay Heinrichs' advice and injected some cleverness into her speech. She didn't want to go crazy and use every single strategy Heinrichs covered in his chapter…because that would dull the effect. Instead, she chose just a few places to inject some rhetorical flair.

This time, we've bolded the additions Sally made and explained her choices at the end:

[Intro to come]

Installing speakers on Main Street is a bad idea that will cause more problems than it will solve. I'd like to share three problems that are most significant to me as a tax-paying resident of Summerfield.

You'll hear, from those in favor of installing these speakers, that doing the same thing has boosted business in Winterton. That's certainly an issue we should consider here in Summerfield. But we should give equal weight to other issues, too.

First, I think broadcasting music along Winterton's Main Street feels tacky. Actually, no. It's not just me who thinks so. I spoke to fifteen Winterton residents, and nine of them—a majority—felt the same. It makes walking down the street feel like walking through a strip mall—or a dentist's office.The speakers have caused another unexpected problem in Winterton: they're expensive to maintain. Winterton has already spent five thousand dollars to repair speakers that were damaged. I read the police report about the incident. Turns out some teenagers didn't like the song that was playing, and took a baseball bat to three of the speakers. (By the way, the song was Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," which I think we all got sick of hearing ten years ago. Sounds like that really was a bad day, though.) But teenagers aren't the only thing that can cause damage. How much more money will Winterton spend to repair speakers damaged by storms or birds or impaired drivers—or who knows what else?

The speakers have also caused unnecessary problems between Winterton residents. I found twenty letters to the editor in the Gazette that suggest residents are unhappy with the speakers because of the volume of the music and the choice of songs. I'm friends with the woman who owns Winterton's coffee shop, and she told me that two residents got into a shouting match about the music in front of her shop one day. What effect do you think that had on her business? I'll tell you—it was the opposite of a boost.

[Conclusion to come]

Now let's identify the style strategy for each addition we made:

"Actually, no. It's not just me who thinks so."

This is an example of what Heinrichs called editing out loud. By correcting herself, Sally amplifies her argument while making it seem more fair and accurate—less like a personal beef and more like a popular, shared opinion.

"It makes just walking down the street feel like walking through a strip mall—or a dentist's office."

This is a familiar figure (it falls under the "trope" category, according to Heinrichs) that you may recognize as a simile. Just in case not everyone in the audience thinks walking through a strip-mall is all that bad, Sally also compared it to a dentist's office—because who doesn't dislike those?

"(By the way, the song was Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," which I think we all got sick of hearing ten years ago. Sounds like that really was a bad day, though.)"

This doesn't fall under any of the specific style strategies Heinrichs discussed, but when you've got the opportunity to make an easy joke and/or pop culture reference, why not take it? It also repeats the word "bad" several times, which is a key word from Sally's main idea ("speakers = bad idea").

"What effect do you think that had on her business? I'll tell you—it was the opposite of a boost."

This is a combination of two rhetorical strategies: the self-answering rhetorical question and the litotes, or ironic understatement. "The opposite of a boost" is an understatement, because what she really means is the argument was bad for business.

Hopefully, Sally's made her speech sound a little less dry. Maybe some audience members will even leave the council meeting with Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" in their heads.

It's a cruel trick, perhaps, but it gets the point across.