Body Language

One concept from the reading that I found very interesting is how body language can be just as important as verbal communication. When people feel uncomfortable they will move around in their place. If people are lying they will look down or break eye contact. I found it interesting that the book mentions that body language can interpret different things depending on cultural background. For example bowing in Asia shows respect when you greet people, but in America when people meet another person they shake hands. In pictures, body language is one of the more important things that is conveyed. It is said that pictures are worth a thousand words, and that is because of what people can see from the picture. Picture can bring out emotions because of the body language used. If everyone is smiling, then it was a happy moment when the picture was taken, but if everyone is frowning then it was a sad moment when the picture was taken.

Rhetorical Devices

In the past week I have used many rhetorical devices such as euphemisms and hyperboles. A euphemism is using a neutral or positive term to cover up a negative term, or in other words, sugarcoating. In the past week I was talking about the war with Vietnam and instead of calling it a war, I called it a "conflict" because it seemed less violent. This is an example of euphemism because "conflict" sounds less violent and disastrous than "war" sounds. War inclines that people will die, while a "conflict" suggests that people are only fighting. I also used a hyperbole, which is an exaggeration or possibly an overstatement. I was talking about the amount of homework I had to do over the weekend and I said I would die from the amount of homework. This is an exaggeration because I would not actually die from homework, but I would spend all day doing homework.

Sally Ride

Sally Ride is a great example of a critical thinker. In college her friends said she is "calm and totally focused...always able to see the heart of things... to quickly think, figure it out, crystallize it." Later in life, Ride was the first woman to be an astronaut and go to space in 1983. She was able to accomplish this because of her analytical and critical thinking skills. Also, because of her outstanding communication skills she was appointed as the person who handles all group-to-staff communication for the first and second shuttle flights. She put the NASA reports together and presented them to the United Nations which shows her excellent writing and public speaking abilities. She is now the head of Sally Ride Science which sponsors camps that encourages girls' science interests. The camp also helps the girls build their leadership, writing and communication skills, all of which are necessary for success in the future.