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Triangles, Hula Hoops, and ChopsticksExploring Rhetorical Focus
Thom [email protected]
Presentation to UPA-DC. September 16, 2011
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Tonight
Time Chunk 2: Triangles
Time Chunk 3: Hula Hoops
Time Chunk 4: Chopsticks
Time Chunk 5: Try this at Home
Time Chunk 1: Overview … Exigence
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Time Chunk #1:Overview (and Exigence)
Meet Thom…Person most likely to get lost in information
Help! I need structure.
From which passion arose…
How can we make the complex clear?
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My pursuit began in the 1980s
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As a student of rhetoric
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Rhetoric = Information directed toward action
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I liked that…
But what does this mean to you?
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Useful rhetorical word: EXIGENCE
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Exigence
“An imperfection marked by urgency; a deficit; a need” (Lloyd Bitzer, 68)
“That which prompts the author to write in the first place” (M. Jimmie Killingsworth, 95)
respond to a problem that requires attention a need that must be met a concept that must be understood before the
audience can move to a next step.
Etymology:From the Latin, "demand."
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In other words: Why are we doing this?
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Thom story: In the early days, I often built “communication products” nobody
wanted to use
1990s now
1976 1980s
Working for
3-letter acronym
firms
Hmmmm…This makes me grumpy
Thom in a mauve cubicle.
Young(er). Moustached. And Grumpy.
This made me grumpy.
So I asked…. “Why are we doing this?”
Deliverable Use ofproduct/site
Why do we focus on
the deliverable?
I wondered…. How can we help people use information?
Deliverable Use ofproduct/site
How can wekeep our focus on
what peoplewant to DO?
And YOU asked…
What does this have to do with triangles,
hula hoops, chopsticks,
and agile thinking?
Time Chunk #2:Triangles
Envision a triangle.
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You can use a triangle to frame your thinking.
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Celebrity endorsement: Jay-z
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Your turn: Make a triangle with your hands.
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Your turn: Make a triangle with your hands.
Envision your exigency.. Why are you building the
products you are building?
Envision your exigency.. Why are you building the
products you are building?
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Your turn: Make a triangle with your hands.
Look at the corners of the triangle and
ask three questions
Look at the corners of the triangle and
ask three questions
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Ask three focusing questions
How do they/we
measure success?
What do they want to DO with the information?
Who’s the audience?
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Now look through your triangle…
Inside the triangle
Outside the triangle
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You now have a framework for
deciding what to leave in
and what to take out.
Content: what we leave in
Rhetorical exigency
Time Chunk #3:Hula Hoops
Audience. Purpose. Context.
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Example: www.plainlanguage.gov
Tip: Try this on paper
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Time Chunk #4:Chopsticks
Look at your chopsticks
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Note: For special guests – like you
Envision an hourglass
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How much background info do you need to support a claim?
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Less background
content
More background
content
Time Chunk #5:Applying ideas
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Develop Quick Personas to Help You Focus
Step One.
Find a Human Images via
Google Images
(Burt)
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Develop Quick Personas to Help You Focus
Step 3.
What is this
person saying as he reads
your document
/content?
Step 2
Draw Triangle
Add Content for AUDIENCE
PURPOSE
CONTEXT
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Develop Quick Personas to Help You Focus
Step 5
Optional: Develop
these into consistent products for the entire team.
Step 4
Use these rough personas to support your
thinking
(agile approach)
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Why Rhetorical Focus Matters
•You can structure information so people can find information, use it, and appreciate the experience.
Thanks.Thanks.Together we can make the complex clear.
Thom Haller [email protected]
© 2011 www.thomhaller.com email: [email protected]
News : IA/UX class begins next Wednesday. Year #14 at the Graduate School in DC
And I need test volunteers for www.plainlanguage.gov
Hit me up for details.