Connecting to Your Audience Through Pathos
There’s an old story often told in the United States that goes something like this: Once, a husband saw his wife preparing dinner and asked her: “Why are you cutting off the best part of the roast?!” His wife, a bit taken aback by the question, responded, “That’s how my mother always did it. I’m not sure why.” So they called up her mother and asked. Her response: “My mother always cut off the end of the roast – but I never asked why. Let’s call her.” So they did. When they questioned Grandma about it, she said: “Well, I don’t know why you cut it off, but my pan…
Connection is Key:
Developing the Whole StudentIn previous posts, we talked about how competence without character is dangerous, and character without competence is ineffective. Competence and character grow together. But in preparing the whole person for real life, there’s a third necessary area of development: connection. I’ve spent a lot of time coaching communicators. Often communication skills like public speaking are refined in competition — which is the fastest way up the learning curve. In these settings, competence and character are readily evident. And so is connection. Here’s a story of what happens when we don’t add in that third element of connection: Nathaniel was standing in front of me, ballots in hand. “These judges are…
