Essay about Ted Talk

The Unspoken

Jay Heinrichs is known across the world. He is a New York Times bestseller and his book, Thank You for Arguing, is published in 14 languages and has three editions. In this well-known book, he talks about the work of rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art to persuade. The book is divided into four parts. The first part is the offense, then the defense, advanced offense, and lastly advanced agreement. In the first section, he specifies that before you even think to argue you must first, “set the goals for the audience. Do you want to change their mood, mind or their willingness to carry out what you want?”(pg. 26). Once a goal is set, then there is a specific reason to support your claim. This section concentrates on ethos, one of Aristotle’s modes of persuasion. Ethos includes practical wisdom, disinterest, and decorum. The next section, defense, focuses on speech tense, whether it be inductive or deductive reasoning, and who the audience can trust. Advanced Offense is making the relationship between the speaker and the audience. Better known as Pathos, another mode of persuasion. The last section labeled Advanced Agreement is giving the speech or reasoning to the audience but using proper “tools” mostly known as arrangement. This arrangement is referred to as, “Cicero’s Outline” following the guidelines of order introduction, narration, division, proof, refutation, and conclusion (pg. 295-296). Heinrich refers to Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasion regularly. The modes include ethos, logos, and pathos. Heinrichs has his own interpretation of each of the modes. He refers to ethos as “argument by character, employs the persuader’s personality, reputation and ability to look trustworthy to the audience” (pg. 40). An example of the proper uses of the modes of persuasion is the TED TALK and speech by Aaron Huey titled, “American’s Native Prisoners of War”.

Aaron Huey is well known for his publications in National Geographic Magazine. He documents his learnings or stories through photographs. He is most known for his “ Walk Across America through photography”. In the speech and TED Talk, he takes us on a journey through Pine Ridge Reservation. Pine Ridge is a reservation of the Lakota Tribe. He captures images and records stories of their tribe and everything they have been through in their short history. The speech and TED Talk are defined as, “American’s Native Prisoners of War”. The talk is given at a private school in the west with the audience being plainly white students and faculty. In 2010, the speech became a TED Talk. The speech dives into the Native American tribe earlier named the Lakota. Lakota Tribe including hundreds of thousands of indigenous people is stripped of their land and forced to live on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota or other war camps that have later turned into reservations. The Pine Ridge Reservation is known for there black hills in South Dakota. Huey describes the depressing timeline of battles, scenarios, and treaties broken. This all began in the year 1824. In 1824, The Bureau of Indian Affairs began the sad story of the Lakota Tribe. The treatment of the tribe is nothing less than unfair, merciless, and cutthroat. This is all because of the United States Government. Our government and the people in the office have continued to rape and pillage the Lakota Tribe and their people. The US government continues to break the treaties of 1851 and 1868 of Fort Laramie. The conditions the Lakota Tribe face every morning they wake up to the moment they close their eyes at night reflect how most indigenous people feel each and every day. Non-Indians declared the name “Wasichu” which translates to greedy and taking the best meat for themselves. We leave indigenous people with the scrapes from our table while we have our bellies full.

In my essay, I will show the teaching of Jay Heinrich's book and how it connects to Huey's speech and later TED Talk. Huey is a spectacular example of the proper way to use the teaching of rhetoric.

The first step of arrangement is the introduction. The introduction uses the side of ethos. Ethos is to win over your audience through interest and goodwill. Aaron Huey begins his TED Talk by creating a commonplace with his audience. Simply, making them comfortable with him and making it seem that they are on a first-name basis in a sense. He starts off with some background knowledge about the Lakota Tribe. The area of South Dakota where they are imprisoned. He talks about his strong relationship with the Lakota people and how they took him in as one of their own. This is where he brings in Practical Wisdom. The audience now considers him as a reasonable person as well showing that he is adequately educated on the topic he is about to discuss with his audience (pg. 69). A phrase from Huey states, “you’ll see a lot of people in my photographs today. I’ve become close with them and they have welcomed me like family.” He is showing us as his audience that he has become well-rounded in terms of knowing the Lakota people and what really happened to put them into their poverty-stricken lives. This makes him credible due to the fact that he is hearing what happened from people who reap the results each and every day of their lives. Heinrich describes in his book, “disinterest means not lack of interest but lack of bias” (pg. 57). This is crucially important to create a commonplace with the audience. You are not on one side or the other. You are educated on both sides of the story. He describes that because of his skin color it has taken a lot for the Lakota people to gain his trust and welcome him in. He is showing that even though he is not one of the Lakota people he relates to them and understands their struggles. He is there at the TED Talk in a sense to educate his audience for the people who can’t speak for themselves.

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Narration is the next step. Narration, “ tells the history of the matter or lists facts and figures. Brief, clear and plausible” (pg. 284). Huey has now gained our trust as an audience and we believe he is trustworthy on his topic. From minute 2:22 to 7 minutes in his TED Talk he takes the audience on a journey through the history of the Lakota Tribe and their dealings with the United States Government. He controls his tense during his speech. By using the “past tense rhetoric threatens punishment” (pg. 30). As Huey goes through past events he uses this tense. He infers that the blame is on us for the U. S Government's actions. It impacts us to this day. Suddenly he changes over to the future tense or deliberative. He uses this mode to show choice to the audience, when he states, “How should you feel about the statistics of today” (13:19). He uses inductive reasoning as Heinrich specifies as “argument by example” (pg. 141). It begins with specifics and progresses to the general. Huey uses specific examples and facts to create a commonplace with the audience. By using the photographs, he shows up leading up to the present day.

Heinrichs states divisions as, “list the points where you and your opponent agree and where you disagree” (pg. 284). Aaron Huey is trying to prove one side's proof. He is on both sides. This step isn’t directly covered in his TED Talk.

Cicero’s Outline’s following step is Proof. Proof can change the view of the audience plainly by showing the statistics. Heinrich discusses, “We should do this because of that” (pg. 284). From 10:43 to 12:22, Huey takes us on a journey just by expressing statistics. He states when he spoke in 2010, “More than 90 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty level”. The federal poverty level for a family of five in 2010 was $25,790. Ninety Percent of the Lakota People are below the household income of 25,790 dollars a year. This is unbelievable. Just by stating this specific statistic, the audience can only imagine what the Lakota people are living like at Pine Ridge Reservation. He states a loaded logical fallacy, “prisoners of war camps”. You can only imagine the living conditions of a war camp.

The main source of information comes from photographs. This refutes the statement that the Lakota People aren’t really living any worse that the poverty situation of the rest of the United States. Huey produces these photos that cause an emotional effect on every single individual in the audience. Whether it be hate, sadness, or disbelief. This is better known as pathos. Each photo pulls a bit more at the audience's emotions. Especially the little children in the photos, the audience will confide in the truth. Huey becomes emotional showing and describing each and every photo and this creates a stronger relationship with the audience. We feel a sense of community with him because he is showing the emotions that we are all feeling. It creates a sense that as a community we can make a change in the Lakota Tribes' lives and living conditions.

Lastly, the conclusion. The conclusion bridges the audience and asks them if the United States is still being unfair to the Lakota Indians and other indigenous groups. Huey shows that he is holding himself to the same standards and responsibility as he wants us to be. Huey planning is the interpreter. Speaking for the ones who can’t speak for themselves. He is showing how the U.S. is keeping the best things for themselves and giving the leftovers or nothing at all to indigenous people. The resolution can be giving money or building a house but takes more than that. He expresses in his last words, “Give Back the Black Hills. It’s not your business what they do with them.” The Black Hills belong to them. Leave them alone. Let them live their lives. This is our call to make a change and speak up for the people without a voice. That is the main purpose, to speak for the ones who can’t speak for themselves.