Debate and Communication Club Update

Touro Communication Club #18

The Presidential campaign seems to drift into everyone’s conversation. With five months until Denver when the Democrats stop squabbling over who will be their candidate, the horserace is producing some unexpected turns of events. The Clinton comeback in Texas and Ohio and the Obama campaign facing embarrassing off-message statements to Canadian and British sources make for interesting political gossip. Also, the number of emails being sent by both camps has exploded, often filled with misstatements and outright errors.

However, there are many lessons to be learned from this “entertainment” that are important to members of the club. First is the unreliability of polls, an important research tool for campaigns. A second lesson might be the difficulty in managing the communication so everyone is on the same page and saying the same thing. A third observation might be how elusive accurate facts are when information is carelessly misstated or taken out of context or, worst of all, is egregiously wrong. The regular voter is not trained in listening carefully or knows that all statements are assertions that must be proved with valid evidence. The Communication Club member is becoming more aware of how important it is to listen to statements people make, but not accept them at face value without verification. A final lesson might be the use of loaded language and glittering generalities (the propagandist’s term) to inflate an issue or attack an opponent. Josef Goebbels, the propaganda minister of Adolf Hitler, developed the “Big Lie” where he repeated an untruth so often that people began to believe it.

Oh, we have so much to examine and discover with future Communication conversations!

Our two-week schedule:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008 – THE DEBATE TEAM WILL MEET AT 1:00 PM IN ROOM 610 @ 50 WEST 23^RD STREET

We have our Gun Control Resolution is set; “Resolved: that New York State should ban all small handguns.” Now we will focus on cataloguing the Affirmative and Negative arguments. Remember, for each argument, there MUST be a counter argument – with evidence. A tall order, but one which is standard procedure in collegiate debate and in places like Congress. Hal, Richard and David will work with the team.
Today, March 8, on "All Things Considered," NPR.org audio may be heard on the story, "Arizona Weighs Allowing Concealed Guns on Campus." Just click on the following link to hear the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88012596

WEDNESDAY, Narch 19, 2008 – THE CLUB WILL MEET AT 1 PM IN ROOM 610 @ 50 WEST 23^rd AVENUE

The current Presidential Campaign will be the topic this week. George Backinoff will lead what will probably be a free-wheeling experience. There are so many ways to look at the dominant news story: Democrats vs. Republicans, Clinton vs. Obama vs. McCain, delegates vs. super delegates, Florida and Michigan voter fights, the leaks and off-message statements by the Obama campaign, the probable appearance of “dirty tricks” made famous by Watergate, gender and race issues, the anti-Clinton and the anti-Obama internet sites, and on and on. Come with your questions and your opinions. This is a great time to speculate and shoot your mouth off –responsibly we insist – not like some of the TV pundits and talk show hosts. Bring a friend to add to the excitement!

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE CLUB MEETING ON Wednesday, March 5, 2008?

We thank David Nussbaum for his complete report. Jason Carvell led the session. Drani Gabu, James Miller and Theresa Wright welcomed English Faculty member Jan Castro. Professor Castro was one of the presenters at the recent Faculty Poetry Reading. (See the blog entry for February 14, 2008).

“The discussion began with the question, “What is a story?” and a working definition. Examples of known stories include fairy tales, Bible stories and Fables.

The group was asked to give their own “story.” After everyone shared their story, Jason asked the group if one person would tell the story of another in the first person as if the other’s story was his/her own. Differences in the verbal and nonverbal elements were noted and explained.

Jason followed this exercise with a relaxation exercise using breathing work and the “O” invitation to story concept.

The known story of “John Henry” was agreed upon as a basis for discussion. It was discovered that stories eliminate distance among people. A lively discussion of the imagery in the story followed. Everyone learned how to conjure details of the imagery and how to use this imagery to give the story a three dimensionality when telling it.

Several other “lessons” were evident, beyond the idea that stories eliminate distance among people. That early stories were an explanation of things unseen was an important idea. Another observation was that although stories evolved over time, their one constant is that they tell us our place in the world. Finally, when we tell a story, we draw from our sphere of experience which connects to the universal experience. In hearing a story we draw the larger experience into own world.

Everyone participated actively by giving suggestions for stories to discuss, sharing their own stories and contributing to the discussion of Storytelling. The general feeling was that we had only begun to explore the power and impact of Storytelling. No doubt the club will do another session soon!

See you next time. Bring a friend!

Hal Wicke