Touro Communication Club Notes #73
Communication Quote of the Week
“Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
Rudyard Kipling, was one of the most popular English writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907.
This Week: Wednesday, May 13, 2009
2 pm - Room 223 – Midtown
“Talking to Women”
Some of our communication difficulties arise when we talk to the opposite sex. In this discussion, we will focus on what women expect in a conversation – women talking to women, men talking to women. We will have an open discussion about what women expect when they talk with men – and women. (A follow up “Talking to Men’ will be scheduled.)
A Note for Communicators:
Strategy: Finding models to emulate.
Tactic: Observe and analyze how people can turn difficult communication situations to their advantage.
As I was watching President Obama’s first commencement speech at Arizona State University on CNN (5/14/09), I was struck by how he used his rhetoric to transcend a difficult situation and turn it to his persuasive advantage. Perhaps Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” was his inspiration.
A little context is necessary. When Arizona State University invited President Obama to speak at their commencement exercises, the board of regents in their supreme wisdom voted not to give him the ritual honorary degree because Obama “has not done enough to merit the honorary degree. His body of work is yet to come.” To reduce the sting of the insult, the university named their existing extensive scholarship program after him
President Obama didn’t miss a beat as he opened his speech, “I come here not to dispute the suggestion that I haven’t achieved enough in my life…Michele concurs with that assessment. She has a long list of things I have not yet done waiting for me when I get home.
He continued, “But more than that, I come to embrace the notion that I haven’t done enough in my life. I heartily concur. I come to confirm that one’s title, even given the title like the title, president of the United States, says very little about how well one’s life has been led – and no matter how well one’s life has been led –and that no matter how much you’ve done, or how successful you’ve been, there’s always more to learn, and always more to achieve.”
I thought Obama’s unusually crisp articulation of his words at the beginning betrayed some level of anger or annoyance. He leaked his anger in a humorous barb at the university, turning to look at the dignitaries, and saying, “President Crow and the board of regents will soon learn about being audited by the I.R.S.”
Over 70,000 people, enduring 100 degree heat, gathered for the event. Obama moved beyond the awkward opener to inspire the graduates to exceed themselves. He returned to his opener in an ad lib by commenting that “A whole bunch of [people] didn’t get honorary degrees, but they changed the course of history, and so can you.”
Obama continued, “That’s what building a body of work is all about. It’s about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the choices large and small that add up over time, over a lifetime, to a lasting legacy.”
Now the possible inspiration; In Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Act III, Scene 2), Mark Antony’s funeral oration over Caesae. We know by its famous title, “Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your ears.” In the next line Marc Antony states his intention, “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.’ Obama’s opening line is similar.
On four separate occasions during the speech, Mark Antony recognizes Brutus, Caesar’s murderer, by calling him “an honorable man.” The repetition of the phrase begins to transform a positive interpretation into a negative one. The speech is imaginatively laid out and is a classic of cleverly communicating the reverse of it obvious meaning.
Perhaps Shakespeare was President Obama’s inspiration to employ rhetorical strategy to turn a political embarrassment to his advantage while presenting an aura of eminent control of the situation
UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:
May 27 – Student Poetry Reading – Students of Professors Charles Borkhuis and Brenda Coultas will share their writing. A discussion of their experiences will follow.
June 3 – Impromptu Speaking –Speaking without apparent preparation on your feet is an acquired skill. We rarely think about what we are going to say in conversation, yet in a formal situation our brain freezes on us. Practicing this skill makes it possible to present oneself professionally at all times. In business, it is called the “Elevator Speech,” one which captures the essence of who you are what you do in 30 seconds or less, the time to travel in an elevator to your next appointment. Great fun!
June 10 – Interviewing Strategies – One of the most practical communication skills is to be able to make a positive impression in a job interview. Questions are important, but preparation is crucial. Bring your resume and cover letter as we role play the applicant and the interviewer.
June 17 – “The Anatomy of Freedom” – This topic derived from the civil rights discussion after the Carvell program. Other ideas included “Is freedom really free?” A fascinating universal subject which every person faces in some way all the time. Among many other authors, Erich Fromm, a well-known psychologist, wrote an influential book, “Escape from Freedom” The cartoonist Jules Feiffer wrote that we exchange one jail for another…Much to talk about.
Professor Carvell will share his experiences as a Touro Communication instructor who h as parallel careers as an actor, director, sculptor and voice-over specialist for television and radio commercials.
What happened on Wednesday, May 13, 2009
“Presenting Jason Alan Carvell”
An enthusiastic group of communicators joined together to hear Jason Carvell talk about his work and the connections between his first love, sculpture, and his parallel careers in acting, directing and voice-overs for television and radio. As it turned out he was between recording sessions for three Subway Sandwich commercials where he plays a chicken.
Newcomers Gypsy Matos and Jill Page, and faculty member Sara Tabaei were joined by Meggy Lindsay, Pamela Sheppard, James Millner, Lorinda Moore, Gareth (Musa) Bryant, Brian Brown, Drani Gabu, Alexandra Serebryanikova, Anna Indelicato, Geovanny Leon and faculty members, Gena Bardwell, Carlisle Yearwood, Lacy Shaw, Jose Dunker, Marcus Vayndorf and Hal Wicke.
In his introduction of Jason, Hal mentioned that this Communication professor has theatre degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the famed Moscow Art School On the side, Jason edits his father’s scientific papers before they are submitted.
Jason came to NYC 12 years ago straight from graduate school, fully expecting that the theatre would open upon for him and fame and fortune would shine upon his adventures. He quickly learned differently. He learned that he had to generate his own inner and outer life. He showed a video of his very first commercial when he was 16 in high school.
Jason’s sculpture occupies a major portion of his life outside his Touro teaching. He has not taken any art classes and resists training.. He showed the wax bust of Adam, a Sudanese boy, one of the infamously tragic “Lost Boys,” who became a friend of his family in Pittsburgh. Jason likes working in wax since the process is never frozen as it is in clay and marble.
“When I make a piece I love to control the process. Soon I am lost in the process, and it controls me,” Jason commented. He tries to find a rhythm to his sculpting process, analogous to a walking rhythm.
Carlisle, himself a poet, commented, “Through the creative process, energy re-generates itself. Gena, herself an actor, observed that Jason seemed to like being in the unknown, often where the mind leads the heart to its opposite.”
The ability to handle language differently in commercials, as an actor and as a director requires different approaches. In a TV commercial, language is very direct, short and concrete. In Shakespeare, the language is poetically demanding. As a director, Jason has to be conscious of all the play’s language plus many other production demands.
Hal asked Jason to compare his preparation for performing in a commercial vs. a role in Shakespeare. He finds that television commercial “acting” is just a “sketch” of the character whereas he is asked to make a portrait in a Shakespearean character. When he played “Othello” in 1999, he thought he should copy verbatim the performance of Anthony Hopkins. He found that he had to invent his own Othello, not try to be a carbon copy of someone else.
He spoke about his voice training, telling an anecdote of yelling at a 7th grade class without effect. He found that if he modulated his voice he could produce the behavior he desired.
Jason observed that there is a megalomania about directing that is similar to teaching. Both are responsible for delivering the material in a comprehensible manner. Perhaps that would be a possible future program for Faculty Development Day.
The audience seemed to be entranced by Jason’s presentation. Lorinda observed that the questions broke the trance. That observation needs further exploration.
As Jason had to leave for his second recording session, the group raised issues for future programs. Jose Dunker suggested that the “Alabama Experience” program be sent to President Obama, since Touro’s visit was the first ever by a college group. Hal suggested that such an undertaking would be more appropriately handled by an administrative group. Some suggested, “Teaching at Conversation.” We finally decided to schedule a discussion “Anatomy of Freedom” at a future date. (See above.)
----
Let’s not forget Carlisle Yearwood’s IDEA several weeks ago. He suggested we develop a 3x4 index card with basic Touro information on it. We’ll talk more about this in the future.
As always, these sessions are open for everyone to attend. Bring a friend and join the excitement. See you next time.
Hal Wicke
Hal Wicke
No comments:
Post a Comment