Group  Work:    Understanding  tone  in  

Kelly  McGonigals  speech  “How  to  Make  Stress  Your  Friend”    

   

Prompt:  In  her  TED  Talk,  which  rhetorical  devices  does  Kelly  McGonigal  utilize  in  order  to  display  a  particular  tone,  and  for  what  purpose?      Rhetorical  Devices  to  choose  from:  

 

   Task  One:  Thesis  formation.    Components  to  include:  

• TAG  (Title,  author,  genre,  in  any  order)  • tone  word    • how  this  tone  is  accomplished  through  which  TWO  rhetorical  devices?  (use  adjectives  when  listing  

devices)  • finally,  for  what  purpose?  

 Topic  Sentence  Frames:    In  her  _______________________________,  ________________________________________________  utilizes  _____________________    

___________________________________  and  ____________________    _________________________  in  order  to  shape  a  

________________________  tone  and  ____________________________________________________________________________.  

       

diction (formal? informal? elevated? simple?)   syntax       figurative  language    sentence  flow         hyperboles       imagery    anecdotes           irony         allusions      similes           metaphors       other?  (must  be  pre-­‐approved)      

Task  Two:  Finding  quotations    Use  the  transcript  of  Kelly  McGonigal’s  speech  “How  To  Make  Stress  Your  Friend”  in  order  to  find  ONE  supporting  quotation  for  EACH  rhetorical  strategy  you  utilized.    Find  one  strategy  used  in  the  beginning  of  the  speech,  and  another  used  in  the  end.    When  writing  these  quotations  down,  provide  proper  CONTEXT  and  a  LEAD-­‐IN.    

   **When  you  wish  to  emphasize  a  particular  word  or  phrase,  italicize  it,  and  then  add,  in  italics,  “emphasis  added”  within  your  parenthetical  citation.        1.                        2.                                  

ex: McGonigal opens her speech by simulating a stress-test for her audience. While doing so, she uses simple, familiar language in order to draw her audience in, noting, when an individual apparently makes a mistake in her stress test, that “that guy made a mistake. We’re going to have to start all over again” (4:45, emphasis added).

Task  Three:  Considering  Commentary  for  Quotations    Now,  it  is  up  to  you  to  create  FOUR  questions  for  each  quotation  that  help  spur  deeper  thought/  commentary  (similar  to  your  “Questions  to  Prompt  Thinking”  for  your  SLOB  paper,  except  you  create  the  questions  this  time).    Here  is  a  model  for  my  model  quotation  included  in  the  previous  page:    Question  #4  should  always  point  back  to  TONE.    (Remember  your  focus!)    

Your  questions:    1.            2.            3.            4.  

1. What other words could McGonigal use besides “guy”? 2. How does the use of the word “guy” perhaps make her audience feel? 3. What are some other familiar words used in the beginning of her speech that make the audience feel this same way? 4. MOST IMPORTANTLY, how does this develop a compassionate tone toward her audience, despite the fact that she is actually poking fun at her audience members at this point?