Ancient rhetoricians such as Cicero and Quintilian advised orators to apply memoria strategies to memorize their speech. Modern public-speaking textbooks recommend various rhetorical techniques to... Show moreAncient rhetoricians such as Cicero and Quintilian advised orators to apply memoria strategies to memorize their speech. Modern public-speaking textbooks recommend various rhetorical techniques to make messages memorable for audiences. However, the effect of these techniques on information retention has been sparsely studied.This dissertation investigates how rhetorical techniques in speeches can enhance information retention by the audience. Using a three-way approach, it connects rhetorical theory, advice and practice to insights from memory psychology.First, an analysis of influential English-language and Dutch-language public-speaking textbooks showed that frequently advised retention techniques are related to organization, elaboration and visualization—three encoding principles that contribute to information storage. Authors prefer the conclusion of a speech for influencing retention.Secondly, the study describes how scholars, politicians and TED speakers use organization and elaboration techniques (e.g. summaries and anecdotes) in public-speaking practice. Results indicate discrepancies with textbook advice and context-dependent technique variants.Thirdly, two experiments were performed that focused on three organization techniques applied in conclusions of informative presentations. Results show that announcing the conclusion and providing an informative summary can enhance information retention by the audience. We are one step closer to knowing what makes messages memorable. Show less
This contribution is a plea to pay more systematicattention to the infrequently studied, fine-grained grammatical phenomenon ofcomplementation in the analysis of political discourse. The way the... Show moreThis contribution is a plea to pay more systematicattention to the infrequently studied, fine-grained grammatical phenomenon ofcomplementation in the analysis of political discourse. The way the Dutchradical populist Geert Wilders uses complementation serves as a case study tothat end. In the first half of the contribution, an in-depth description of thephenomenon of complementation is given; it is argued that the use ofcomplementation affects the degree of certainty by which a speaker presents hisideas. The second half of the contribution reports on a diachronic analysis ofGeert Wilders’ use of complementation in 47 parliamentary speeches held between2004 and 2009. It is argued that Wilders’ use of complementation significantlydecreases between 2004 and 2009. The decrease is not a gradual transition: abreak occurs between 2006 and 2007. This is an indication that Wilders offersless room for discussion from this period onwards. Strikingly, Wilders’ changeduse of complementation coincides with the moment that political scientistsindicate as the moment that Wilders’ political views radicalized. The casestudy not only shows that studying complementation can add to the inventory oflinguistic phenomena relevant to the analysis of political discourse; it alsostresses the significance of combining quantitative and qualitative methods ofanalysis for the quantification of stylistic phenomena. Show less
The study of newspaper legends emerged as a vital research topic in the nineteen fifties and has so far focused on the past half century. The present study explores the potential of digitized... Show moreThe study of newspaper legends emerged as a vital research topic in the nineteen fifties and has so far focused on the past half century. The present study explores the potential of digitized newspaper archives to analyze the discursive construction of newspaper legends in Dutch dailies during the years 1850-1950. Emic concepts of Dutch journalists are contextualized in shifts regarding content, genre and work routines of the Dutch daily press. During this period, the most frequently used label for traditional stories of uncertain veracity was zeeslang, i.e. sea serpent. These stories were said to be particularly frequent during the slow news season in summer, the so-called komkommertijd (lit. ‘cucumber time’). Identifying and condemning these stories as false or unreliable served the rhetorical function of bolstering the journalists’ ethos as a credible professional. Discussing sea serpent and cucumber stories, journalists demarcated their routines and output from those of less professional news purveyors (Gieryn’s ‘boundary work’). The most commonly named scapegoat were allegedly money-driven American journalistic practices. Show less
News media and web-based discussion forums frequently feature crime stories so monstrous that they defy belief and are classified as crime legends. The present study focuses on the rhetorical means... Show moreNews media and web-based discussion forums frequently feature crime stories so monstrous that they defy belief and are classified as crime legends. The present study focuses on the rhetorical means employed by journalists and forum users to convince their audience of the veracity and value – or the lack thereof – of these recur¬rent stories about horrendous crimes. Two cases were studied: stories featuring the motif Drugged and Abused (1885-2008) and the tale type of the Smiley Gang (2003). It is argued that approaching crime legends as rhetorical constructions instead of essentially untrue stories opens new windows for the analysis of both news and vernacular discourse and as a point of departure for critiquing journalistic practices Show less
The aim of this study is to specify the strategic function of stance adverbs when qualifying a standpoint in an argumentative discussion. Stance adverbs are words like __clearly__, __obviously__, _... Show moreThe aim of this study is to specify the strategic function of stance adverbs when qualifying a standpoint in an argumentative discussion. Stance adverbs are words like __clearly__, __obviously__, __perhaps__, __technically__, __frankly__, and __fortunately__. They have been extensively studied in the fields of semantics and syntax as well as pragmatics and discourse analysis. However, they have not specifically been studied with an interest in their effect on the progress of an argumentative discussion when they are used to qualify the standpoint. In this study a specific argumentative perspective is adopted, according to which the strategic function of stance adverbs is described with respect to the burden of proof that an arguer incurs when advancing a standpoint. In this view, an arguer chooses a particular way to qualify the standpoint in an attempt to successfully meet his obligation to defend the standpoint at the end of the argumentative discussion. The proposed theoretical account provides a basis for assessing whether the use of a stance adverb to qualify a standpoint observes the standards that should be followed for a reasonable resolution of a difference of opinion. Show less
