Elder Hales' talk probably would have been one that I would have forgotten this conference.
This may surprise you after reading Kevin's post about how memorable this same talk was. And it's not that I don't like Elder Hales, in fact, he's one of the apostles I respect the most. Honestly, I don't think I would have remembered his talk because of his delivery. The tone of his voice and his facial expressions did not seem to change through out his entire speech. I didn't see his arms, hands or even a finger. His eyes seemed to be fixed on the teleprompter reading line after line.
Don't get me wrong, it was a great speech. His arrangement was especially impressive. He was able to tie in the story of him being a pilot through out his entire speech. His stories were descriptive and captivating with even a few laughs. Which makes this talk, in my opinion, a much better read. The only benefit that I gathered from watching the address was that he built his ethos by sitting down. Seriously, he was teaching to the youth from experience. He captivated them by his piloting days and showed them that he has been there and done that by simply sitting in his chair. I praise Elder Hales for his good writing skills and when I'm his age I don't think I'll have the strength to even get into that chair.
Elder Hales's talk was one of my favorites, and I'm pretty sure that I listened to it without looking much at the screen. I think that he had powerful logos, and engaged his audience with his main points and stories. I think that just listening to his talk or reading it, not watching it, would be the most powerful in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteGood job Dylan for taking such an unusual approach to this post. I think it is good to sometimes even constructively criticize certain methods or means of presentation, of course with utmost respect for the presenter, and I mean no disrespect to Elder Hales. Sometimes it just seems that because we respect and love these men and women so much, we fail to find fault in them, and thus lack that pathos, or emotional connection with them.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you pointed out that Elder Hales' delivery is what stood in the way of the message being clearly communicated to you after our conversation in class last week about oral communication vs. written communication. As people and creative thinkers and perceivers, we want to feel engaged in communication. When something is communicated in person, no matter how life-changing it might be, the delivery is vital to whether we fully take it to heart. The written word is different as there is a little bit more leniency in how we can interpret what is being said.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason you and I had such different experiences with this talk is because you watched it and I listened to it. You seemed to be focused more on the delivery while I was more focused on the content.
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