Hannah Genovese LA101H Rhetorical Analysis 2/13/12 Arianna Huffington: The Importance of Renewal The Student Programming Association

here at Penn State routinely employs prominent people in todays society to prepare and give a speech in Eisenhower Auditorium as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series. Previous speakers include the famous Food Network Chef, Alton Brown, and renowned oceanographer, Robert Ballard. They make the journey here to convey a message, one that may provide our students and locals with a little inspiration for everyday life. On Thursday, February 9th, Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post and illustrious, award-winning author, arrived in State College to provide such inspiration. She employed such rhetorical tactics as kairos, ethos, logos, pathos, and knowledge of her audience to convey her message of the importance of rest, relaxation, and renewal in the quest for leadership. First, Ms. Huffington enlisted the help of kairos in her address. The word suggests a special notion of space and/or time (Andrews, et al. 2010). In most cases, this means that the use of kairos involves including elements into a speech or essay that are relevant to a certain time period. She did this in the opening of her speech when she proved the power of current social media platforms. She began to list several characteristics that could be seen on the Facebook and Twitter pages of one Penn State student that she had previously had dinner with. A few clicks of the mouse allowed Ms. Huffington to do her research on the student who assumed that she had been anonymous before meeting her. On the contrary, she was extensively informed.

She then cited the current controversy surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The organization had recently decided to rescind its funding to Planned Parenthood for routine mammograms. Because of websites like Facebook, Twitter, and the popular link sharing website, Reddit, public backlash led to the restoration of the funding. Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, released an apology letter to Planned Parenthood shortly thereafter to assure the organization that future grants would remain intact (Bassett 2012). In beginning to explain how she promoted the importance of rest, Ms. Huffington used kairos in another way. The Huffington Post was recently acquired by AOL last year. Staff then used the name of the popular maps and directions website, Mapquest, also owned by AOL, as inspiration for its new project. Napquest 1 and Napquest 2 are the names of the rooms in The Huffington post office that were set aside specifically for the purpose of resting up in the midst of a stressful work day. In contrast to the view that productive employees are those continuously working, Arianna understands that human beings require a certain amount of repose so that they can produce their best work. These references to modern day technologies and services enforced the speech by encompassing current cultural contexts. They allow the audience to relate and hold interest in the speech because their knowledge of her references. Also, like any good speaker, Ms. Huffington used ethos to reinforce her speech. As many people already know, she is an extremely distinguished woman, both in journalism and in business. The Huffington post has been commended for its professionalism and exceptional work. Among these commendations are awards including Best Politics Blog by The Webby Awards, second among 25 Best Blogs of 2009 by Time Magazine (McNichol 2009), and the most powerful blog in the world by The Observer (Aldred, Astell, et al. 2008). These distinctions allow Arianna Huffington to hold a certain ethos. People are more likely to hold stock in the

claims she makes because she is known to be an extremely knowledgeable and successful person. Women especially can identify with her values and admire her powerful position in society. She has been a pioneer for women in journalism, as well as business. In her speech, she noted that people are beginning to lose faith in their leaders for a good reason. They believe that working non-stop is the best way to be productive, when it only leads to unproductive, burnt-out human beings. She suggested that women may be the ones that may have to take on the burden of reforming todays leadership positions because they hold the capacity for empathy and compassion that men, in most cases, do not. The audience may hold these observations to be truthful, because she has so skillfully been able to make her way to a powerful position, most of which today are held by men. Logos also plays a significant part in Ms. Huffingtons speech. When a speaker uses logos, he or she appeals to the listeners sense of logical reasoning. She stressed throughout the piece that a person must be well rested in order to tap into her inner leader. If she is not well rested, her work begins to suffer, as her body and mind simply cannot withstand the pressures put upon it. For this reason, Arianna had the Napquest rooms installed and continues to preach sleep to her employees. She knows that the most productive employee is the most energized and renewed employee, so she provided resources for her workers to be exactly that. Additionally, Ms. Huffington used pathos in her speech. When she began to stress the importance of rest and renewal, she told an anecdote of her own experience with exhaustion. When her daughter began looking at colleges, she and Arianna made a deal that she would not answer her cell phone for business calls during daytime visits. The result of this agreement was that, when her daughter went to sleep, she would begin to work. Her exhaustion became so

extreme that she had fainted during the day and hit her face against a desk, resulting in a broken nose and several stitches along her face. It was then that he realized that she needed to change her daily habits. Audience members would be affected by this story, because they might feel sorry for her, or they might be shocked by the story and finally realize that exhaustion can lead to physical, as well as mental, consequences. The audience may sympathize with her plight for spreading awareness and tell their friends to make sure to get enough sleep each night before committing to a hard day at work. Personal stories, analogies, or predictions that appeal to an audiences emotions can greatly increase the believability of a speech. Finally, Miss Huffington made sure to know her audience, and adjust the speech accordingly. Not long into her speech she asked for the house lights to be turned on slightly so that she may see how many women were n the audience. Upon surveying that it consisted of at least half women, she decided that it would be appropriate to mention that women may be the future majority among the leaders in society. Also, she made sure not to use any terms or language that the average college student or middle class person might not understand. Keeping that in mind, she did use a few jokes that she knew would relevant to this particular audience. When speaking of her still-strong Greek accent, she noted that her ex-husband said she retained it because she never listened. After briefly pausing for laughter, she ended with, maybe thats why hes my ex-husband. Jokes like these work to dispel any tension in the audience, as well as put the speaker on a personal level with the audience and allow them to relate to the piece. Arianna Huffington is one of the most prolific speakers, writers, and business women of our generation. She knows how to skillfully craft a speech so that it changes the minds or affects as many people possible using different rhetorical tactics. She is an expert at manipulating the concepts of kairos, ethos, logos, and pathos to get her point across in the most effective fashion

possible. Also, she is able to tailor her message to the audience that she addressing so that everything she says is expressly relevant. Any speaker who employs these tactics is sure to make a lasting impact in any audience.

Works Cited Aldred, Jessica, et al. The Worlds 50 Most Powerful Blogs. The Observer. The Guardian. Guardian News And Media Limited. 8 March 2008. Web. Andrews, Patricia Hayes, et al. Rhetoric and Civic Life. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2010. Print. Bassett, Laura. Susan G. Komen Reverses Planned Parenthood Decision, Does Not Promise To Renew Grants. The Huffington Post. 13 Feb 2011. Web. McNichol, Tom. 25 Best Blogs 2009. Time Magazine. Time, Inc. 2009. Web.