Presentation Titles: subtlety vs exhortative ad copy

Spicing up a PowerPoint…

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Ted: Title slide. "Better presentations." Too weak.

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Edward: I agree. How about some alliteration? "Powerful presentations."

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Ted: Still no power. How about a metaphor? “Supercharge your delivery.”

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Edward: Ha. Souping up a pizza scooter?

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Ted: "Inspirational performances"?

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Edward: Still sounds like ad copy for consumers instead targeting academics. “Buy now while stocks last” sort of thing. Exhortative. Even extortionist?

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Ted: Maybe academics sometimes need a bit of ad copy exhortation.

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Voice-over

In the end a compromise is reached. "Mastering the art of professional presenting." Understated upskilling : “mastering the art.” Maintaining the dignity of a “profession.”

...

Après an alliterated academic address

Reflecting on a conference…

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Maria: Take a lot of notes?

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Maurice: Did indeed. Facts. Figures. Arguments. Some masterful metaphors too.

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Maria: I liked that that social media manager of a power station. The one who used The Three C’s.

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Maurice: The one who leaned on alliteration. Content, Creativity, Credibility.

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Voice-over

Alliteration, the deliberate repetition of an initial letter as a literary device, in poetry or prose. Speechwriters make use of it. Songwriters too. Or as here, a workaday memory aid.

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Dogs of Twin Cities

Dog communities as reflections of human communities…

Benito: Guarenas or Guatire? Which is friendlier?

I have good chats with my provider... 

Rómulo: I’ve lived in both. Thing I’ve found is, you can tell the difference in people by the difference in the class of dogs in the town.

Benito: Class of dogs?

Rómulo: Yes. Let me tell you. In Guarenas the dogs are friendly, smiling and tail-wagging. Lots of Labradors. Guarenas has a better class of dog.

Benito: You have a point. In Guatire so many dogs snarl and strain at the leash. Pete bools. 

I train my handler to think like me...

Rómulo: Don’t get me wrong. Some people need protection. But a critical mass of cuddly dogs can change a population into being cuddly too. And the corollary is, perhaps pit bulls precipitate a population of pugnacious pugilists.

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Voice-over

Despite the gratuitous alliteration, Rómulo has a point about the owners of dogs. Lolling labradors appeal to friendly folk. Why would a friendly individual want a pitbull? Perhaps some people might want one as an extension of their own aggression. Maybe an aggressive minority uses dogs as a cultural weapon.

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Being there

JB has bought an expensive pair of earphones, better than FG's standard issue.

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FG: But, c’mon, why spend that much? You get a free set of earphones with your iPod. Why would you want to spend more than the music player on just another set of earphones?

JB: Upgrade. More than an upgrade. Think of it this way. You’ve got this great stream of music in the player and it reaches your ears through a pathetic little pipe.

FG: Doesn’t say much. You can still hear what’s coming through.

JB: OK. Sound coming through those little el-cheapo one-dollar earphones is merely dynamic vibrations. These earphones have three mini-amplifiers, each dedicated to a different range of frequencies. They separate the sounds so you hear each instrument, like seeing bright colors instead of a muddy blur.

FG: Really?

JB: Not only that but the earphones sit tightly in your ears and block out surrounding sounds.

FG: Is it worth the extra?

JB: It’s like being there. Actually being there. Your eyes start to see what your ears hear.

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Voiceover

JB is on the defence but he’s marshalling some convincing arguments.

He reinforces (Upgrade. More than an upgrade… like being there, actually being there…).

He uses contrast by denigrating the lesser product (el-cheapo one-dollar… pathetic little pipe…).

His similes show the upgrade in a superior light (like seeing bright colors instead of a muddy blur).

Oh, he alliterates and rhymes (You start to see what your ears hear). Poetic style. He gets my vote despite the economics.

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