THE GENRE’S CONVENTIONS

Elements of the genre

Style

Design

Sources

Elements of the genre

Ethos-building introduction to her argument. Brown establishes her ethos by explaining that people pay her to doodle, and makes clear that she will argue for a “Doodle Revolution,” and lay out the reasons that focused doodling should be taken seriously. Brown sets a tone that indicates she’s knowledgeable; at the same time she uses humor, even before the presentation officially begins, that has her audience listening and laughing.

Thoughtful conclusion. Her ending sums up the essence of her presentation—and the humor of her delivery, her slides, and the statistics she shares and slides—with clear statements on why and how doodling should be used.

Interesting visuals. Each of Brown’s slides relate to a specific part of her argument for doodling. Her visuals include hand-drawn text, cartoons, the doodles of other people (including Ronald Reagan and Alexander Graham Bell), and statistical information. The slides are designed for readability and for persuasive and humorous impact.

Clear transitions. Brown uses the slides themselves to advance the points of her talk (the Ignite format is five minutes, twenty slides, each slide advances after fifteen seconds). She also uses verbal cues to lay out the structure of her ideas and to transition from one idea to the next (“I discovered five interesting things. One of them . . .” and “finally”).

Use of supporting examples. Throughout the presentation, Brown shows an example to support her pro-doodle argument. In fact, she uses twenty examples (each slide is one idea).

Style

Smart use of detail. Brown offers just enough detail to illustrate her ideas. She chooses very specific images, each for a reason. For example, to support her claim that scientists use doodles to work out solutions to complex problems, she shows a doodle by Alexander Graham Bell and moves on.

Delivery technique. Throughout her talk, Brown faces the audience comfortably (she does not fidget). Her facial expression and hand gestures are not distracting, but rather make the audience feel as though she is just having a casual (and funny) chat with them.

Persuasive, friendly voice and tone. Brown speaks with an even pace throughout, never rushing through any parts of the talk. Her pacing works with her humor; for example, after she’s laid out considerable evidence supporting her claims that doodling should be taken seriously, she says “So doodling isn’t a joke. Okay?” The audience laughs as she reinforces her point.

Design

The speaker does not use traditional slides with text; rather, she uses specific visuals to support the points she’s making.

Sources

Brown’s sources for her presentation are her own experience and background, and information that she’s gathered as a researcher on doodling, visual thinking, and memory. If this were a research paper and not a presentation, she would have a References list or Works Cited page that would include, for example, a source for her information on the phenomenon of “picture superiority effect,” and the film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, which she mentions in her talk.