How to be Interesting using Rhetoric

The definition of the word “interesting” is arousing or holding the attention; inspiring interest; absorbing. What makes something interesting? How can something interesting be more entertaining, more enjoyable? In today’s world, many people use blogs—online sources of communicating to a particular audience—in order to keep in touch with family and friends through stories, updates, news, and other forms of communication. In an article about blogs by Jonathan Morrow, entitled “How to Be Interesting”, Morrow gives advice and tips to his audience—bloggers—on how to be more creative at crafting blogs in order to promote an extraordinary blog for their readers to enjoy. The overall effect of this text on the blogging audience of the country is to appeal to their motivations to improve the way they construct their own blogs. This is accomplished through the use of a friendly, sarcastic tone, use of overstatements, and the use of metaphors and other forms of figurative language.

Throughout the entire article, Morrow keeps a friendly and approachable tone in order to allow his audience to become immersed in it and to hold their attention until they finish reading it. For example, Morrow says to his bloggers, “Yes, you’re the blogger…you’re the one with talent…you’re the one working your tail off.” In this case, Morrow talks his audience as if they were his friend. He employs a colloquial language to further appeal to his readers in order to give them the impression that he is not just an average, boring teacher of improving blogs. What Morrow uses is very simple, yet very effective because his readers can more easily connect with what he is telling them. Furthermore, in telling his audience to be honest in their blogs, Morrow states, “Be so honest that you’re scared to click the ‘post’ button. Be so honest that no one knows what to say in the comments section. Be so honest that your lawyer tells you to stop.” Morrow connects to his audience here because he understands how his readers feel “scared” to post extremely personal or surprising information. He also incorporates some humor concerning the readers’ lawyers which creates a more lasting impact on the reader while giving them something to laugh at. Finally, Morrow advises for his reader to “Unleash your inner dork.” Readers of this part of the text can relate to this tip because deep inside, everyone has his or her inner dork present. This approachable tone lets the reader delve into the material rather than shy away from it. In conclusion, Morrow’s use of sarcasm and an amiable tone glues the reader to his article and keeps them stuck there.

Morrow relies on his use of overstatements to amplify his rhetorical purpose as well as to reinforce the humor present in his article. For example, in encouraging his readers to “be wrong” in their blogs, Morrow says, “The world is full of people trying to do the right things. It’s become so common that many of us are bored by it.” Obviously, not everyone is indeed looking to do the right thing. What about the people who have landed in prison due to murder? Morrow uses this overstatement to add to his aim in getting his readers to be perturbed by doing what’s right, and instead, to do something wrong for a change. Furthermore, Morrow teaches his reader to “make people laugh”: “Bloggers are far too serious. We’re so busy trying to teach that we forget to entertain. As a result, large portions of our readerships fall asleep.” Virtually nobody is ever going to fall asleep due to boredom over someone’s blog post, and Morrow understands that. Not everybody is posting blogs full of boring lectures and serious content. By utilizing this certain overstatement, Morrow’s rhetorical purpose is strengthened because of his use of over-dramatic words such as “fall asleep”. Finally, Morrow uses an overstatement and imagery to enrapture his readers’ attention on how to sophisticate blogs by telling them, “Many bloggers crank out posts the way slaughterhouses crank out chickens. They’re ugly things, fit for nothing but consumption.” Morrow heavily over-states the situation of the blandness of bloggers’ posts. While this may or may not be the case in the blogging world, Morrow’s overstatement is effective because of the incorporation of figurative language, comparing posts to how “slaughterhouses crank out chickens”. This is a bold call to action that his blogging audience should strictly stay away from boring, bland posts by spicing their blogs up in some way. As evident in these examples for his article, Morrow’s overstatements aid in his purpose to make bold assertions on blogging in order to extremely motivate his readers to improve their blogging ways.

Finally, Morrow uses some figurative language to add vividness to his lessons as well as to cause a memorable impact in his readers’ minds. For example, Morrow employs the use of a metaphor stating that his bloggers should “offer [their] readers an aspirin” and also telling them, “Your reader has a headache, you have a cure, so you offer them that cure in the form of a blog post.” Here, Morrow hopes to create a vivid image in his readers’ minds which will help them to remember that blogs should be used to treat an attention-deprived mind. This particular metaphor allows for an exciting read and helps the reader to understand Morrow’s point more easily. Morrow goes on in his figurative language using a simile for his readers: “Many blog posts are like miniature textbooks; they’re instructive, well-organized, and put you to sleep with their lack of enthusiasm.” By drawing the comparison between blog posts and textbooks, Morrow hopes to instill in his readers that a boring blog is just as good as any old used Chemistry textbook. His readers can apply this in their blogging exploits and avoid writing textbooks, but rather, writing something fun, enthusiastic, and entertaining for their audiences. Also, Morrow uses a personification as well as more imagery in exhorting his blogging readers to make an impactful story which sticks, telling them, “I’m not talking about the little anecdotes that pepper the blogosphere. I’m talking about the story that haunts you on your deathbed.” By using a combination of imagery and personification, Morrow’s exhortation of bloggers telling an extremely memorable, thoughtful story sticks strongly within the minds of his audience. It is apparent that Morrow wants his fellow bloggers to craft thought-provoking stories, not just little “anecdotes that pepper the blogosphere.” By using these forms of figurative language, Morrow’s audience can become deeply enveloped in what he has to say, helping immensely with his underlying rhetorical purpose.

The article “How to be Interesting” is indeed full of many interesting rhetorical tools used to get Morrow’s aim across. Because of the large amount of people communicating through blogs today, this article is extremely kairotic and relevant. Not only is this article intended for just bloggers though; it is available for anybody who wishes to expand on their own writing and even speaking. Morrow realizes that there are many bloggers and writers out there and, in turn, develops this article to appeal to them. It is important to recognize the rhetorical devices present in Morrow’s article in order to discover why and how they work for his intended audience. By use of an inviting, sarcastic tone, overstatement, and some forms of figurative language, Morrow successfully motivates his audience to improve their blogs in a fun, easy, yet fully developed format.