Hi there! My name is Robert Badman. This year, I had the opportunity to take Rhetoric and Civic Life (RCL), which is a required course for all freshmen in the Schreyer Honors College at The Pennsylvania State University. 

During RCL, I learned about several different communication styles and how to use them each effectively. Because of RCL and through the direction of my amazing professor, Dr. Freymiller, I increased my understanding of communication and my ability to communicate on a rhetorical level.

To me, rhetoric is basically how we say what we say. I have worked on several projects to enhance my ability to use effective rhetoric. I produced a video, generated a photo essay, gave an extemporaneous speech, hosted a public deliberation, and wrote several essays over the course of the year. This ePortfolio website is a display containing some of my best work from the year.

If I had to chose two topics that helped me more than anything else in RCL, I would chose Kairos and I would chose understanding your audience. I was familiar with these concepts before RCL, but Dr. Freymiller really helped heighten my awareness about these topics. Kairos is using the timing of a certain scenario to more effectively communicate. For example, it would be useless to argue against Donald Trump in two years if he doesn't even win the Republican Party's nomination. A knowledge of Kairos would help us understand that now is the best time to speak about what is happening; use the events around us to form useful arguments. Understanding your audience is perhaps even more important than KAIROS. Knowing your audience is essential to every good presentation. For example, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton do not preach about Black Lives Matter when they are in an area that is mostly white. They understand their audiences and talk to them about what they need to hear. Because of RCL, I developed my understanding of audience awareness and Kairos.

As you browse my selection of works, see if you can identify my use of Kairos and audience awareness.