These are my presentation slides for my 2012 Minnesota Blogger Conference talk on September 22, 2012. These slides were prepared in Keynote. If you need a copy in PowerPoint, please contact me.

1. Building Credibility with
Audiences Through Writing
Trent M Kays
Writer, Teacher, Consultant, Doctoral Student
University of Minnesota

2. You Can Find Me Around
Twitter: @trentmkays
About.me: http://about.me/trentmkays
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/trentmkays
Google+: http://gplus.to/trentmkays
Website: http://trentmkays.com

3. Exigency and Kairos

4. What is Exigence?
“A rhetorical call to action; a situation that compels
someone to speak out.”

5. Have you ever heard of an “exigent circumstance?”
What is it? How do we define it?
What does it have to do with blogging?

6. It’s often what compels us to use:
Credit: Flickr User melter

7. Or this:
Credit: Flickr User Kevin Shorter

8. What is Kairos?
“Generally means, ‘timing’ or ‘the right
circumstances.’”

9. How do we know the right time to post?
What is “right?” Why does timing matter?
When you hit the post button, do you consider
the timing of the discourse?

10. What if our timing is off?

11. What if instead of this:
Sept 24, 2001 Cover
Credit: The New Yorker

12. We had seen this:
Proposed Sept 24, 2001 Cover
Credit: The Daily Beast

13. The reason to do something and the time in
which to do something are critically important.

14. Structure and Motive

15. What is Structure?
White space
Font
Syntax
Spacing
Imagery
Stew Pot

16. Credit: Hongkiat.com

17. Credit: Hongkiat.com

18. Credit: Hongkiat.com

19. Credit: Hongkiat.com

20. Understanding Motive

21. Example 1: “In studying American popular culture
of the 1980s, the question of to what degree
materialism was a major characteristic of the
cultural milieu was explored.”
Example 2: “In our study of American popular
culture of the 1980s, we explored the degree to
which materialism characterized the cultural
milieu.”

22. Example 3: “I think that Aristotle’s ethical arguments
are logical and readily applicable to contemporary
cases, or at least it seems that way to me.”
Example 4: “Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical
and readily applicable to contemporary cases.”

23. The Three Appeals
Logos: the appeal to logic
Ethos: the appeal to credibility
Pathos: the appeal to emotion

24. Building Authority, Credibility
and Keeping it

25. Back to Ethos
How do we build credibility? Authority?
How does trust develop with our readers?
How do we connect with an audience?

26. Ethos Audience
Audience Action Context Writer
25% 25%
25% 25%

27. What Goes Into Trust?
Linked Data Embedding Syntax
Images Schedule Voice
Tone Contexts Audience

28. Consistency. Always be
consistent.

29. Words of Power

30. Speech Acts
What are speech acts?
How do words educe action?
Why should we care?

31. Example 1: “I’m cold.”
Example 2: “It looks like rain.”
Example 3: “You'll be more punctual in the future.”
Example 4: “The list is full; all I need are forks now.”

32. Does Saying It Make It So?

33. What Do We Want From Our Audience?
Action
Implicit/Explicit
Contact
Movement
Hate/Love
Return

34. Self
Primary
Audience
Secondary

35. Writer Message Audience ?
(Action)

36. Trigger Words
Patriotism Fire Help
Stop Main Street Wall Street
Censor Freedom Happiness

37. Why is a tree called a “tree?”

38. The Act of Naming
Symbols
Power
Contexts
Discourse Community
Jargon
SEO

39. A Brief Word About Controversy

40. Jonah Lehrer
Credit: The Rumpus

41. Fareed Zakaria
Credit: Wikipedia

42. A writer’s word is often the
only variable an audience
has to gauge trust.

43. Questions? Thoughts? Comments?

44. I’m available for writing and
communication consulting,
workshops, teaching, and
various other things.

45. Contact Info:
Trent M Kays
Email: trent@trentmkays.com
Cell: 612-850-6686
Website: http://trentmkays.com