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BIG TEN, PAC-12 PULL PLUG ON FALL FOOTBALL AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC -ASSOCIATED PRESS HOW THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT WENT MAINSTREAM - WASHINGTON POST WILDFIRES RAGING IN CALIFORNIA AND COLORADO -NPR Headlines like these jostle with hundreds of others vying for our attention, all too often leaving us out of breath just trying to keep up with breaking news. And while these three headlines report actual, factual information, much of the news that reaches us is based on misinformation and oddball conspiracy theories that aim at nothing so much as creating divisiveness, stoking fears, and inciting distrust.

It's enough to make us want to throw up our hands and just tune out. But I say: resist that urge! If we have ever needed to put our critical thinking caps on, to take a deep breath, to stop, look , and listen , this is it. For all the junk that clogs our news feeds and inboxes, there's much of real importance to think about, to read about, to talk about-and yes, to write about. And that's what this book will help you do.

To talk about these and other important issues with others, including those whose views differ from yours-and to listen to what they say, respectfully and with an open mind. To research topics and issues you care about as a matter of inquiry, searching for multiple perspectives rather than just for data to support what you already believe.

And of course to write-as a way to explore ideas, to respond to something you've read or heard, to report on a topic you've researched or argue a position you want others to think about. In fact, thinking and writing almost always go hand in hand: as one of my students put it, I really can't think without a pen in my hand-or a mouse. This book is here to help you do all that. Stop!

In the face of so many urgent issues, it seems especially important to hit the pause button long enough to look very closely at these issues in all their immediate complexity. In other words, to resist the urge to rush from one tweet to another, one headline to the next. Instead, we need to slow down to a crawl, and then to a halt: close observation and real understanding take time and patience-they can't be done on the fly.

So turn off your devices, put distractions aside, and practice being still and open to what is happening around you. Take a moment, pause, and look at things from all perspectives. -MELANIA TRUMP Look! We all have ways of seeing the world, some of which are so deeply ingrained that we're not even aware of them. So it's especially important to understand them, to look at where they come from, and to ask if they really reflect values we want to embrace.

We need to look at ourselves as clearly as possible -our age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation; where we live, where we work and play, where we go to school, what interests we pursue-and ask how these factors lead us to see and understand the world from a certain position, and how that position keeps us from seeing the world as others from different backgrounds see it. This kind of up close and personal looking at ourselves is not easy.

But it is necessary if we are to recognize and understand-and acknowledge-the role we may be playing in going along with the status quo, and even in perpetuating unjust systems. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in. -ALAN ALDA Consider the coronavirus pandemic, for instance.

How do we understand competing policies and narratives about protecting people's health versus protecting the nation's economy, about how best to combat the virus, about something as simple as whether or not to wear a mask? What are our responsibilities in such a time-to ourselves, our families, and our fellow citizens? And what will we actually do, what specific actions will we take?

Such choices, though often unconscious, reveal what we pay attention to and how they affect and limit what we see-and also what we read. So as a reader, you first need to be aware of how your preferences and ways of seeing the world lead you to value (and trust) some things and not others, and to think critically about what that means for what you know-and what you don't know. Second, you need to learn to pay close attention to what you read, especially when the stakes are high.

Most of all, you need to read with an open mind, saying maybe to ideas you're not sure about and attempting to understand them before saying no or rejecting them. It means looking closely at texts you might once have rejected, giving them a chance to make their points to you, and being open to the idea that they just might be right. When you read in this way, you are actively reading to understand, to learn, and to respond thoughtfully to what someone else thinks. Listen!

Where do you get most of your news? Facebook ? Twitter ? Take some time to switch gears and listen for half an hour or so to a news source you don't normally pay attention to-or even resist listening to (MSNBC, say, or Fox News). Pay attention to how you are listening : With sources you like, do you accept what you hear without questioning or even thinking about what they say? And with sources you don't like, are you listening with a chip on your shoulder, looking for ways they're wrong?

All of us have such patterns of listening, so it's important to get a sense of where your listening biases lie and to keep them from clouding your good judgment. In addition, we all need to listen consciously and critically, doing the kind of listening that rhetoric professor Krista Ratcliffe calls rhetorical listening. This kind of listening means opening yourself up to the views of others, even those with whom you disagree, and really hearing what they have to say.

It means taking their views seriously, listening to really understand what they're saying. We have to listen to other people, so that we and they may lay our stories alongside one another's. -KRISTA RATCLIFFE This is the kind of listening that one student did when he read a series of Facebook posts attacking a politician in his Navajo community who proudly supports Donald Trump.

Rather than joining them and screaming out hate speech, he responded to those posts with a call for listening and understanding. As he listened more carefully to this politician, he said: I began to understand more about why she supports what we don't like. In her positions, I have to applaud her for having a clear and civil stance. She doesn't come off to me as aggressive like the comments have labeled her. We need to remember that she is also a loving mother, aunt, and relative in the community.

Creating memes to Put her in her own casket is taking it too far! You don't understand what this kind of a violent witch hunt can do to a person. I am certain she means good. Furthermore, social media has its good and bad sides, and learning more about an issue before posting that next hate speech is the best method for starting a proper conversation. I know that discussing politics is not all rainbows and butterflies. I get it. She is controversial.

But taking time to at least know where she's coming from may help you understand her politics (even if, like me, you disagree). After understanding her stance, you can proceed to make a critique that's not violent or threatening. -KYLE WHITE This post is a product of sound rhetorical listening, of listening as a way of coming to understand another person. So the next time you're talking with someone with whom you deeply disagree, take a tip from Kyle White: don't attack, don't insult, don't hate.

It's always better to stop and listen. Think! The listening and reading this book advocates, and the writing that grows out of them, go hand in hand with thinking -not just skimming over words and passages, but putting your mind to it and asking questions at every turn. But what does that really mean? It means paying very close attention and then asking serious and often detailed questions about what you are hearing or reading.

In other words, it means not just agreeing or going along with it, but challenging it to convince you. I don't write to make readers think like me. I write to make them think. -ANNA QUINDLEN One student who was taking a course examining cultural stereotypes started wondering where his own largely negative impressions of Iran as a country of religious zealots came from.

Since he was reading Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis for another course, he decided to make some notes about how Satrapi represents Iran, her home country-and he quickly saw that her perceptions of Iran differed from those he held. This careful reading led him to dig further, looking back to the time of the 1979 Iranian revolution, which overthrew the US-backed regime of the shah.

Carefully and methodically, he read coverage of Iran in national newspapers and found that New York Times reporting from 1979 reveals a narrative emphasizing a solidly unified, radical religious movement that brought the Islamic Republic into reality. Such a narrative laid the foundation for characterizations of Iran by future leaders, whether by President Bush in his famous claim that Iran was part of an axis of evil or by Iranian Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he spoke of Holocaust denial in the name of Iran.

-DREW AGUILAR This analysis led to further reading on Iranian history and especially on the diversity within Iran, a diversity that contradicted the monolithic stereotype he saw reflected in the Times coverage.

At the end of his investigation, this student had not only learned a great deal about Iran; he had also thought about how narratives about entire countries can build up in our minds almost without our even noticing-and he was able to bring this new understanding to his reading of Satrapi's famous graphic novel as well.

Best of all, he was well prepared to write essays in both of his classes that drew on the knowledge he had gained and on his growing understanding of how cultural stereotypes get established and reinforced. Act! Taking time to stop, look, listen, think, and write can bring us only so far. Sooner or later we need to roll up our sleeves and do something-to take some kind of action.

When 17-year-old Trayvon Brown, who had organized a protest following the death of George Floyd, found a burning cross propped up on the lawn of his home in Monroe, Virginia, he was so shocked and taken aback that the event stopped him in his tracks. What deeply held beliefs could have propelled such a hateful and violent attack?

As he looked at the situation in his community and listened to those on both sides of the debate surrounding police violence, Brown came to the conclusion that he had to do something-to lead a second protest. Here's what he said to those who joined him as the protest began: This is your chance, young people. Y'all complain about the laws? Go change those laws. You don't have to destroy anything. You don't have to tear down statues. -TRAYVON BROWN Stand up, speak up, and speak out!

-JOHN LEWIS As news of that second protest march had spread, counterprotesters were there as well, some waving Confederate flags, some armed. Law enforcement officials gathered to try to keep the two sides apart, as those on both sides began shouting angrily at each other. With tensions at a boiling point, Brown took another action: he knelt, raised his arm, and began shouting I love you to those on the other side.

He was soon joined by the rest of the protesters, who did the same-thus defusing the situation and leading to a peaceful conclusion to the march. Remember the Golden Rule Trayvon Brown's actions call to mind the old Golden Rule, of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Showing respect for others and for their views will encourage them to reciprocate, and in so doing will pave the way for establishing common ground that can move a conversation forward.

And doing so is pretty simple, even if sometimes challenging: you demonstrate respect when you take other people's feelings and thoughts seriouly, when you acknowledge them as equals in conversation, when you listen to what they say carefully and with an open mind, and when you are truthful.

Such respect is especially necessary now, in the summer of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic takes hundreds of thousands of lives, as millions of Americans are out of work and suffering, and as the deep inequities built into our institutions are more visible and disturbing than ever. Such times call for us to think beyond our individual selves, to recognize that we are all in this together, and to take action not just for ourselves but for the greater good of all.

In short, we need to focus less on I and more on we, knowing that in helping-and respecting-others we will in the long run be helping everyone. When I is replaced with we, even illness becomes wellness. -MALCOLM X Respect, in other words, is the very opposite of the kind of trolling, cyberbullying, and harassment that often takes place online-actions that seek to disrupt, to attack, to sow discontent and distrust and even fear.

This is not to say that you cannot disagree with someone; just keep in mind that you can disagree without being disagreeable, much less frightening or disruptive. We all need, then, to stop, look, and listen-to step back and think hard about how we communicate with others, about how well and how respectfully we listen. But we can't stop there. Eventually, we will need to engage with the issues most important to us and with other people, including those who do not share our views as well as those who do.

Write! This kind of engagement will often involve writing. Taking notes and trying to capture in words what you've heard someone say, for example, is a very good way to help understand it better, and to remember it.

And just think of the role that writing plays in the courses you're taking, from preparing reports to analyzing issues, summarizing and synthesizing information drawn from many sources, developing a script to use in an important oral presentation, and reflecting on the ideas and perspectives of others-all writing.

And don't be surprised if you find that as you write, your thinking gets sharper, your ideas more focused, your message more clear: you are, in fact, writing yourself into the role of a college student. Then, as you move toward your major, absorbing its vocabulary and methods and style, you are writing yourself into that discipline, becoming a member of its intellectual community. How can I know what I think till I see what I say? -E.

M. FORSTER And then there's the role that writing plays well beyond the classroom. Think about posters and signs proclaiming No Justice, No Peace! Make America Great Again! I Can't Breathe! Vote!-these are all words, yes, but they are actions as well. Think about the writing you do on social media- Instagram, Facebook , and Twitter all connect you to friends and family as well as to people you might never otherwise know.

Podcasts and YouTube videos-these allow you to put the power of your spoken voice and your personality to work in getting your messages across. No matter what kinds of writing you do, you'll be aiming to reach particular audiences in particular contexts and for particular reasons. That means you'll be listening and thinking hard about what others say.

Thus moving purposely from listening to thinking, and from thinking to writing, is a kind of dance that good communication calls for-and the more we practice that dance, the better we will get. Stopping, looking, listening, thinking, taking action. None of the steps in this dance are easy or simple, especially in times as contentious as those we face today. But we need to try-and to recognize that our differences are some of our most valuable assets.

We won't know about those differences, however, without being open to them, without opening ourselves to the thoughts and ideas and beliefs of others. This book is one attempt to begin and sustain such conversations. So-let's talk! REFLECT!

Fox News host Laura Ingraham once famously criticized LeBron James for commenting on political issues, saying that he should shut up and dribble. Her comment got instant blowback from many, including James and other athletes, who posted on social media with the hashtag #wewillnotshutupanddribble.

Ingraham and James are coming from completely different places in terms of their personal beliefs and ideologies, but how might this exchange have gone differently had they at least attempted a face-to-face conversation-and first taken time to stop, look, listen, and think? PART ONE RHETORIC: JOIN THE CONVERSATION 1. Listening 2. Thinking Rhetorically 3. Engaging Respectfully with Others 4.

Developing Academic Habits of Mind PART 1 RHETORIC / JOIN THE CONVERSATION Chapter 1 Listening LISTENING TO OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH WHOM WE DISAGREE, TESTS OUR OWN IDEAS AND BELIEFS. IT FORCES US TO RECOGNIZE, WITH HUMILITY, THAT WE DON'T HAVE A MONOPOLY ON THE TRUTH. -JANET YELLEN IF YOU WANT TO BE LISTENED TO, YOU SHOULD PUT IN TIME LISTENING. -MARGE PIERCY Why would a book titled Let's Talk begin with a chapter on listening? That's a good question, and it has an important answer.

Talking is (at least) a two-way street: when you talk, you're talking to someone, and you want that someone to listen, to hear what you're saying, whether it's calling a clinic to make a doctor's appointment or talking confidentially with your best friend about whether to break off a relationship. You want-and sometimes need-to be listened to. You can probably think of times when you've felt like you weren't being listened to, or when the person you were talking with was only halfway listening.

Elizabeth MacGregor certainly has such memories. As the first person in her family-and one of only two students in her high school graduating class-to go to college, she remembers feeling insecure when she first arrived at college. Do I really belong here? she wondered. Faced with some daunting assignments in the first weeks of fall term, she asked for advice from an older student in her dorm.

That person was sympathetic, but he was checking email and was somewhat distracted, responding don't worry; you'll be fine. She also went to her history instructor's office hours, hoping to get some guidance for doing the first assignment. He merely encouraged her to start on the assignment early and wished her luck; he didn't seem to hear what she was really asking for, which was concrete advice on how to address the assignment.

Reflecting on these experiences two years later, MacGregor said, They were well meaning, but they just weren't listening to me. Or you may be part of a group that feels ignored or not listened to.

After the 2018 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when a group of predominantly white students started a protest that went viral and led to a huge rally against gun violence, a march for our lives, students of color at that school pointed out that they'd been talking persistently about gun violence for years and years-but no one was listening to them.

Tyah-Amoy Roberts made this point, saying that students of color had never seen this kind of support and that they didn't feel as if their voices were valued as much as those of our white counterparts. In other words, they were speaking up-but no one was listening. Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Listening is the ultimate sign of respect. What you say when you listen says more than any words. -THOMAS FRIEDMAN Or sometimes you may be the one who is not listening.

During the 2019 NBA finals, Draymond Green-known for his constant chatter on and off the court-decided he'd been doing too much talking and not enough listening. In particular, he decided to listen to his mother and his fiance, both of whom told him he needed to learn some self-discipline and especially to stop screaming at the referees. As Green put it: Sometimes I'm not mindful, and I'll get a tech and that will just kill the energy of our team.

I've really been focused and locked in on that, and I realized I got to a point where I was doing more crying than playing. I'm sure it was disgusting to watch, because I felt disgusting playing that way. -DRAYMOND GREEN Draymond Green, frustrated by getting a tech for yelling. Sometimes we all need to take a good look at our behavior to see if we are doing more talking than listening.

Certainly, careful listening has been in short supply in the last few years, as the divisions in our society have grown deeper and more entrenched and as many people have retreated into their own bubbles or echo chambers where they hear only what they already agree with-and have stopped listening to anyone else.

Yet if we don't learn to listen openly and carefully to one another, including those whose views differ from our own, we can't hope to gain understanding and insight into their motivations, hopes, and goals. So that's why this book opens with a chapter calling on you to start by listening and calling on all of us to pay attention to the words of others-and be willing to hear what they say.

Think of the times when you have most needed someone to listen-openly and carefully and intently-to something you needed to say: when you were talking through a serious conflict with a family member, for instance, or when you were trying to explain to a professor something you didn't understand about a complex topic. On occasions like these, you want the person you're addressing to really listen-to look up from what they're doing and pay attention to what you're saying.

And in return, you'll want to reciprocate, listening-really listening-to what others are saying. At times you may be tempted to jump into a conversation and say what you think; but think again: it's often much more effective to find out what others think before doing so. We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak. -EPICTETUS Whether you're writing an essay or participating in a face-to-face discussion, you'll need to engage with other people's views.

In order to do so, you'll need to listen to what they say-and even to repeat what they say as a way of making sure you've understood before responding with what you want to say. This kind of listening is what rhetorician Krista Ratcliffe dubs RHETORICAL LISTENING -opening yourself to the thoughts of others and making the effort not only to hear their words but to take those words in and fully understand them.

It means paying attention to what others say as a way of establishing good will and acknowledging the importance of their views. And yes, it means taking seriously and engaging with views that differ, sometimes radically, from your own. See p. 31 for advice on getting to know people different from you.

Rhetorical listening is what middle school teacher Julia Blount asked for in a Facebook post following the 2015 riots in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered fatal spinal injuries while in police custody: Every comment or post I have read today voicing some version of disdain for the people of Baltimore-I can't understand or they're destroying their own community-tells me that many of you are not listening. I am not asking you to condone or agree with violence.

I just need you to listen. . . . -JULIA BLOUNT, Dear White Facebook Friends: I Need You to Respect What Black America Is Feeling Right Now. Blount went on to call for her friends to expose themselves to unfamiliar perspectives, and to engage in conversation-in other words, to listen rhetorically. Learning to listen this way takes time and attention and practice, but it is a skill you can develop and one that will pay off in better and more effective communication.

There aren't any magic bullets for becoming a good listener, but here are some tips that should put you on your way to achieving that goal. Listen with an open mind and without an agenda. Listen to learn, and with the goal of understanding. Let others speak before stating your own opinions or asking questions. And be sure that any questions you ask are respectful, not judgmental.

Ask questions that are open-ended (What do you think we should do?) or that clarify, not challenge (Are you saying-? rather than Don't you think-?). Turn off your phone , and don't be checking email. Let the other person have your full attention. Listen with empathy to try to see things from the other person's point of view. Make it a goal to understand their perspective, where they're coming from.

Be on the lookout for COMMON GROUND , things you can agree on: I can see where you're coming from. Pay attention to body language and TONE of voice-yours and theirs. These can give you insight into the message the other person is trying to send. And maintain a respectful tone and posture yourself: lean in, nod your head. Don't interrupt , and don't be thinking about what you're going to say in response. Summarize what the other person says to make sure you understand what they're saying.

Offer affirmation when possible: Good point; I hadn't thought of that. Make it a point to listen to people whose views differ from yours -and whenever possible, talk with them in person. It's much harder to be dismissive (or mean-spirited, as so often happens online) when you're speaking face-to-face. What's listening got to do with writing?

That's a good question, and it has a good answer: whatever you're writing, you need to start by doing your homework-reading up on your topic, doing research, maybe conducting some interviews. That means listening. Writing doesn't begin when you sit down to write. It's a way of being in the world, and its essence is paying attention. -JULIA ALVAREZ And whatever your topic, it's unlikely that you'll be the first to write about it.

In fact, when it comes to academic writing, what you write will usually respond to something that others have already said about your topic: they say this, you think that. So after introducing your topic, one effective way to proceed is to SUMMARIZE , QUOTE , or PARAPHRASE what other credible sources have said about your topic and then to present your ideas as a response. And that means listening carefully to what's already been said, not just launching into what you have to say.

So writing is actually a way of participating in a larger conversation, of engaging with the ideas of others. When you quote or summarize or paraphrase sources, you're weaving their words or ideas in with yours-and hopefully responding to them in some way. You can't do that unless you've listened closely to those words and ideas. Like writing, reading demands listening, really hearing what an author has to say.

And if you read rhetorically, not just to absorb information but also to question and respond to the text, you are entering into a dialogue with the author. That too starts with listening. Listening to views that differ from yours Fortunately, there are now a number of organizations that provide guidance for listening respectfully and with an open mind, along with opportunities to meet up with people who think differently than you do.

-TREVOR NOAH One such organization is the Listen First Project, founded by Pearce Godwin with the goal of mend[ing] the frayed fabric of America by bridging divides one conversation at a time. Listen First has launched the National Conversation Project, which helps people start new conversations, ones dedicated to moving from us vs. them to me and you.

In 2018, hundreds of schools, libraries, faith communities, and other groups hosted conversations grounded in a commitment to listen first to understand.' Go to listenfirstproject.org or www.nationalconversationproject.org if you're interested in joining or hosting such a conversation. A Listen First poster at a rally during the 2016 presidential election.

I hope you'll take the advice in this chapter to heart, seeking to understand those with whom you may disagree, and learning to become a better listener as you do. REFLECT! Think of a time when you felt you were being ignored, or not listened to. Why were others not listening-or not listening well enough? Did you try to do something about that, to get them to hear you? If not, why not? Then think of a time when you yourself failed to really listen to someone else. What caused you not to listen carefully?

What would you do differently if you could go back and re-live that encounter? Glossary RHETORICAL LISTENING, 7-11 A way of listening that is open-minded, accepting, and respectful-of listening to what others say as a way of understanding their PERSPECTIVES and demonstrating respect for their views. COMMON GROUND, 9, 37-40, 114-16 Shared values.

Writers build common ground with AUDIENCES by acknowledging their points of view, seeking areas of compromise, and using language that includes, rather than excludes, those they aim to reach. TONE, 27, 96 The way a writer's or speaker's STANCE is reflected in the text. SUMMARIZE To use your own words and sentence structure to condense someone else's text into a version that gives the main ideas of the original. In academic writing, summarizing requires DOCUMENTATION .

See PATCHWRITING QUOTE, 285-90 To cite someone else's words exactly as they were said or written. Quotation is most effective when the wording is worth repeating or makes a point so well that no rewording will do it justice or when you want to cite someone's exact words. Quotations in academic writing need to be acknowledged with DOCUMENTATION . PARAPHRASE, 284-85, 290-92 To reword a text in about the same number of words but without using the word order or sentence structure of the original.

Paraphrasing is generally called for when you want to include the details of a passage but do not need to QUOTE it word for word. Paraphrasing a source in academic writing requires DOCUMENTATION . See also PATCHWRITING PART 1 RHETORIC / JOIN THE CONVERSATION Chapter 2 Thinking Rhetorically THE ONLY REAL ALTERNATIVE TO WAR IS RHETORIC. -WAYNE BOOTH WE DIDN'T BURN DOWN ANY BUILDINGS. . . . YOU CAN DO A LOT WITH A PEN AND PAD.

-ICE CUBE Wayne Booth made the above statement at a conference of writing teachers held only months after 9/11, and it quickly drew a range of responses. Just what did Booth mean by this stark statement? How could rhetoric-usually thought of as the art, theory, and practice of persuasion-act as a counter to war?

A noted critic and scholar, Booth explored these questions throughout his long career, identifying rhetoric as an ethical art that begins with intense listening and that searches for mutual understanding and common ground as alternatives to violence and war. Put another way, two of the most potent tools we have for persuasion are language-and violence: when words fail us, violence often wins the day. Booth sees the careful and ethical use of language as our best approach to keeping violence and war at bay.

In the years since 9/11, Booth's words have echoed again and again as warfare continues to erupt in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. And in the United States, people have protested the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people at the hands of police. Protesters have held up signs saying I Can't Breathe and No Justice, No Peace, and Black Lives Matter has been written in large yellow letters on streets in Washington, DC, and other cities.

And after way too many other such killings, protesters have taken to social media as well, using similarly dramatic and memorable statements as rhetorical strategies that have captured and held the attention of people around the world. Aerial view of Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York.

Rhetoric as an ethical art Note that while Booth speaks of rhetoric as an ethical art (based on good intentions), rhetoric can also be used for unethical purposes (with bad or evil intent)-as Hitler and other dictators have done. In fact, rhetoric used in unethical ways can itself lead to violence.

That's why the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle cautioned that we need to understand rhetoric both to communicate our own ethical messages and to be able to recognize and resist unethical messages that others attempt to use against us. That's also why this book defines rhetoric as the practice of ETHICAL communication. So how can you go about developing your own careful, ethical use of language?

One short answer: by developing habits of mind that begin with listening and searching for understanding before deciding what you yourself think, and by thinking hard about your own beliefs before trying to persuade others to listen to and act on what you say. In other words, by learning to THINK RHETORICALLY . Learning to think rhetorically can serve you well-at school, at work, even at home.

After all, you'll need to communicate successfully with others in order to get things done in a responsible and ethical way. On the job, you and your coworkers might do this kind of thinking to revise a shift schedule so that every worker is treated fairly and no one is required to work double shifts. Or in your college courses, you'll surely encounter class discussions that call for rhetorical thinking-for listening closely and really thinking about what others say before saying what you think.

When a group of college students became aware of how little the temporary workers on their campus were paid, for example, they met with the workers and listened to gather information about the situation. They then mounted a campaign using flyers, social media, speeches, and sit-ins-in other words, using the available means of persuasion-to win attention and convince the administration to raise the workers' pay. These students were thinking and acting rhetorically-and doing so responsibly.

Note that these students worked together, both with the workers and with one another. After all, none of us can manage such actions all by ourselves; we need to engage in conversation with others and listen hard to what they say. Perhaps that's what philosopher Kenneth Burke had in mind when he created his famous parlor metaphor: Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late.

When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. . . . You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. -KENNETH BURKE In this parable, each of us is the person arriving late to a room full of animated conversation; we don't understand what's going on.

Yet instead of butting in or trying too quickly to get in on the conversation, we listen closely until we catch on to what people are saying. And then we join in, using language and rhetoric carefully to engage with others as we add our own voices to the conversation.

This book aims to teach you to think rhetorically: To listen to others carefully and respectfully To try to understand what they think, and why-and then to think hard about your own beliefs and where they come from To do these things before deciding what you yourself think and trying to persuade others to listen to what you say Pay attention to what others are saying-and think about why Thinking rhetorically begins with a willingness to hear the words of others with an open mind.

It means paying attention to what others say before and even as a way of making your own contributions to a conversation. More than that, it means being open to the thoughts of others and making the effort not only to hear their words but also to take those words in and fully understand what they are saying. It means paying attention to what others say as a way of establishing good will and acknowledging the importance of their views.

And most of all, it means engaging with views that differ from your own-and being open to what they say. The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way. -KEANU REEVES When you enter any conversation, whether at school, at work, or with friends, take the time to understand what's being said rather than rushing to a conclusion or a judgment. Listen carefully to what others are saying, and think about what motivates them: Where are they coming from?

Developing such habits of mind will be useful to you almost every day, whether you're participating in a class discussion, negotiating with friends over what movie to see, or thinking about a local ballot issue to decide how you'll vote. In each case, thinking rhetorically means being flexible, determined to seek out varying-and sometimes conflicting-points of view.

In ancient Rome, the great Roman statesman and orator Cicero argued that considering alternative POINTS OF VIEW and COUNTERARGUMENTS was key to making a successful argument, and it is just as important today. Even when you disagree with a point of view-perhaps especially when you disagree with it-force yourself to see the issue from the viewpoint of its advocates before you reject their positions.

Say you're skeptical that hydrogen fuel will be the solution to climate change, for example: don't reject the idea until you've thought hard about what those in favor of it say and carefully considered other possible solutions. REFLECT!

Blogger Sean Blanda warns that many of us gravitate on social media to those who think like we do, which often leads to the belief that we are right and that those with other worldviews are dumb. He argues that we need to make an honest effort to understand those who are not like us and to remember that we might be wrong. Look at some of your own posts. How many different perspectives do you see represented? What might you do to think-and listen-more rhetorically?

Consider the larger context Thinking hard about the views of others also means considering the larger CONTEXT and how it shapes what they're saying. When you think rhetorically, you may need to do some research, to investigate whether there are any historical, political, or cultural factors that might account for where someone's beliefs are coming from. In analyzing the issue of gun rights, for instance, you would not merely consider your own thinking or read about what others think.

In addition, you would look at the issue in a larger context by considering what the US Constitution says about gun ownership and how it's been interpreted over time, thinking about the broader political agendas of both those who advocate for and those who oppose stricter gun control, asking what the economic ramifications of adopting-or rejecting-new gun restrictions might be, and so on.

In short, you would try to see the issue from as many different perspectives and in as broad a context as possible before formulating your own stance. And in writing about this issue, you'll draw on these sources-what others have said about the issue-to support your own position and to help you consider other positions. What do you think, and why?

Examining all points of view on any issue will involve some tough thinking about your own STANCE -literally, where you yourself are coming from-and why you think as you do. Such thinking can help you define your stance or perhaps even lead you to change your mind; in either case, you stand to gain.

Just as you need to think hard about the motivations of others, it's important to examine what's motivating you, asking yourself what influences in your life lead you to think as you do or to take certain positions. Ibram X. Kendi offers an example. When a student from Ghana gave a monologue in class detailing negative and racist ideas about Black Americans, Professor Kendi provided data to counter his views, to no avail.

After class, however, the discussion continued, with Kendi asking the student if he could name some racist ideas the British say about Ghanaians. The student hesitated, but then came up with a list of such ideas, which he vehemently agreed were not true. Then Kendi returned to the student's earlier statements about Black Americans, asking him where he got those ideas. On reflection, the student said he got them from his family, friends, and his own observations.

And where did he think those people get their ideas about Black Americans? Probably American Whites, the student said. His mind seemed open, so I jumped on in. So if African Americans went to Ghana, consumed British racist ideas about Ghanaians, and started expressing those ideas to Ghanaians . . . What would you think about that? He smiled, surprising me. I got it, he said, turning to walk out of the classroom. Are you sure? I said. He turned back to me. Yes, sir.

Thanks, Prof. -IBRAM X. KENDI, How to Be an Antiracist Examining your own stance and motivation is equally important outside the classroom. Suppose you're urging fellow members of a campus group to lobby for a rigorous set of procedures to deal with accusations of sexual harassment. On one level, you're alarmed by the statistics showing a steep increase in cases of rape on college campuses, and you want to do something about it.