William G. Kirkwood

Narrative and the rhetoric of possibility

Disclosing creative possibilities of thought and action is an important function of communication, especially of narrative rhetoric. This essay describes some of the problems which must be addressed in developing a rhetoric of possibility. Then it examines how rhetors disclose the human capacity for various states of mind. After showing why such possibilities are significant, it explores two ways of disclosing them. Rhetors may tell stories of deeds which reflect characters’ states of mind, or they may enable or challenge people to perform such acts themselves, with striking consequences for their own life stories. Often, however, performances disclose specific states of mind only when rhetors make them revealing through commentary or the careful stipulation of narrative details. While both methods are useful, they have different rhetorical implications.

Storytelling and self‐confrontation: Parables as communication strategies

Speakers in many religious traditions have often told parables to arouse listeners to confront their own thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and actions. Because these stories serve both therapeutic and epistemic functions, their study has important implications for the development of rhetorical theory. This essay analyzes parables to explore the rhetorical significance of narration as a form of discourse and as an act of relational communication.

Parables as metaphors and examples

This essay surveys previous research on the rhetorical nature of parables and presents a revised view of their functions as metaphors and examples. It then considers the implications of this analysis for the study of narrative in religious and secular discourse.

The Trouble with Applicant Impression Management

Impression management or self-presentation refers to the behaviors used by individuals to control the impressions they make on others. This perspective views much of social behavior as being something like an advertising campaign that individuals conduct on their own behalf, in the course of which they seek to highlight their virtues and minimize their deficiencies. There can be few, if any, situations that bring such behaviors into sharper focus than the selection interview. (Fletcher, “Impression” 269)

Inviting Meaningful Applicant Performances in Employment Interviews

Current approaches to employment interviewing have yet to achieve their full potential in matching people with jobs and promoting positive, long-term employer/employee relations. Although untrained and trained interviewers have sought to discover the true personalities, motives, and values of applicants, some interviewing methods used in pursuit of this goal may invite applicant perform ances of limited relevance and uncertain meaning. Interviewers can dramatically improve the value of the interview by helping interviewees give their best perform ances of job-relevant interpersonal and technical skills, practicing conscious trans parency, and making the interview a mutually controlled dialogue more typical of those on the job.

Overcoming managerial bias in employment interviewing

Abstract The efficacy of using the employment interview to predict employee effectiveness and retention has been subject to intense scrutiny. Yet research has failed to provide conclusive evidence that the employment interview significantly aids in the matching of employers with applicants. Studies reveal that employment interviewing has significant shortcomings and that modest reforms of the process are of limited value. Thus, a thorough reexamination of the fundamental premises which underlie interviewing research and practice is warranted. The most important premise which merits reconsideration is the belief that interviews should be considered primarily as an instrument of managerial interests. We argue in this paper that the conduct of employment interviews should weigh equally the interests of all parties involved. In so doing, participants can meet the ethical obligation to balance the interests of all parties, while at the same time enhancing the practical utility of the interaction. The present e...

Truthfulness as a Standard for Speech in Ancient India.

By revealing the link between truthfulness and spiritual liberation in Indian philosophy, this essay shows why truthfulness was the foremost standard for speech in ancient India. Next, it shows how Vedic and post‐Vedic texts define the practice of truthfulness. In contrast to earlier studies of the social functions of Indian rhetoric, the essay emphasizes Indian ideas about the consequences of truthfulness and deceit for speakers themselves. Following this, it discusses the influence of these ideas on rhetorical practice in ancient India, then considers how such ideas might contribute to current rhetorical and ethical studies.

Shiva's dance at sundown: Implications of Indian aesthetics for poetics and rhetoric

In Indian aesthetics, the term rasa denotes both the mood of a poetic work and the state of awareness which permits auditors to behold the mood. The foremost influence on traditional Indian drama and poetry, the theory of rasa merits study by communication scholars on three grounds. First, it reveals how traditional Indian philosophy gives rise to standards for composing and auditing drama and other performances. Second, rasa theory and Aristotelian poetics embrace different goals and methods; comparing them can shed light on the nature of poetics and rhetoric. Third, communication scholars can further develop rasa theory by applying it to texts and performances outside the Indian culture, and by exploring its influence on auditors’ daily lives.

Ethics and teaching employment interviewing

As teachers and advisors, virtually all communication faculty counsel students preparing for job interviews. The advice we give students regarding this critical interaction says much about our ethics of professional and personal communication. In this essay, we explore the ethical implications of recommendations about how to communicate during employment interviews. We first summarize accepted principles of ethical communication and show how they apply to employment interviewing. We then identify kinds of interviewing advice that appear to depart from these standards. Next, we consider possible justifications for these departures and conclude they are not warranted. Finally, we propose ways to teach interviewing that are consistent with ethical communication standards.

Stories that bring peace to the mind: Communication and the education of feelings

Communication not only elicits fleeting emotional reactions; it also influences how people learn to approach life emotionally. It does so by shaping perceptions and beliefs implicit in emotions, as well as ideas about the value and appropriateness of emotions. Furthermore, communicative experiences help develop peoples capacity and inclination for particular feelings. This essay advances a concept of communication as education for the feelings, then examines the role of storytelling in this process. Four elements of storytelling have important consequences for listeners’ emotional lives: (a) narrative depiction of feelings, attitudes, and behavior; (b) the narrators emotional stance; (c) listeners’ expectations; and (d) listeners’ emotional responses. The essay uses this analysis to examine how telling and hearing stories can help people learn to approach life with greater peace of mind.