Killing Us Softly

I thought that the video presentation Killing Us Softly 3 was fairly effective in conveying its purpose. The speaker of this production used many effective strategies to capture her audience’s attention. She integrated many successfully placed signposts to signify her transitions. She included many visuals in her presentation that added a helpful visual aid to the audience. The speaker’s presentation of herself was also a plus. All of these combined aspects of her speech caused the viewer to really consider his/her attitude on women in advertising. Most people, after watching Killing Us Softly 3, would have to seriously ponder on how women should really be portrayed in our society, whether they agree with the speaker or not.
The first thing that makes this video so effective is the proficient use of language to help guide the audience though the speech. The speaker used many deliberate pauses throughout her speech to signify important information or to allow something to sink in. For example, she paused during certain ads and photos to allow the implications provided to have a little time to really be understood. This was effective because it made the viewer stop and actually comprehend what these ads are telling us beyond the product itself. The woman in this video also used a few definite signposts that indicated a change in topic for a smooth transition. She used words like “first” and obvious topic sentences to lead us through the presentation. The effect is an easy to follow guide through her presentation.
Another aspect that made this an effective production was the use of visual aid. The integration of ads, videos, and commercials was especially crucial in this presentation, being that its purpose was to convey problems with the media. In fact, this video would have been quite ineffective without visual aid. The onslaught of ads portraying skimpily clad models and close-ups of sexual parts of the female figure helped to make the speaker’s argument that much more real. It is hard to argue that women are portrayed correctly, when all one sees is ad upon ad of barely covered breasts and thighs. The speaker made it seem as though advertisements such as a woman wearing daisy dukes, strutting through cars bouncing in rhythm with her buttocks is the norm. Whether the viewer actually agrees or not with her accusations, the incorporation of the aforementioned visual aids definitely helped her argument.
A third reason why the presenter’s argument was so effective is the way she presented herself. She was appropriately dressed in an ensemble sure to show no signs of cleavage or such parts of the body she is arguing against showing. Also, she used a friendly but somewhat serious tone with the audience. She made a few simple jests at times that lightened the mood and helped the audience to stay interested; while, her informative and more serious side let the audience realize that this was not a joking matter. Her movement was minimal, but her almost constant eye contact with her audience made the speech more personal. All of these things helped the speaker get her perspective across in a very effective way.
There wasn’t just one very memorable part of the speech for me. Instead, it was a steady stream of devices used that are the most unforgettable. Her use of advertisements that many people have seen makes her argument more real and easy to remember. A lot of people have already seen these ads so they definitely will remember them. Also, because these are real life commercials and such, the audience can really see how women are seen in the media.
As you can see by these many reasons, Killing Us Softly 3 was a very effective presentation whether one agrees with the speaker or not. It makes one think of the values that the modern media is actually portraying as common values. It is often times very hard to persuade one to think as yourself, but if you can get your audience to at least rethink if they are correct, then that is one step forward. This presentation most definitely does this and in that way is extremely persuasive.