Benchmarks

"I hear in my mind all of these voices
I hear in my mind all of these words
I hear in my mind all of this music
And it breaks my heart,
It breaks my heart."

-- Regina Spektor, "Fidelity"

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Used to blog from my desk at the publishing company. With nothing really to talk about, I would report on the state's educational standards as they changed and came to our office. Changes in education legislation meant rewrites of textbooks, and it was always more complex than a simple switching of words. We had to reconceive whole sections, often breaking chapters apart and piecing them back together in a different order, which meant page layouts, graphic specs, and blocks of text kept changing.

From my part-time position, I could see how one new state requirement could spoil an entire textbook. The company is still failing. It's like playing a game where the rules keep changing.

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Now, I'm copy editing a study guide to be used in conjunction with the workshops we offer. And I'm double-thinking again:

Skills of persuasion include "bandwagon, testimonial, glittering generalities, emotional word repetition, and bait and switch."

Let's try...

Bandwagon: Everyone's doing it; therefore, you should do it, too.

Testimonial: I did it; therefore, you should do it, too.

Glittering Generality: Your life is empty. Do this and be filled.

Emotional Word Repetition.: Zig Heil! Zig Heil! Zig Heil!

Bait and Switch: This is the best rhetorical skill, the Bait and Switch. Wouldn't we all agree? Don't we all believe in Bait and Switch? Yes? Bait and Switch. BS. We all have to believe the BS.