Precisely what cheesy means is an important consideration for a motivational speaker. It is freely used in contemporary parlance and explanations of what it means are equally free. Some people claim it as an American expression and others think it is part of 'Geek speak'. In fact it is listed in a dictionary published in 1982, before computer jargon was common, as meaning artificial and sincere and probably derived from the artificial grimaces produced for cameras.
Paradox can be considered an element of both cheese and motivational speeches. Cheese is tasty and nutritious but made of fermented milk. Its bad smell can disgust some human beings who will cheerfully eat mice or rats. A motivational speech may have high sounding sentiments that inspire listeners but be delivered by a low money grubbing cleric or tin pot dictator who manipulates his audience for selfish and insincere reasons.
The ongoing currency of an expression like cheesy might be an indication to speakers that audiences are more alert to pretentiousness and insincerity than they were before the days of TV and mass communication. If a term like cheesy has entered public consciousness, orators should heed the warning.
The word cheesy may itself have become something of a cliche. It has been heard often before and sounds rather clever. It fits easily into the speech patterns of people who do not have to think too closely about what they mean when they use it. The fact that it is derogatory in some general sense is sufficient for many.
The problem with cliches is that they are often used unconsciously. Like music, speech is very much a matter of rhythm and some words satisfy simply because they have been heard often before. Most people use language without thinking too much about the actual words that come out as a sentence is composed in the mind. The habit of using cliches is widespread and can be heard on radio and TV broadcasts any day of the week.
Although cliches do slip unobtrusively into the speech of most people it is possible for a speaker to guard against too many of them by careful preparation. This does not imply learning a speech by rote. Instead a speaker can think in terms of metaphor, of analogies and symbols. These are the fundamentals of original thought. Even ordinary thoughts can seem exciting and fresh when dressed in the fine clothes of metaphor and symbolism.
A speaker can also guard against being insincere by thinking about what he really does want to say. If it sounds to him like what he has said many times before to other audiences he might try to adapt his message to the specific needs of the audience that he is to address. Most people are motivated by needs of one sort or another. Attempting to address those needs may help a speaker to actually be more sincere rather than cheesy.
Motivational speakers are engaged in something that used to be called rhetoric and was a compulsory subject in schools. It is a dangerous and potent art that has led whole nations to either victory or disaster. Within living memory Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill persuaded their followers to actions on opposite sides of a horrendous conflict. The role of the critical audience may be more pronounced in contemporary times which will be good for the world.
Paradox can be considered an element of both cheese and motivational speeches. Cheese is tasty and nutritious but made of fermented milk. Its bad smell can disgust some human beings who will cheerfully eat mice or rats. A motivational speech may have high sounding sentiments that inspire listeners but be delivered by a low money grubbing cleric or tin pot dictator who manipulates his audience for selfish and insincere reasons.
The ongoing currency of an expression like cheesy might be an indication to speakers that audiences are more alert to pretentiousness and insincerity than they were before the days of TV and mass communication. If a term like cheesy has entered public consciousness, orators should heed the warning.
The word cheesy may itself have become something of a cliche. It has been heard often before and sounds rather clever. It fits easily into the speech patterns of people who do not have to think too closely about what they mean when they use it. The fact that it is derogatory in some general sense is sufficient for many.
The problem with cliches is that they are often used unconsciously. Like music, speech is very much a matter of rhythm and some words satisfy simply because they have been heard often before. Most people use language without thinking too much about the actual words that come out as a sentence is composed in the mind. The habit of using cliches is widespread and can be heard on radio and TV broadcasts any day of the week.
Although cliches do slip unobtrusively into the speech of most people it is possible for a speaker to guard against too many of them by careful preparation. This does not imply learning a speech by rote. Instead a speaker can think in terms of metaphor, of analogies and symbols. These are the fundamentals of original thought. Even ordinary thoughts can seem exciting and fresh when dressed in the fine clothes of metaphor and symbolism.
A speaker can also guard against being insincere by thinking about what he really does want to say. If it sounds to him like what he has said many times before to other audiences he might try to adapt his message to the specific needs of the audience that he is to address. Most people are motivated by needs of one sort or another. Attempting to address those needs may help a speaker to actually be more sincere rather than cheesy.
Motivational speakers are engaged in something that used to be called rhetoric and was a compulsory subject in schools. It is a dangerous and potent art that has led whole nations to either victory or disaster. Within living memory Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill persuaded their followers to actions on opposite sides of a horrendous conflict. The role of the critical audience may be more pronounced in contemporary times which will be good for the world.
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