Palestras motivacionais para o segmento empresarial: um estudo dos aspectos retóricos com destaque à prosódia

Abstract

This dissertation offers an investigation on the argumentation in motivational lectures aimed at the entrepreneurial segment. It is a study that focuses the rhetoric aspects of this genre with emphasis on the prosody. In order to conduct this study, two lectures have been selected: “Como criar uma empresa de alta performance” (LUDWIG, 2007, 60 min.), and “O Poder da SuperAção” (NAVARRO, 2007, 40 min.). The two lectures were given on the same day of a training event aimed at business managers. It seems interesting to promote a study about these lectures and draw the argumentative reach of these texts, once they intend to change their listener’s behavior. As our objective is to contribute to a characterization of an oral genre, we have investigated theme, composition and style, classified the argumentative techniques and their arrangement in the discourse, as well as the prosodic elements that corroborate the argumentation. This analysis prioritizes the rhetoric action. We have also verified how the self-help discourse is present in this genre. In order to develop this research, we have found the theoretical linguistic approach in Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca (2005); Reboul (2004); Bakhtin (2003); Marcuschi (2005, 2006); Cagliari (1992) and Bollela (2006). The data collection and the transcription of the lectures were made with the help of the softwares Praat 4.6.12 and Sound Forge 8.0. We have verified that the discourse of these lectures is made up from two of the classifications on the Theory of Argumentation: the arguments based on the structure of reality and the ones that found the structure of reality. Concerning the prosodic analysis, it has been established that the most relevant elements observed in the corpus were: in Waldez Ludwig’s lecture, the duration and the pitch, which contribute basically to construct the irony; and in Leila Navarro’s lecture, the pause, which contributes to the trigger of humor, and the accent, which attributes grading emphasis to speech. The results of the research can serve to provide knowledge about the production of the genre motivational lecture aimed at the entrepreneurial segment based on its argumentative aspects and also contribute to the self-help discourse in the oral genre. This approach justifies our purpose of understanding why this product is largely consumed by those who search for development aimed at success and help in order to overcome difficulties at the workplace.

Keywords: argumentation; gender; motivational lecture; prosody; rhetoric.