The graphic novel on rhetoric makes a good point that I feel is not one naturally thought by many types typically drawn to STEM fields. That is, that the story surrounding a project is why it happens in the first place. Many people who are into the sciences and technology can forget all off what it means that they are working, in the end, to change peoples’ lives. The prospect of changing peoples’ lives is exciting. Being so excited can be distracting. One can forget that the story of this possibly different life keeps the project moving forward. It keeps people inspired to work through the many failures inevitable in STEM projects.

This means that one relies on the story and so it must be attractive to the potential beneficiaries of the project and the people who will complete it. This is why rhetoric is such a critical part of technology.  Rhetoric is the part that makes the rest of the world care. Many research projects are, in the end, a failure, but ‘the show must go on’. The next project must be inspired…and eventually funded. This inspiration is found in the rhetoric surrounding an idea. Not every person necessary for the completion of a project will always understand the potential benefits upon being presented with the idea. They must hear the rhetoric. They must feel that being involved in the project has value to them, their life, their goals, etc.

The skills needed to create effective rhetoric can be very outside of the box for people who have invested most of their education and time into learning STEM skills and attaining the associated accreditations to be respected (degrees and licenses for example) in their field. They most likely will not have spent much time on writing skills in most STEM educational programs. The unfortunate fact of the matter, however, is that any project without good rhetoric to support it will never happen.