Communication is a big part of our daily lives.

From the moment a child starts talking to

their last breath communication plays a key role in their lives. Just as the world changes, so
does communication. The use of different rhetorical devices allows individuals to express
themselves exactly how they want to. Ethos, pathos, and logos are the main rhetorical devices
used to express oneself. Ethos stands for the credibility and authority behind the message,
pathos is a form of argument based on emotions, and logos uses facts to relay the message as
desired. Different and new ways of communicating are readily being created and they sneak
into the lives of everyone. Social media is probably the best example of this. At this point in time
the majority of people have some sort of social media account. Even those who swore to never
be a part of that world are eventually consumed by the hype. Communication plays a big role in
everyones lives and it correlates perfectly with the communities everyone is part of.
Communities of many sorts exist. A community is any group of people who share the same
interest or goals that get together to form a group. From an early age were taking part in
different communities, some may be for educational purposes and some can be for educational
purposes. The main way people find communities to join is through their school. Each school
offers a variety of different programs and clubs for people to join. There are sport teams, drama
clubs, technology clubs, or faith affiliated clubs. For example, the Peer Ministry program at
Archbishop McCarthy High School is a special program dedicated to planning and carrying out
religious retreats and activities for other students. The Peer Ministry community is also in charge
of planning prayer services and activities for the whole student body. Every aspect of the Peer
Ministry program relies on communication. Wether it is communicating with each other to plan
the retreats, communicating with the main office to schedule prayer services, or communicating
with the student body to alert them of upcoming retreats or activities that have been planned.
There are different genres of communication. These genres could either be meant to inform,
persuade, humor the audience, or simply to express ones own idea.
Now-a-days technology plays a big part in everyones life. Keeping that in mind, the
members of the Peer Min program utilize different online tools to communicate with whoever
they need to communicate with, that audience can either be teacher or student. One genre of
online communication that the program uses is social media, for example. The program made a
Twitter page which keeps its followers updated on upcoming events. Through Twitter the
program is also able to keep the students updated on upcoming due dates for any necessary
paperwork needed to participate in the retreats. Pictures and videos from the retreat can also be
found on the Twitter page, allowing retreaters to revisit their time in the retreat. The use of
another social media, Facebook, has also recently became popular again. Facebook allows you
to create events and invite other people who can then RSVP, making it easy to coordinate and
plan events. This saves the group of students that are in charge of planning events from the
program to have to generate lists by hand. Different digital programs, other than social medias,
are also used. Through the grading program the school uses, Canvas, each club, including Peer
Ministry, can keep their members updated by posting announcements directly to the program.
These announcements can be seen by the entire student body and the staff as well. The use of
emails is also a common way of communicating. Email makes it easy to communicate with
many people at a time.
Apart from digital announcements, Peer Ministry also uses different means to reach their
audience. The use of flyers and posters are common. A physical paper with announcements
and future dates for events is also a valid and simple way to get a message accross. Posters
are also a popular medium to relay information. Announcements over the PA system also play a
big role in the delivery method of these messages.
The point of communicating with the students is mostly to inform. Students need to be
aware of dates for retreats and prayer services, they also need to be conscious of deadlines

and new opportunities to get involved. Although most of the time the program needs to
communicate with the students is because they need to inform them, there are other instances
where the purpose is different. The members of Peer Min conduct persuasive talks encouraging
students to take part in the retreats that we offer. It is important to persuade them because
these retreats are potentially life changing experiences and could help them with any difficulty
present in their life. Word of mouth also plays a big role in persuading underclassmen to take
part in the retreats.
Before the retreats, the use of logos is used to provide students and staff with factual
information regarding the retreats or the prayer services. These methods are usually very
successful, and can be seen by the sheer amount of applications the program receives. During
the retreat the use of genres is also present. These retreats revolve around the use of
communication in order to be successful. Those in charge of the retreat, the students who put in
all the effort to plan it and spread the word about it, are also in charge of giving talks in the
retreat. During these talks, pathos is the main rhetorical device used. These talks are meant to
be emotional. They are meant to elicit a response from the audience, which are the retreaters in
this case. These talks are usually about a moment in the speakers life where they were down
and needed assistance. Talks are meant to help students to relate to others problems allowing
them to find comfort in knowing theyre not alone. It gives them an opportunity to talk to
someone who may currently be, or has in the past, been through a similar situation in which that
retreater currently finds themselves in. The medium of these talks would be face-to-face, which
makes the use of pathos much more effective. If a person is trying to deliver an emotional
message, or tell an emotional story, the most effective means of doing so is face-to-face. By
delivering their message face-to-face the audience is exposed to the raw emotion which the
speaker puts forth. These raw emotions can usually drive the audience, and even the speaker
themselves, to tears, which only helps to make the talk more successful in helping retreaters
lower their guard and express their feelings.
Unspoken communication also exists and can sometimes be just as, or even more,
effective than spoken words. An example of unspoken communication in an every day situation
could be the longing and loving look a groom gives his soon to be wife as she approaches the
altar. That look from the groom tells the bride that she will be cherished and loved forever.
Another example is the look a mother gives her newborn when the nurses place the baby in
their arms. The look and touch of the mother guarantees the child that they will be loved and
cared for eternally. An example of unspoken communication inside the Peer Min community
takes part during the retreats. The last day of the retreat an activity is done in which both the
retreaters and the leaders participate. The activity is called Pay it Forward. It is basically a way
for all the people that participated in the retreat to express their gratitude to whoever it may be
that helped them. During the activity the retreaters all sit in a giant circle with blindfolds on. A
reader in the middle reads different lines out loud which then allows the activity to move forward.
For example, the reader might say place your hand on whoever has inspired you. Retreaters
then make their way around the circle placing their hands on whoever they believe inspired
them. This form of unspoken communication is extremely effective in getting a point accross. It
goes to show that without a single word an idea can easily be expressed. Many times has this
activity driven people to tears. Sometimes there are no words to describe what a person is
feeling at any moment. That is why a glance or a touch can be so powerful. So much emotion
can come from it, it can be a powerful connection between two individuals.
Communication has many dimentions. It can be physical, or virtual. It can also be
spoken or unspoken. Whatever the mode of communicating is, it is successful in delivering the
message it is meant to deliver. Communication allows members of different communities to
unite and also allows members within a specific community to unify. Thanks to The Bedford

Book of Genres students are able to understand the depth of communication, because there is
more than what meets the eye.