Essay Example on Trees Talking: Unravelling the Symbiotic Networks of Nature with Suzanne Simard

Suzanne Simard, a forest ecologist, identifies the complex but symbiotic networks between trees in her TED talk, “How Trees Talk to Each Other.” Having involved herself in more than 30 years of research on forests, she addresses how trees have a social life by how they communicate in short and long distances. Simard is a lecturer at the University of British Columbia and a forest ecologist and biologist whose main area of specialization is the communication made among trees. The topic focused on is one that has had little research done in the past. She addresses both professional ecologists and other people whose primary interests are forests. Simard not only informs the audience but also persuades them on the communication network between trees. She convinces the audience by sharing her research results aiming to make more people understand forest ecology. Simard’s approach is relevant for her audience, and she utilizes ethos, logos, process analysis, cause and effect relationships, arguments and persuasion, speech organization, and a formal tone.

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Simard relies more on ethos and logos in the delivery of her message. She stated that she started doing experiments on forests more than 25 years back. She also notes how she grew exactly 80 replicates of various tree species that could lead her to her discovery. She also notes how some plantations she had made previously were more than 30 years old. Besides, all her data was already verified, offering credibility to her message. The data given to the audience in relation to her work are part of ethos as a rhetorical appeal to the audience. While she does not use pathos, she applies logos in various parts of her speech, especially when she states, “it would take this long for the trees to suck up the CO2 through photosynthesis, turn it into sugars, send it down into their roots” (Simard). The statement is self-explanatory by the audience as it is a common practice for plants.

Among the rhetorical patterns applied by Simard in her speech is process analysis. She identifies the process by which she took to get to her results. For instance, by analyzing the short sequences of DNA of every tree, she came up with a map with networks and links among trees. She also narrates her personal story that influenced her interest in forestry. She gives an account of the footsteps by her grandfather, which she followed until she was fascinated by tree roots. Simard also uses the cause and effect relationship when she identifies how fir sends carbon to birch and vice versa. She also uses arguments and persuasion, as evidenced by her multiple uses of the phrase, “you see” (Simard). By using the rhetorical patterns in her speech, she ensures that her speech is not only well arranged but also that the audience is engaged throughout the talk.

Simard’s speech is coherently organized into various sections, including the introduction, discussion, and conclusion. Her two opening sentences set the scene for the audience as their minds are diverted into a forest. In her next sentences, she states facts to divert the thinking of her audience. In the discussion part of her speech, she discusses her background, where she mentions her grandfather as the main motivation to her research. She also outlines the experiment she made for another greater part of the speech. She also breaks parts by phrases such as “What was I thinking? I’ll come back to that” and “So let’s come back to the initial point” (Simard). Her speech is also evidently split when she states what she is about to talk at that moment. For instance, at one point, the audience is diverted into science. In her conclusion, she restates her initial thesis that forests are not a collection of trees but complex systems in communication.

Simard maintains a professional mode of communication while talking to her audience. She first appreciates that the audience could think of forests as a collection of trees before offering her credible sentiments in the following discussion. She also introduces some apostrophe when she says, “Oh! and I forgot some stuff, important stuff” (Simard). She also repeats various words to make her message clear to the audience. For instance, in important stuff, she emphasizes important before giving a list of the items used in her experiment. She also maintains a positive tone in her speech as she offers an enthusiastic, respectful, objective, and critical language. She also proves to be knowledgeable, informative, and reflective while making her statements. She focuses on her past as she leads her audience towards her discovery.

Conclusion

Simard explicitly evaluates her articles on the communication among trees by incorporating utilizes ethos, logos, process analysis, cause and effect relationship, arguments and persuasion, speech organization, and a formal tone in her speech. The greatest part of her speech is made up of her history and how she used experiments to come up with her discovery. The information delivered was relevant to the audience, as the response was positive and understandable. Besides, she sets the mood just at the beginning and still appreciates the knowledge of her audience before giving her discovery.

References

Simard, S. (2016, June). How trees talk to each other. TED: Ideas worth spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other?language=en#t-75454