Hello and back to my blog. We just finished another project which was heavily focused on the most important part of literature. Following the driving question, “How might we use our voice to effect change?” We sought out to find ways to persuade others through text. Understanding how people connect to text is the most important aspect to persuasion as you can cater your writing to your target audience, so this is where we started.

 

My goal for this project was to convince my friend to take a different side in a large debate in mountain biking (clip-less Vs flat pedal). He recently started riding on flat pedals claiming they were better so I wanted to figure out why. The easiest way to understand my audience in a debate like this is to directly ask them. 

Interview questions:

Why did you start mountain biking?

I started mountain biking cause my dad started when we moved here

How important is mountain biking for you? And how has it impacted your life? (Mindset, Personality, and Lifestyle)

Mountain biking has definitely impacted my life and lifestyle due to the amount of time I spend doing it. My personality is probably not impacted by biking though

Why did you chose to ride flat pedals?

I chose to ride flat pedals again because I believe it suits my riding style better and helps me ride with more confidence than with the clips

What were your first impressions after the initial switch? 

My first impressions after switching to flat pedals is that I have to think about if my feet are on the pedals a lot. With flats you lose the ability to pull up with your feet so you have to re learn the technique of doing it without relying on the cleats to keep your feet in. Riding steep trails felt a lot better for me due to having the freedom to put my foot down whenever without having to unclip

Has your impression changed since?

Since switching and being on flats for a few months I am almost as comfortable on them as the clips. I do not feel a need to switch back because I have gotten very used to them.

Who would you recommend ride flats?

I would recommend flat pedals for people who do not race competitively and are not worried about the efficiency loss on the climbs. I would also recommend flats to people who ride a lot of jumps and bike park

The interview made me realize that flat pedal riders understand where their choice is a hinderance to their riding in some cases but they feel that they are safer and more enjoyable for most conditions. By writing a pinkbike article arguing why I believe clipless is better, he will feel more inclined to read a short post as its something he already enjoys. 

Now that I understood my audience I could start writing my persuasive text. While I was writing it I knew that there wouldn’t be many facts I could pull into this persuasive text as my argument is mostly preference. I knew I had to use different persuasive techniques, like imagery or allusion. This is where that led me.

Having the freedom to do what I wanted in this project made it much better. With a goal to write a persuasive text, I can’t imaging how much worse it would’ve been to write about something I don’t care about. The topic I chose was an argument I’ve had before which made this project great.