Poor Poor Dumb Mouths, and Bid Them Speak for Me: Theorizing the Use of Personas in Practice

Publication Date

4-3-2018

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Although personas are commonly used to represent users in design, their rhetorical function has been little explored. In this article, the authors theorize personas’ rhetorical function as ventriloquization, where one person speaks with the voice of another. In ventriloquizing users through personas, practitioners speak for users, while scripting personas to speak for their creators: each magnifies the others’ voice. Personas represent a strategic rhetorical gambit for gaining legitimacy within organizations and technological decision-making processes.

Publication Title

Technical Communication Quarterly

Volume

27

Issue

2

First Page

161

Last Page

174

DOI

10.1080/10572252.2017.1386005

Publisher Policy

pre print, post print (with 18 month embargo)

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