June 12, 2018 - Gini Beqiri Persuasive speaking is needed in a wide range of situations; from arguing with a colleague, to haggling down a price, to performing a speech. Rhetoric is the key to developing this skill. In this article, we discuss how to use rhetoric for effective public speaking. Show
What is rhetoric?Rhetoric is the study and art of writing and speaking persuasively. Its aim is to inform, educate, persuade or motivate specific audiences in specific situations. It originates from the time of the ancient Greeks.
Rhetoric is not just a tool used only in speeches, you use it in everyday life when, for example, you only disclose certain parts of your weekend to certain people. Treatise of rhetoricAristotle stated that there are three types of persuasive speech:
Rhetorical situationsTo use rhetoric you must first:
When you analyse the rhetorical situation think about the following: The rhetor (yourself) - the person speaking to the audience. Your personal characteristics and beliefs will influence what you decide to say, such as:
The audience - the people you are trying to persuade. Usually the same factors that affect the rhetor affect the audience. Think about what they already know. What questions or reservations might they have? What expectations do they have? Where should you conform to and stray from these expectations? The setting - the situation which causes the need for your speech, for example, current events, location, time period, political situation etc. Where is the speech happening and when? How do these this impact you? For example, speeches may need to differ between countries. The topic - needs to be relevant to the rhetorical situation you are in. How does your topic limit what you can do for the audience? Depending on your audience, what should you include or exclude? The purpose - why are you saying this? Is it to:
Five canons and three appealsThe five canons of rhetoricThe Five Canons of Rhetoric are tools for creating persuasive speeches:
The three appealsAccording to Aristotle, rhetoric rests on the three appeals: ethos, logos and pathos. They are modes of persuasion used to convince an audience.
Professional Development CoursesFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Explore Courses Ethos - the ethical appealEthos consists of convincing your audience that you have good character and you are credible therefore your words can be trusted. Ethos must be established from the start of your talk or the audience will not accept what you say. In fact, ethos is often established before your presentation, for example, you may be the CEO of the company you're presenting to so you're already perceived as a specialist. Characteristics of ethosThere are four main characteristics of ethos:
Improve ethos
Pathos - the emotional appealPathos is to persuade by appealing to the audience's emotions. Pathos is more likely to increase the chances of your audience:
Improving pathos
Logos - logical appealLogos is to appeal to logic by relying on the audience's intelligence and offering evidence in support of your argument. Logos also develops ethos because the information makes you look knowledgeable. Logos is important because logical arguments are not easily dismissed. Improving logosBe comprehensive: Make sure your points and arguments can be understood
Be logical: Ensure that your arguments make sense and that your claims and evidence are not implausible. Have a plan for dealing with opposing viewpoints that your listeners may already believe.
Be specific: Base your claims on facts and examples as your arguments will be accepted quicker than something nonspecific and non-concrete. The more easily the evidence is accepted, the more easily the conclusions will be accepted.
There is uncertainty over which pillar is the most important - Aristotle thought that logos was vital but when used by itself it lacks impact. So ensure that you treat all three pillars with equal importance to succeed in persuading your audience. Rhetorical modesRhetorical modes are patterns of organisation used to produce a specific effect in the audience. They assist in increasing the speaker's ethos, pathos and logos. Narration
Description
Argumentation/Persuasion
Exposition
Illustration/Example
Definition
Process analysis
Division
Classification
Professional Development CoursesFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Explore Courses Cause and effect
Comparison and contrast
Rhetorical devices and tools, with examplesRhetorical devices can be useful for assisting with the above modes of persuasion: Adynaton - a type of hyperbole (exaggeration) in which the exaggeration is taken to such extreme lengths to suggest impossibility.
Alliteration - the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of several words that are close in proximity to each other.
Allusion - a reference to an event, literary work, person etc usually within popular culture.
Anaphora - repeating a word or phrase in successive phrases.
Antanagoge - when a negative point is followed by a positive one to reduce the impact.
Antimetabole - a phrase or sentence is repeated in reverse order.
Antiphrasis - a phrase or word that is opposite to its literal meaning to create an ironic or comic effect.
Antithesis - two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence for contrast.
Appositive - places a noun or phrase next to another noun for descriptive purposes.
Epanalepsis - repeating the initial part of a sentence at the end of the same sentence.
Epithet - using an adjective or phrase to emphasises a person's characteristics. Often, this adjective or phrase becomes linked to the person and can be used with their name or instead of their name.
Epizeuxis - repeats one word in immediate succession for emphasis.
Hyperbole - an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally.
Metanoia - correcting a statement you just made deliberately to strengthen or soften it.
Metaphor - a comparison made by stating one thing is the other.
Metonymy - where something is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it.
Onomatopoeia - words that are similar to the sound they describe.
Oxymoron - a combination of contradictory words.
Parallelism - uses components in a sentence that are similar grammatically or in their construction, sound or meaning. It makes sentences flow better by adding rhythm.
Personification - The attribution of human characteristics to something non-human.
Simile - compares one thing to another to make a description more vivid, usually uses "as" or "like".
Understatement - deliberately making a situation sound less important or serious than it is. You can use it for humour, to be polite or to remain modest over something.
Criticisms of rhetoricSome people believe that rhetoric is a type of lying or false behaviour and manipulation. However, even when you're criticising rhetoric, you are engaging in an act of rhetoric because you are trying to get others to agree with you. Rhetoric works well in many situations, such as, in business presentations, lectures etc. So rhetoric is a good tool but, like with other tools, it's up to you how to use it effectively. What is the purpose of an introduction to a persuasive speech?State the Purpose of Your Speech
An introduction is important because it forces the speaker to be mindfully aware of explaining the topic of the speech to the audience.
Which of the following best defines immediate purpose?Which of the following best defines immediate purpose? long-range goal. If you are attempting to persuade your audience to make a big change, when is it best to reveal the purpose of your speech?
What is the purpose of an introduction to a persuasive speech quizlet?The introduction captures the audience's attention. It also provides information about the speaker and the purpose of the speech.
What are the three purposes of a speech of introduction?The introduction gives the audience a reason to listen to the remainder of the speech. A good introduction needs to get the audience's attention, state the topic, make the topic relatable, establish credibility, and preview the main points.
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