If you're a writer, public speaker, marketeer, salesperson, advertizing or media professional, scientist or engineer (or studying one of these professions) and/or your job involves informing, persuading or motivating people, you may find the following information helpful.
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| Aristotle - http://en.wikipedia.org |
While this discussion of Rhetoric and its underlying ideas (presented in the historical context of the trivium - yawn!) is a bit nerdy, communicators of all stripes may just pick up a pointer or two from the old pros (and I do mean old).
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START HERE:
Rhetoric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric) is the art of
discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.
[1]
Scholars have debated the scope of rhetoric since ancient times. Although some have limited rhetoric to the specific realm of political discourse, many modern scholars liberate it to encompass every aspect of culture. Contemporary studies of rhetoric address a more diverse range of domains than was the case in ancient times. While classical rhetoric trained speakers to be effective persuaders in public forums and institutions such as courtrooms and assemblies, contemporary rhetoric investigates human discourse
writ large. Rhetoricians have studied the discourses of a wide variety of domains, including the natural and social sciences, fine art, religion, journalism, digital media, fiction, history, cartography, and architecture, along with the more traditional domains of politics and the law.
[9] Many contemporary approaches treat rhetoric as human communication that includes purposeful and strategic manipulation of symbols. Public relations, lobbying, law, marketing, professional and technical writing, and advertising are modern professions that employ rhetorical practitioners.
Because the ancient Greeks highly valued public political participation, rhetoric emerged as a crucial tool to influence politics. Consequently, rhetoric remains associated with its political origins. However, even the original instructors of Western speech—the
Sophists—disputed this limited view of rhetoric. According to the Sophists, such as
Gorgias, a successful rhetorician could speak convincingly on any topic, regardless of his experience in that field. This method suggested rhetoric could be a means of communicating any expertise, not just politics. In his
Encomium to Helen, Gorgias even applied rhetoric to fiction by seeking for his own pleasure to prove the blamelessness of the mythical Helen of Troy in starting the Trojan War.
[10]
100. Trivium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivium_%28education%29):
In
medieval universities, the
trivium comprised the three subjects that were taught first: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The word is a Latin term meaning "the three ways" or "the three roads" forming the foundation of a medieval liberal arts education. This study was preparatory for the
quadrivium, which consists of geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Combining the trivium and quadrivium results in the seven liberal arts of classical study. The trivium is implicit in the De nuptiis of
Martianus Capella, although the term was not used until the
Carolingian era when it was coined in imitation of the earlier quadrivium.[1] It was later systematized in part by Petrus Ramus as an essential part of Ramism.
Sister Miriam Joseph described the three parts of the Trivium thus:
Grammar is the art of inventing symbols and combining them to express thought;
logic is the art of thinking; and
rhetoric, the art of communicating thought from one mind to another, the adaptation of language to circumstance.
100.1 Grammar:
Is the mechanics of a language (always Latin, at the time).
100.2 Logic (or
dialectic):
Is the "mechanics" of thought and analysis.
100.3 Rhetoric
Rhetoric (the use of language to instruct and persuade) is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.
[1] As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western tradition.
[2] Its best known definition comes from Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion."
[3] Rhetorics typically provide heuristics for understanding, discovering, and developing arguments for particular situations, such as
Aristotle's three persuasive audience appeals, logos, pathos, and ethos.
The five canons of rhetoric, which trace the traditional tasks in designing a persuasive speech, were first codified in classical Rome, invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Along with grammar and logic (or dialectic – see
Martianus Capella), rhetoric is one of the
three ancient arts of discourse.
110 Aristotle's three persuasive audience appeals or
modes of persuasion: ( Ethos, Pathos, and Logos):
110.1 Ethos (
arguments based on the credibility of the speaker):
Ethos (plural: ethe) is an appeal to the authority or honesty of the presenter. It is how well the presenter convinces the audience that he or she is qualified to present (speak) on the particular subject. It can be done in many ways:
- By being a notable figure in the field in question, such as a college professor or an executive of a company whose business is that of the subject.
- By having a vested interest in a matter, such as the person being related to the subject in question.
- By using impressive logos that shows to the audience that the speaker is knowledgeable on the topic.
- By appealing to a person's ethics or character.
110.2 Pathos (
arguments based on appeal to the audience’s emotions):
Pathos (plural: patha or pathea) is an appeal to the audience’s emotions. It can be in the form of metaphor, simile, a passionate delivery, or even a simple claim that a matter is unjust. Pathos can be particularly powerful if used well, but most speeches do not solely rely on pathos. Pathos is most effective when the author or speaker demonstrates agreement with an underlying value of the reader or listener.
In addition, the speaker may use pathos to appeal to fear, in order to sway the audience. Pathos may also include appeals to audience imagination and hopes; done when the speaker paints a scenario of positive future results of following the course of action proposed.
110.3 Logos (
arguments based on reason and logic):
Logos (plural: logoi) is logical appeal or the simulation of it, and the term logic is derived from it. It is normally used to describe facts and figures that support the speaker's topic. Arguments based on reason (logical arguments) have some advantages, namely that data are (ostensibly) difficult to manipulate, so it is harder to argue against such an argument; and such arguments make the speaker look prepared and knowledgeable to the audience, enhancing ethos. However, the data can be confusing and thus confuse the audience. Logos can also be misleading or inaccurate, however meaningful it may seem to the subject at hand. In some cases, inaccurate, falsified, or miscontextualized data can even be used to enact a pathos effect. Such as is the case with casualty numbers, which while not necessarily falsified, may include minor casualties (injuries) that are equated with deaths in the mind of an audience and therefore can evoke the same effect as a death toll.
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| Re-posted from: http://sachighmedia.com |
Note from Jerry Scott: Under the banner of inaccurate, falsified, or miscontextualized, is the
specious argument: the seemingly well-reasoned, but fallacious argument. Examples of cleverly specious arguments can be found anywhere, but are extremely common in advertizing and in political dialog. In the case of politics, they are particularly pernicious because they undermine the ability of the average voter to make informed decisions on important policy issues.
120. The five canons of rhetoric: (invention {Inventio}, arrangement {Disposito}, style {Elocutio}, memory {Memoria}, and delivery {Pronuntiatio})
120.1 Invention (Inventio) is the division of rhetoric that investigates the possible means by which proofs can be discovered; supplies speaker and writers with sets of instructions that help them to find and compose arguments that are appropriate for a given rhetorical situation.
For personal and lyric essays, narratives, and descriptive writing, invention techniques help writers draw from their memory and observation for the kinds of details that will add depth to their essays.
[1]
120.2 Arrangement or Organization (Disposito) concern the crafting and delivery of speeches and writing. The first part of any rhetorical exercise was to discover the proper arguments to use, which was done under the formalized methods of inventio. The next problem facing the orator or writer was to select various arguments and organize them into an effective discourse.
120.3 Style (Elocutio) refers to the mastery of stylistic elements in Western classical rhetoric. The ancient authors agreed that the four ingredients necessary in order to achieve good style included correctness, clearness, appropriateness, and ornament. Sometimes translated as “purity”, correctness meant that
rhetors should use words that were current and should adhere to the grammatical rules of whatever language they wrote. Correctness rules are standards of grammar and usage drawn from traditional grammar. In regard to clarity, most ancient teachers felt that clarity meant that rhetors should use words in their ordinary or everyday senses. The object of clarity was to allow meaning to “shine through”, like light through a window.
Appropriateness probably derives from the Greek rhetorical notion to prepon, meaning to say or do whatever is fitting in a given situation. Ancient teachers taught that close attention to kairos will help to determine the appropriate style.
The last and most important attribute of style is ornament, which is defined as extraordinary or unusual use of language.
Ornamentation was divided into three broad categories: figures of speech, figures of thought, and tropes. Figures of speech are any artful patterning or arrangement of language. Figures of thought are artful presentations of ideas, feelings, concepts; figures of thought that depart from the ordinary patterns of argument. Tropes are any artful substitution of one term for another.
120.4 Memory (Memoria) is the discipline of recalling the arguments of a discourse. It generally received less attention from writers than other parts of rhetoric, as there is less to be said about the subject. However, the need to memorize speeches did influence the structure of discourse to some extent. For example, as part of dispositio (arrangement), some attention was paid to creating structures (such as the divisio, an outline of the major arguments of a discourse) that would also aid memory. Some writers also discussed the use of various
mnemonic devices to assist speakers.
But rhetoricians also viewed memoria as requiring more than just rote memorization. Rather, the orator also had to have at his command a wide body of knowledge to permit improvisation, to respond to questions, and to refute opposing arguments. Where today's speech-making tends to be a staged, one-way affair, in former times, much oration occurred as part of debates, dialogues, and other settings, in which orators had to react to others. Moreover, rhetoricians also recognized that the credibility of a speaker depended not just on the strength of his prepared arguments, but on the audience's perceptions of the speaker. In Greece, Rome, and the Renaissance, a speaker's familiarity of many areas of learning was seen as a virtue.
120.5 Delivery (Pronuntiatio) is the discipline of delivering speeches. As with memoria, the canon that dealt with the memorization of speeches, pronuntiatio was not extensively written about in Classical texts on rhetoric. Its importance declined even more, once the written word became the focus of rhetoric, although after the eighteenth century it again saw more interest in the works of men such as
Gilbert Austin. In public speaking today, it may be somewhat over-emphasized, but that is probably more because other parts of rhetoric are downplayed.
Rhetoricians laid down guidelines on the use of the voice and gestures (actio) in the delivery of oratory. There were instructions on the proper modulation of the voice (volume and pitch), as well as the phrasing, pace, and emphasis of speech. Also covered were the physical aspects of oration: stance, gestures, posture, and facial expressions. There was also the concept of exercitatio (or practice exercises) that enabled speakers to both memorize their speeches and to practice their delivery.
This excerpt from
Quintilian's Institutio oratoria provides an example of the types of advice provided by rhetoricians:
"The head, being the chief member of the body, has a corresponding importance in delivery, serving not merely to produce graceful effect, but to illustrate our meaning as well. To secure grace it is essential that the head should be carried naturally and erect. For a droop suggests humility, while if it be thrown back it seems to express arrogance, if inclined to one side it gives an impression of languor, while if it is held too stiffly and rigidly it appears to indicate a rude and savage temper." (Institutio oratoria, XI iii 68-69, translated by H. E. Butler, Loeb Classical Library, 1922).
While the content, structure, and style of oration were (and continue to be) the most important elements of oratory, there is no doubt that effective delivery enhances its persuasive power, and that poor delivery detracts greatly from its intended effect.
