The Art of Persuasion: An Introduction to Rhetoric

1. The Art of Persuasion: An Introduction to Rhetoric Mrs. Pelletier

2. Rhetoric • verbal and non-verbal messages • more or less intentionally influence social attitudes, values, beliefs, and actions

3. Rhetoric continued • Before Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC), a Greek philosopher, rhetoric was viewed only descriptive language that made words sound pretty, but was not important. • Aristotle changed this view. He was the first to define rhetoric as “the art of persuasion.” • Today, there are many focuses in the study of rhetoric, but the most important is the study of how to effectively communicate with one another.

4. What kind of messages do we send out and receive? VERBAL • Newspaper/magazine • Television • Billboards • Advertisements • Stories • Text messages • E-mail / internet • Etc. NON-VERBAL • Gestures • Facial expressions • Images/pictures • Sign language • Etc.

5. 3 Ways to Appeal to an Audience • Aristotle reviewed many great speeches of his time and discovered that the speakers appeal to the audience in 3 ways: • EMOTION • LOGIC • SPEAKER’S CHARACTER/ETHICS • Aristotle thought that the use of logic or reason was most important, but recognized that human beings needed emotion to be persuaded.

6. Aristotle’s 3 concepts of rhetoric 1) Ethos (credibility) - persuading by using the good/ethical character of the speaker *character - who the person is and anything that makes him/her look good in front of others (a degree, many years of experience, good morals, etc.) *Ex.: A Coke commercial that emphasizes how long the company has been around.

7. 3 concepts continued 2) Pathos (emotion) - persuading by appealing to the audience’s emotions *Ex.: A Hallmark commercial that shows a mother crying out of happiness over a Hallmark Mother’s Day card.

8. 3 concepts continued 3) Logos (logic) - persuading by the use of logic or reasoning (evidence such as facts and statistics) *Ex.: A Crest toothpaste commercial that states, “4 out of 5 dentists recommend Crest.”

9. rhetoric Speaker audience message CONTEXT