Persuasion
use of rhetoric and argument to support your ideas or opinion
Amplification
an essential rhetorical tactic that turns up the volume as you speak
Cliche
commonly used phrase
Argumentum a fortiori
argument from strength"; if something works the hard way, it most likely works the easy way
Logic
Emotion trumps _____
Chiasmus
crisscross figure; mirror image of clauses
Chanticleer Fallacy
because B followed A, A caused B
Eristic
debating that seeks to win points
Concession
concede to your opponent's point in order to win what you want
Rhetorical Question
a persuasive trick consisting of a question that does not need an answer to get its point across
Rhetorical jujitsu
the act of arguing effectively by employing the strong persuasive techniques in the book
Prolepsis
anticipatory concession, agreeing in advance to what the other person is likely to say
Humblebrag
bragging in a self-deprecating way
1. Stimulate your audience's emotions
2. Change its opinion
3. Get it to act
3 goals to persuade people
3 core issues
1. Blame (Past) - the whodunit
2. Values (Present) - what is morally right or wrong
3. Choice (Future) - to do or to not
Forensic rhetoric
argument that determines guilt or innocence; focuses on the past
Demonstrative rhetoric (epideictic)
persuasion that deals with values that bring a group together; focuses on matters in the present and values
Deliberative rhetoric
deals with argument about choices; concerned with the future tense; depends on the circumstances
Control the issue & control the clock
Control the issue: keep argument on choices that solve a problem
Control the clock: keep argument in the right tense
Aristotle's 3 most powerful tools of persuasion
1. Logos (argument by logic) - appeals to the brain of the audience; most powerful logos tool = concession
2. Pathos (argument by emotion - appeals to the heart of the audience
3. Ethos (argument by character) - most important appeal of all; takes into account the persuader's personality, reputation, and ability to look trustworthy; appeals to the gut
Decorum
Ethos is an important part; refers to meeting the audience's expectation of appearance and behavior
Perfect audience
receptive, attentive, and well disposed toward you
Perfect ethos
Virtue (Cause) - audience believes you share their values
Practical Wisdom (Craft) - appear to know the right thing to do on every occasion
Disinterest (Caring) - means lack of bias; you seem impartial, caring only about audience's interests rather than your own
Bragging
use it only if your audience appreciates it
Character references
get others to do the bragging for you
Changing your position
supports what the audience is for; found out new info
Eddie Haskell ploy
made an inevitable decision against you; looks like a willing sacrifice on your part
Practical wisdom (Phronesis)
Craft; audience must share you ideas or beliefs on a subject as well as believe that you are capable of making the correct decision in that moment
Ways to get an audience to trust your decision
1. Show off your experience - talk about you experience and why you would be knowledgeable about the topic
2. Bend the rules - if the rules don't apply, don't follow them
3. Seem to take the middle course - often times it can help your arugment if you make your opponent seem extreme
Disinterested goodwill
presenting an argument in a way that shows you have no personal interest at stakes
Libertas
considered people free to make choices for a greater good, not themselves
The reluctant conclusion
act as though you felt compelled to reach your conclusion
Personal sacrifice
act as though the choice you advocate hurts you personally
Dubitatio
pretending to be uncertain so that you are presented as an honest person rather than a master of rhetoric
Tools of pathos
- Belief
- Storytelling: when you want to change someone's mood, - tell a story
- Volume control: do not visibly exaggerate your emotions, let your audience do that for you
- Simple speech
- Anger: person who desires something is especially susceptible to anger; gets the fastest action
- Patriotism: looks to the future
- Emulation: provide only the kind of role model our audience already admires
- Emotion: should sneak up on people
- Desire/lust
Passive voice
pretending that things happened on their own; works to calm emotions because it disembodies the speaker and moves the actors
Comfort or cognitive ease
when your audience's brain is on autopilot; it's more susceptible to persuasion
Humor
works to stop anger when using right kind
Urbane humor: depends on an educated audience; relies on word play
Facetious humor & banter: supposed to make you laugh; banter is a form of attack & defense consisting of clever insults & snappy comebacks
The advantageous
convince the audience that the choice you offer is the most advantageous to them
Babbling
an arguer's tendency to repeat himself over & over
The commonplace
starting from the audience's position rather than your own
The rejection
when someone rejects your argument, he or she usually does it with a commonplace
Definition
a rhetorical method for getting a favorite grip on an argument
Stance
statue theory"; originally designed as a defense mechanism in an argument, but has now evolved into an offensive technique
Techniques for labeling
term changing
redefinition
definition jujitsu: accept your opponent's term and its connotation, then defend it as a positive in you argument
definition judo: using contrasting terms that make your opponent look bad
Framing techniques
Find the persuadable audience's commonplaces
Define the issue in the broadest context
Then deal with the specific topic at hand, using the future tense
Logos
allows you to skip facts & focus on rational strategy
Dialectic
art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions
If-then thinking
start with something true, follow it with another truth, and you reach a conclusion that also must be true
Rhetorical deduction
starts with a premise - a fact or commonplace - and applies it to a specific case to reach a specific conclusion
Paradigm
a rule that you apply to the choice you want your audience to make
3 kinds of examples to use in inductive logic
facts, comparisons, and stories
4 questions to find a hidden fallacy
Does the proof hold?
Am I given the right # of choices?
Does the proof lead to the conclusion?
Who cares?
Bad proof
example persuader uses to prove the argument is false, unbelievable, irrelevant, or wrongly interpreted
Wrong number of choices
offering minimal # of choices when more are available; merging 2 or 3 issues into 1
Disconnect between proof and conclusion
result in tautology, the red herring, or the wrong ending
Ambiguity
an unclear phrase is used in the argument, and does not support the conclusion
Natural fallacy
when proof leads directly to the conclusion
Reductio ad absurdum
reducing the argument to absurdity
Purpose of argument
be persuasive not "correct
Fallacy of power
because the guy in charge wants it, it must be good
______ argue the ____________
never, inarguable
7 rhetorical out-of-bounds
1. Switching tenses away from the future
2. Inflexible insistence on the rules - using the voice of God, sticking to your guns, refusing to hear the other side
3. Humiliation - an argument that sets out only to debase someone, not to make a choice
4. Innuendo
5.Threats
6.Nasty language or signs
7. Utter stupidity
Basic ethos principles
disinterest, virtue, and practical wisdom
Disinterest disconnect
apparent willingness to sacrifice your own interests for the greater good
Dodged question
ask who benefits from the choice; if you don't get a straight answer, don't trust that person's disinterest
Extremist detector
extremist will often describe a moderate choice
Phronesis
practical wisdom
L'esprit del'escalier
means inspiration that comes after 1 leaves another's apartment; thinking of a clever retort after the fact
Schemes
figures of thought
Tropes
swap 1 image or concept for another
Hypophora
self-answering question
Twisting cliches
1. Add surprise ending
2. Take it literally
No-yes sentence
repeats the opponent's word with "no" after it, followed by a new and improved word
Dialysis
weigh 2 arguments side by side; offers a distinct choice
Verbing
a figure of speech to make up new words; neologizer
Parelcon
subspecies of verbing; a word that gets stripped of its meaning and used as a filler
Enargeia
the sense that you're right here, right now
Kairos
rhetorical timing; an ability to seize the persuasive moment
Paraprosdokian
surprise ending
Sight is mostly _____ and ______
pathos, ethos
Sound is the most _________ sense
logical
______, _______, and ______ are almost purely emotional (pathos)
smell, taste, touch
Factors in choosing a medium
timing, kind of appeal, and the sorts of gestures
Invention
dig up material (logos), figure out what your goal is, then find out what the real issue is
Style of a talk
1. Proper diction - words that suit the occasion
2. Clearness - need to be obvious
3. Vividness - speaker's ability to create rhetorical reality
4. Decorum - the art of fitting in
5. Ornament - rhythm of your voice and the cleverness of your words
Memory
what works to get the audience to remember
Delivery of a talk
1. Voice
2. Gestures
3. Eyes
4. Expression (actio) - Roman word for delivery
Cicero's outline (arrangement of a talk)
1. Introduction - establish character
2. Narration - tell a story
3. Division - represent both sides
4. Proof - back up the point
5. Refutation - out and out attack
6. Conclusion - summary and call to action