Rhetoric is defined as the “art of discovering all means of persuasion”. In essence, it is an attempt to persuade an audience to change this viewpoint towards a certain idea or concept. To accomplish this, a speaker can utilize logos or order and logic, ethos or ingrained beliefs, and pathos or emotions. Logos uses concrete facts and logic to persuade an audience of an idea. Ethos examines the guiding principles and beliefs of a nation and utilizes that that sentiment to convince an audience. Pathos utilizes emotion to convince an audience, often through passion, hooks, or storytelling. John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961 is a celebrated example of rhetoric that combines all three strategies. To fully understand ethos, JFK took office at the height of the Cold War. The ethos of the nation was that of fear and anxiety as many people were unsure of the future of the United States. In his address, JFK utilized those emotions and presented America as a force to be reckoned with while also projecting a future of peace. JFK’s speech was incredibly passionate as he juxtaposes the relationship between duty and power. Lastly, he uses logic throughout the speech to let his constituents know where the United States stands internationally and domestically. To further understand each of these elements, I recommend you watch the speech below.

JFK speech

Rhetoric- Adolf Hitler

When I think of the art of rhetoric I think of the speeches made by Adolf Hitler who used the manipulation of words to evoke such strong emotion in a nation that they were moved to take immoral actions that left the world speechless and horrified. Had Hitler not been so talented in his delivery, the people of Germany probably would not have supported such an inhumane cause. However, Adolf Hitler spent hours preparing his speeches and studying how to best affect his people for his cause. Unfortunately, there was no one as talented as him in this regard to counteract his effect. Hitler was the type of speaker that Aristotle would disapprove of, because he believed that “truth has a moral superiority that makes it more acceptable than falsehood.” Aristotle would have agreed that the reason Hitler was so successful, other than his own personal rhetorical talents, was due to the lack of someone to deliver the truth with rhetorical eloquence. He believed that “opponents of the truth may fool a dull audience unless an ethical speaker uses all possible means of persuasion to counter the error.”

The video link below analyzes Hitler’s approach and effect on his people as a result of his intentional wording and delivery.

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Aristotle viewed Rhetoric as the “available means of persuasion” (p.290). In other words, it “is the art of discovering ways to make truth seem more probable to an audience that isn’t completely convinced” (p.290). Unlike Dialectic, Rhetoric involves one person addressing many. Within this function, there are The Five Canons of Rhetoric, which are defined as “the principle divisions of the art of persuasion established by ancient rhetoricians” (p.294). These five standards incorporating invention, arrangement, style, delivery and memory measure the quality of a speaker. This reminded me of the extraordinary speech delivered by Steve Jobs to the Stanford University graduates of 2005. Within his commencement speech, he displayed all five of the cannons of rhetoric through various methods. Invention refers to the construction of an argument. Jobs’ speech was a commencement speech, so his goal was to leave the graduates with words of wisdom from his life experiences that they could take with them on their next journeys of life. He displayed invention by doing just that- he constructed the speech by drawing on “both specialized knowledge about the subject and general lines of reasoning” through personal anecdotes (p.295). He also displayed successful arrangement, or ordering of the material, of his speech by sharing three personal stories of his past that all led into one another, with the final story concluding his main argument of maintaining youth and education throughout life. The next cannon Jobs displayed was style, which is also known as the selection of language, particularly the use of metaphors. Jobs presented his main argument with the metaphor “Stay hungry, stay foolish”, shaping the style of his speech. Jobs also delivered his speech with the technique of speaking naturally throughout his speech, further persuading the graduates of his message. By sharing personal life stories, Jobs stayed interested and genuine throughout his speech, which kept the audience’s attention. This leads to the last cannon, memory, in which Jobs naturally drew “upon a collection of ideas and phrases stored in the mind” to share with the audience of graduates (p. 296). Jobs’ ability to effectively display all five cannons of rhetoric in his commencement speech proved that his speech was of a high standard in the art of persuasion, demonstrating his impressive skills of rhetoric.

Steve Jobs\’ Stanford Commencement Address

Rhetoric as Aristotle saw it, was the discovery in each case of “the available able means of persuasion. Rhetoric comes through persuasion in writing or speech and the use of language. In the movie “Wolf of Wallstreet” Leanardo Di caprio plays the leader of a stock broker firm and uses rhetoric to have his workers work that much harder. He makes them believe, weather it is true or not, that they can become anything if they set thier mind to it. He uses himself as an example and how he came from nothing. To relate even further he pulls individuals as examples from his own stock brokering firm and use their success and incentive to believe.

The best example for symbolic convergence that I can think of is when my friends and I are reunited after a long time. It starts off normal, but after a few minutes everyone is dramatizing their statements, which immediately opens the conversation and facilitates a very comfortable environment. We say everything that is on our minds and laugh hysterically. We usually even get offended a few times, because everyone is saying everything that comes to mind. Having this kind of conversation certainly brings us closer together and allows us to identify with one another as we each over express the emotions of each event we describe. This dramatization makes it even easier for someone else to also chime in or simply makes it more enjoyable to hear, which also helps the others relate and engage. The result of this dramatic conversation is a fantasy chain, which causes each member to be more engaged and to contribute to the conversation with increasingly dramatic versions of what has happened outside of the group.

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When I read the example in the book about the Island experiment done by a college professor, I immediately thought of the decision making skills, or lack thereof in Lord of the Flies among the boys who are stranded on the island and forced to make decisions based on their survival. In this novel, the boys use the conch, a shell, to represent who has the authority. Basically, whoever is in possession of the conch is the only one who has the authority to speak. This ends up being a power struggle, and normally the boys with the most power have the conch, which doesn’t allow for active participation or even for everyone’s participation. It is usually a conversation between a couple people, instead of the entire group. Once these boys realize their power over the others, they begin to make decisions solely based on their needs and not on the group’s needs. They do not consider how to fix these decisions in a way that will fix the group dynamics, nor do they consider the negative effects that their decisions will have on the boys who do not have power. Naturally, this is a cry destructive process that ends very badly.

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In A First Look at Communication Theory, the idea of Rhetoric is defined as “the art of discovering all available means of persuasion…a message by logical, ethical, and emotional proofs.” In other words, to enact one’s goals through the unification of others, one must present a symbol to an audience that appeals to their faculties for reason, their moral compasses, and their inherent emotions to evoke the maximum response. The theory dates back as far as the ancient Greek Philosophers Aristotle and Plato, who believed that “Truth is inherently more acceptable than falsehood” but that “unscrupulous persuaders may fool an audience unless an ethical speaker uses all possible means of persuasion to counter the error.” This explanation helps demonstrate the ability for a powerful orator that employs rhetoric to win over a crowd and shape their ambitions, whether for positive goals, such as with Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, or for negative goals, such as with Adolf Hitler’s “Reichstag” speeches. In one of my favorite movies “The Mighty Ducks,” Coach Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) presents Rhetoric as an effective means of communication. When his team faces a particularly physical rival, they attempt to continue playing an honorable style of game, but they begin to be tempted into retaliating rather than trying to even the score. In between periods, the team is pumped about some retribution via big hits and cheap shots, but Coach Bombay reminds The Ducks “We’re not goons, we’re not bullies, and no matter what people say or do, we have to be ourselves.” He appeals to their logical side saying “Are you happy? Well they are too, because they’re still up 3 points and we’re one period closer to defeat.” He appeals to their ethical sides by reminding them of their pride and morals. And lastly, he appeals to their emotional connection as a team, having everyone say their name and their hometown, showing them that even though they are from all over the country, they have one thing in common: Ducks fly together! Ducks fly together!

The Mighty Ducks

Rhetoric is defined as “discovering all possible means of persuasion” (290). Persuasive techniques include artistic proofs; artistic proofs include logical (logos), ethical (ethos) and emotional (pathos) appeals. Logos, ethos, and pathos are used in communication in order to persuade. Logos is derived from the argument of a message or speech, ethos is derived from the character of the presenter, and pathos is derived from the emotion that is evoked from the audience. The 2012 Stamp Out Hunger Public Service Announcement shows logos, ethos, and pathos. In this short PSA, the logical proof is that many people are suffering from hunger and communities need to help the hungry. The ethical proof is the credibility of the speaker. In this PSA, Nick Cannon explains the situation of those in need because he is a credible source; both children and adults are able to recognize him and therefore, may listen to his message more carefully. However, Aristotle believed that a person is judged based on what he or she says in the speech, and not based on reputation. Through his speech, Nick Cannon demonstrates goodwill and virtuous character by encouraging people to help those in need. Finally, emotional appeals are heavily used in this PSA. In my opinion, pathos has an incredible influence in the way that a message is received; a person’s emotions are very powerful and can influence their decisions. In this PSA, the video is in black and white, plays emotional music in the background, and includes people who are in need. These emotional proofs create common goals, show injustice, and demonstrate the need for moral virtue. For example, one man explains that he has the decision to eat or pay for his medication. These aspects of the video induce emotion in the viewer and therefore, increase the likelihood that they will help the hungry. This PSA, featuring Nick Cannon, uses logos, ethos, and pathos in order to persuade the audience

2012 Stamp Out Hunger

Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making describes how a group of people can effectively make a decision. Using the four requisite functions, a group can find a positive outcome. The functions are to analyze the problem, goal setting, identification of alternatives, and evaluation of positive and negative consequences. Many group discussions disrupt the progress towards these goals but healthy communication can lead people to find a rational inquiry. An example of this concept in practice is Bluto’s speech in the popular cult-classic film Animal House. When faced with a difficult decision, this group was able to rationally decide to take collective action. They were able to fulfill all the four functions while facing certain setbacks by certain members of the group.

Bluto\’s Speech in Animal House…Classic

When talking about the symbolic convergence theory Bormann refers to dramatizing messages which is defined as “imaginative language by a group member describing past, future, or outside events; creative interpretations of there-and-then.” When a group is using dramatization enthusiastic dialogue can be used causing a “symbolic explosion in the form of a chain reaction.” Thinking of dramatization and fantasy I automatically thought of when I went home for the first time after my freshmen fall and reunited with all of my high school friends. At first the conversation was a little tense because we had not all been together in almost five months. However, as soon as one of the six girls began to talk about their first semester at college the conversation became extremely animated causing an immediate chain reaction among the crowd. Everyone was sharing their stories from their different colleges. Someone would start a story about a party, boy or school problem and another girl would interrupt with a similar story. Bormann talks about how fantasy chains have a mind of their own and this explain seemed to prove his point very well. Our conversation went on for hours and the entire time dramatization was going on.