The Arts of Speaking and Rhetoric

 The Arts of Speaking and Rhetoric

All his oratorical efforts were made for practical effect. He never

spoke merely to be heard.

—ABRAHAM LINCOLN, in his eulogy on Henry Clay

 

Throughout history, the height of human effectiveness has been the ability to persuade others. As such, the aim or goal of public speaking is to cause an action to take place that would not have taken place in the absence of the words of the speaker.

For example, when Demosthenes spoke, people said, ‘‘What a fine speaker he is.’’ But when Alcibiades spoke, they said, ‘‘Let us march!’’

Your job as a speaker is to motivate and impel your listeners to think, feel, and act differently as the result of your words. It is to make them take action of some kind. It is to motivate them to

‘‘march!’’

Fortunately, becoming a master speaker and business communicator is a learnable skill. If you can learn how to drive a car, type on a keyboard, or use a cell phone, you can become an effective speaker and change not only your life, but the lives of your listeners.

The Three Elements of Persuasion

Aristotle was the first major philosopher to recognize the importance of rhetoric as an essential tool of the leader. He broke down the essential elements of persuasion into three parts:

logos(logic), ethos(ethic), and pathos(emotion). Let us take each of them in turn. Logos refers to the logic, the words, and the reasons in your argument. It is important that everything that you say fits together like links in a chain or pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to form a coherent statement or argument. When you think through and plan your talk, you organize your various points in a sequence from the general to the particular, from the start to the conclusion, with each point building on each previous point to form a persuasive argument. 

The second aspect of persuasion is ethos. This refers to your character, ethics, and your believability when you speak. Increasing your credibility with your audience before and during your speech increases the likelihood that listeners will accept your arguments and take action on your recommendations.

The third aspect of persuasion is pathos. This is the emotional content of your argument and is perhaps the most important. It is only when you connect emotionally and move people at a fundamental level that you can motivate them to change their thinking and take a particular action.

All three elements—logos, ethos, and pathos—must be woven together if you want to move people and persuade them to your point of view.

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