Rhetoric has gotten such a bad reputation. Its brand image is in the toilet.
Just this morning I told a group of entrepreneurs about this – and shared my mission.
One of my aims in the work I do is to re-brand the term Rhetoric. It’s not what people think.
Rhetoric is beautiful. It’s art. It’s science. It’s your best friend in a presentation you’ve nailed.
Especially given the weekend’s turn of events and the number of days until the presidential election, it’s a good time to talk about Rhetoric.
Not Political Rhetoric, but Rhetoric. The 2 terms are not synonymous.
I have asked thousands and thousands of leaders across numerous industries over the last 9 years to answer this simple question in a survey:
What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word Rhetoric?”
Here are a few of my favorites:
And yet on the face of it, rhetoric is none of these things.
The fact that Joe Biden has stepped down in the presidential race due largely to his shockingly poor performance in a public speaking debate – this points squarely at the power of rhetoric as an art form.
One’s deployment of the tools afforded us by the theory of Aristotelean Rhetoric – it can make or break your credibility, your executive presence. In this case, one’s presidential presence.
It’s the reason we need to learn more about it in its truest definition.
I love the practice of rhetorical criticism – deep analysis of one’s message and its persuasive elements. I love it SO much that I collected 2 degrees in it – an undergraduate and a masters degree from a Research I institution, the University of Georgia. UGA is home to some of the world’s best rhetoricians have been trained – and yes, some of them with a specialty in the sub-specialty of political rhetoric.
In the halls of academia, we learned the following definition of Rhetoric according to the Father of Persuasion himself – Aristotle.
Like me, he was totally obsessed by what people DID to make them persuasive. And at a deep, molecular, strategic level. He said:
Rhetoric is both Art and Science.
It is beautiful to behold.
Rhetoric itself is not inherently bad.
Yes – It can be used for bad, but in and of itself, it is not bad. It is beautiful.
Rhetoric is defined as the use the 3 “modes of persuasion” Aristotle identifies – Ethos, Pathos, and Logos – to create unrest, uproar, and discord.
Rhetoric is used every day to promote the Good, the True, and Beautiful
Day in and day out, it is used for good. YOU use it for good every day, right here at LinkedIn!
You use it for internal stakeholders, pitch presentations, and media interviews to share your company story.
The next time you cry at a beautifully delivered eulogy, that’s rhetoric used for good.
The next time you clap heroically after a powerful commencement address, that’s rhetoric used for good.
The next time you tell a powerful story to move your audience toward an action you hope they take, that’s the power of Aristotlean rhetoric.
I am a rhetorician.
You are a rhetorician.
We are all rhetoricians who deploy Aristotle’s concepts every day.
Rhetoric is beautiful.
It stirs the soul. It inspires. It motivates.
It holds up the good the true and the beautiful for all the world to see.
Let this reflection challenge you to see the other side of the coin that is Rhetoric. As we head into a season of this presidential election, let us find ways to use this ancient tool box for GOOD.
