Rhetoric: Thank You For Arguing

1. Set Your Personal Goal
   Set your goals for your audience. Ask yourself: Do you want to change their mood, their mind, or their willingness to carry out what you want?

2. Build a Persona

   • Develop an imaginary character that represents your audience. When writing or speaking, talk as if you are addressing that character directly. This helps you tailor your message effectively.

   • When researching an audience, note the key terms and values they emphasize. Create messages that align with those values subtly.

3. Tense and Its Effects Use these to set up titles and themes for your videos

   • Blame (Past): Was the CEO responsible for the company’s bankruptcy?
   • Values (Present): Is it important to be wealthy to live a fulfilling life?
   • Choice (Future): Should we offer free public transportation to reduce traffic?

   Value beats blame, and blame beats choice—until you steer the conversation toward choices that solve a problem to everyone’s advantage. When discussing choices, make sure your argument turns to the future.

Argument Tools: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos To Build Up the Story

Logos: Argument by Logic

• Definition:
  Logos is the logical appeal. If arguments were children, logos would be the brainy one, getting top grades in high school.
• Techniques:
  • Concession: Use your opponent’s argument to your advantage.
  • Examples of Logic:
    • Deduction: Apply a general principle to a particular case.
    • Enthymeme: A “logic sandwich” where you state, “We should choice, because commonplace.”

If-Then Syllogism

Another form of logical reasoning is the if-then syllogism:

If most men aged twenty-five to forty read “lad” magazines, and
If ads in these magazines sell lots of cars,
Then we should advertise the Priapic in lad mags.

That’s formal logic. Start with something true, follow it with another truth, and you reach a conclusion that also must be true.

Ethos: Argument by Character

• Definition:
  Ethos relies on the persuader’s character, reputation, and trustworthiness. A sterling reputation is persuasive.
• Techniques:
  • Show that you share your audience’s values.
  • Use personal anecdotes that highlight your reliability.
  • Remember: “A person’s life persuades better than his word.”

Pathos: Argument by Emotion

• Definition:
  Pathos appeals to emotion. It forms the root of “sympathy.”
• Techniques:

  • Sympathy: Show genuine concern for your audience’s feelings.

  • Storytelling: Use personal or relatable stories to create a virtual experience for your audience.

  • Emotional Volume Control: Underplay or gradually increase your emotional tone to guide the audience’s feelings.

  • Humor: Laughter is a powerful calming device and can enhance your persuasiveness when used properly.
    Some points I saw from Matt Rife:

    • Acts and makes the viewer visualize the moment
      • He will change his voice
      • Mimic another personality
      • Acts deeply, DEEPLY
      • He gives an age, style, and lets you really imagine the person in the story
    • Makes some unexpected twists
    • Adds some adult jokes
    • Fakes stories to make people laugh
    • Over-exaggerates the story
    • Relatable
    • He puts the jokes on himself so people laugh at him

Additional Rhetorical Tactics

• Hypophora:
  Ask a rhetorical question and then answer it immediately (e.g., “Good idea? I believe it was.”). This anticipates and nips audience skepticism in the bud.
• The Reluctant Conclusion:
  Act as though you reached your conclusion only because of overwhelming evidence, even if you were eager to prove your point.
• Dubitatio:
  Appear to be in doubt about what to say. The plain-spoken, seemingly ingenuous speaker is often the most believable.
• Personal Sacrifice:
  Claim that the choice will help your audience more than it will help you, even to the point of suffering from the decision.
• Extreme Choice Framing:
  Propose an extreme option first to make the one you want seem more reasonable.