Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Tricks of Persuasion

Chapter six of Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students centered on ethical proofs and there usefulness to rhetors. Reading through the chapter I found it interesting that way verb tense, word size, grammar and punctuation could be used to help a rhetor prove their point in an argument.
 In the book verb tense was the most notably useful form of persuasion in regards to ethical proofs. The different types of verb tense discussed in the book were past, present and active. I found it interesting but couldn’t help but agree that present tense verb tense makes the listener feel more involved, or intimate, while past verb tense distances the listener from the rhetor and makes them feel more of an observer to the situation.
The effectiveness of word size was also explained in this chapter. Particularly for the American culture the size and amount of syllables in a person speech can either make the person seem more or less intelligent. Generally the more syllables of the word the more educated the person seems. I found this interesting, because I myself will use larger words when I want to appear smarter, whether in a conversation or an essay.
The third persuasion technique that was explained was grammar. The technique of grammar was broken into three types of persons: first, second and third. First and second person grammar was explained to usually be used in speeches or conversations of small groups where the conversations are more intimate. While third person grammar is used when the rhetor wants to establish authority, which then puts a distance between the rhetor and his or her audience.
The final ethical influence technique I found interesting was the use of punctuation. A more subtle technique that is limited to writing, but none the less useful. Examples such as dashes, parentheses, exclamation points, quotations, and underlining/bolding/capitalization were given. Dashes can mean breathlessness or hurry; while parentheses can be used to decrease distance. Exclamation points can be used to show strong emotion and quotations can be used for emphasis. Underlining/bolding/capitalization in writing can be used by a rhetor to show importance on a specific sentence, point or word.
All of these techniques of persuasion are used daily whether people realize it or not. After reading this chapter I only came to this realization. It personally now makes me more aware of how I speak and write, especially when I am trying to prove a point.

1 comment:

  1. I think it's funny about word size, because it's a true stereotype that I see all the time. If somebody has an extensive vocabulary, it makes them seem smarter or more resourceful. However, I feel like that's not always the case. Some people use big words in a good sense, but others try too hard and it comes off as tacky and weak. I'm a big fan of George Orwell, and he always talked about simplicity. He said that using big words is pointless if there are more simple words to define it. I agree, the point of communicating isn't to show off your vocabulary skills it's to convey a message. So cut the fat, get to the chase! Then again using words like pulchritudinous and uncouth is always good for a laugh, and it does make your essay scores better!

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