Rhetorical Theory
Notes from Keith & Lundberg
What is rhetoric?
• Variety of meanings
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Persuasive language (any discourse: need not be speech)
Books that study such language
A style of speaking
Overly pretentious language ("mere rhetoric")
Any form of communication
• Also we know a "rhetorical question" as one that needs no
answer
For us, it's mainly the first definition. Rhetoric is study of how, when
and why a discourse is persuasive, causes people to act.
[For some to persuade = get you to do something
Convince = get you to believe or think something]
History
• Plato thought rhetoric was dangerous
• Aristotle thought rhetoric was any technique of speech
• It has logic, can be studied
• Logic and persuasion go hand-in-hand
• Types of speech (rhetoric) depend on the goals
• Aristotle's 3 types:
• forensic., e.g. at a trial (examines the past)
• epideictic, e.g. a eulogy (examines the present, how we should
feel)
• deliberative, e.g. in the senate (examines the future)
Some applications today
• Identity and power: certain discourses of identity (ways of
representing yourself) can be persuasive, while others can be
discriminatory
• Visual and material symbols: discourse can also be visual,
symbolic and therefore symbols can have persuasive power Q:
What are some key persuasive, rhetorical symbols?
• Persuasive (rhetorical) speech is key to how using
communication can shape democracy
The Audience (chapter 2)
• Key move in rhetoric versus just transmitting information is to
examine the audience (or the public). Who is in it? What
situation do they find themselves in? How does timing affect
the effectiveness of a message?
• Said another way, a speaker needs to
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Say the right thing
To the right people
In the right situation
At the right time
With the right ethical conditions
• Communication theory models the basic process thus:
Communication model
Message
Sender
Receiver
Feedback
Channel or Medium
• Computers can communicate—send a signal to a receiver, and
there can be feedback, but rhetoric requires understanding of
the audience and how it is persuaded. That takes (rhetorical)
skill.
• Aristotle recognized that audiences are not "helpless dupes"
and there is no universal formula for persuasion
• [20-th century studies e.g. by Adorno of propaganda failed to
find a 'magic bullet" or hypodermic needle"; Q: What probably
inspired these studies?]
Audiences are made, not found
• This is a key stance for rhetoricians. Obviously an audience
brings characteristics to the discourse situation, but speaker
can compose or evoke certain feelings and reactions
• Part of that comes from the speaker's image or persona;
rhetoric calls it the speaker's ethos (more to come); think of it
like their reputation, which might include that they seem to be
ethical and trustworthy
• The other part comes from how the speaker addresses the
audience; how does she ask the audience to see themselves
[e.g. as parents vs. taxpayers at a PTA meeting]
Publics
• As rhetorical situations or forms of address get more public
(mediated) speakers need to know if there are certain
commonalities among that public audience—usually there
are; that might be a national identity, a fan group for music or
movies
1. There is a public sphere [Jurgen Habermas] where ideas are
exchanged and debated; this can include media
2. Rhetoric can have indirect effects because discourse in the
public sphere, if framed publically (not: "I hate the king
because of his eyes"), includes possible effects on others
3. It can be hard to know which messages address us—are
they meant to be public or private?
How, why, when, for whom is a text/discourse persuasive?
Need to adapt to audiences
• Audiences change
• Audiences are different to begin with
• Some are fragmented, some less so
• Therefore, you need to adapt your premises, reasons,
examples and speech, including word choices, to each
audience.
• Audiences vary by
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Situation and motives, expectations, needs
Context and setting
Demographics
Ideology/psychographics
Genre or type of speech/discourse
A balancing act
• Creating effective rhetorical discourse is a tension between
finding common elements and appealing to all as one, versus
acknowledging audience segments and finding arguments that
suit each group
• [Q: What are the pros and cons of each approach? ]
• This also applies to appropriate tone, delivery, choice of
words, structure of language (linguistic choices); For example
how can gendered pronouns cause negative reactions because
of what an audience infers? [Q What are those? How do Keith
& Lundberg deal with this issue?]
Ethical choices in language use
• Don't deceive. That can be either lying by commission (you
know it's a lie); lying by omission (you leave out some part,
e.g. saying 100,000 jobs were created to persuade people that
job market is improving [Q: What's left out here?]; lying by BS
[the book spells this out] (you don't know if it's true or not but
you say it anyway)
• Don't leave out possible contrary evidence; arguments must
be two-sided
• Be fair and truthful—you owe it to any audience
• You are accountable for your speech act/discourse and the
audience it creates; means (e.g. manipulating an audience)
don't justify ends to a true rhetorician
Chapter 3 Rhetorical situations
• The rhetorical situation is a result of
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The context
The time
The audience
The circumstances
• For Aristotle that led to the three types we saw earlier based
on their purpose:
• Forensic (examine the past); epideictic (in the present);
deliberative (in the future)
• For Cicero that was whether the speech was intended to
inform, persuade or entertain [also media theory; as well as
surveillance of your environment]
• [Effects also can be classified as cognitive, affective or
behavioral]
• Bitzer combined both: look at the circumstances (Aristotle)
and the intent (Cicero)
• Look specifically at what led to the speech/discourse
(exigence); also what is the culture of the audience
• McGee added focus on the intended result or change. So in
sum, look at
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Who is speaking
Who is listening
What is being said
What the speaker is trying to get done, where and when
Why
• Therefore look at what was before and after the discourse
Sum (?)
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Who is "speaking"
What is being said
Who the audience is
What the context is
Why the discourse is occurring
What goals and interests does the speaker have?
What goals and interest does the audience have?