What is Rhetoric?
I enjoyed how in this piece the author seems to start out defending rhetoric, setting it apart from what some may describe as ‘unethical’ or a ‘political spin’. Rhetoric is not synonymous with propaganda. While one can say propaganda is a form of rhetoric, not all rhetoric is manipulative, but rather persuasive. This rather straight forward piece introduces us to a few parts of good rhetoric in the form of a triangle diagram. Ethos, Pathos, Logos sticks out to me as the golden trinity. Your credibility, your emotional impact, your style and visual appeal dominate your rhetoric. Many other ideals stem from each of these three, such as the assumption that you and your audience have the same ideals, appealing to your audiences values, and appealing to their intelligence.