Download The Art of Rhetoric

The Art of Rhetoric
Regardless of the type of persuasive argument,
the goal is to convince, incite action, or enhance
belief
Advertisers often approach this goal in similar
ways:
1. emotional appeals
2. building credibility and trust
3. using logic and reason
Greek philosopher Aristotle used 3 terms to
describe these rhetorical strategies:
Most advertisements use a combination of at least two of these
techniques to persuade consumers.
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Pathos = feelings
O Pathos refers to when you accept a
claim based on how it makes you feel,
without fully analyzing how valid the
claim is.
O Often Pathos creates an emotional
response such as fear, love,
patriotism, hatred, joy, humor, guilt.
O Most common use of Pathos
involves appeal to the opposite sex.
O Sometimes an advertisement will pull
on the heartstrings.
O Pathos can work in the opposite way
by associating a product with the
prevention of something.
Pathos can play on fear
Pathos can play on worry
Pathos can play on sadness
Pathos can play on artistic sensibility
Pathos can play on nostalgia
Pathos can play on a sense of
adventure
Pathos can play on desires
Ethos = Character
O Ethos refers to the author or
creator’s credibility, believability, or
likability.
O Often Ethos is created by brand
association.
O Expert testimonials also lend
credibility.
O Another type of Ethos commonly
seen in advertising is celebrity
endorsement.
Ethos includes “testimonial”
Ethos includes “testimonial”
Ethos includes “testimonial”
Ethos also appeals to fundamental rights
Ethos also appeals to fundamental rights
Warning: the next image
contains a graphic image
that some viewers may find
disturbing
Logos = Logic
O Logos is any attempt to appeal to the
intellect or logic.
O Logos is straightforward; it tells
you numbers, polls, facts, and
statistics. It tells you exactly what
the product does, how it works,
and what it is used for.
O Logos is often more effective print
than on television.
O Internet sites might be the most
effective at delivering the Logos in
an ad because the consumer can
discover as much about the
product in an ad as he or she
wishes.
Buzz words (“logos” words
that mean nothing, but sound
factual)
O Examples:
O “pure” (pure what? Sounds clean)
O “natural” (cancer is technically natural;
natural doesn’t mean good)
O “freedom,” “tasty”
O -Er words (ex: better, cleaner, longer,
faster)
O Technically not the best, cleanest, longest,
or fastest.
• What exactly is
“sophistication”?
• Making claims for
nature
• A sugar filled drink?
• “nature” makes
people think it is
healthy
• Statistics make it
seem legitimate
• How do you
measure “irritating”?
• Less irritating than
what? Swallowing
glass?
• Good thing it’s
“toasted”!
• “Better” means nothing
• Tastes better than
what?
• Maximum means
nothing but sounds
really cool
Persuasion or Propaganda?
(depends on the logic)
O Bandwagon- Implies that
“everyone” agrees with the writer’s
opinion and warns readers or
listeners not to be left out by
disagreeing or failing to act.
O Repetition- repeating an idea or a
phrase over and over so that it
sticks in the viewer’s head
Persuasion or Propaganda?
(depends on the logic)
O Loaded Words: Use of words that
carry strong emotional
associations (liberty, freedom,
love, power, beauty, etc.)
O Glittering Generalities: A kind of
loaded words, these
overwhelmingly positive
statements praise a product or
person and ignore any evidence to
the contrary.
Persuasion or Propaganda?
(depends on the logic)
O Name-Calling (Ad Hominem):
The writer attacks a person who
holds an opposing view rather than
attacking the view itself.
O Transfer: Good feelings, looks, or
ideas transferred from the ad to
the person for whom the product is
intended.
Persuasion or Propaganda?
O Testimonial- A famous or
important person says that
he/she uses a particular product,
so the viewers and listeners
should, too- regardless of
whether the product is good.
O Scare Tactics-a strategy using
fear to influence the public's
reaction; coercing a favorable
response by preying upon the
audience’s fears.
Persuasion or Propaganda?
O Plain Folks: Trying to show
that a person or product is
good for “ordinary” people,
because a person is “just like
you” and understands you
O Snobbery: Suggesting that
association with a person or
product can make you
special (like testimonial
without the famous face)
Persuasion or Propaganda?
O Appeal to Science:
suggesting that science
supports something,
although the information is
not backed up with facts; or
uses numbers and scientific
jargon to support product.
O Oversimplification: Most
issues worth arguing are
complex, so be wary of
“quick fix” explanations or
solutions.
Persuasion or Propaganda?
O Card-Stacking: Leaves
out information
necessary for the
audience to make an
informed decision;
“stacks the cards” in
favor of one’s viewpoint
by using only arguments
that support a position
or by ignoring or denying
the arguments against it.
Words Persuade
O Denotation- the literal or dictionary meaning
of a word
O Connotation- thoughts, feelings, and mental
pictures that a word brings to mind
O (positive/negative)
O Semantic Slanting- using words with very
positive or negative connotation to describe
something in order to convince an audience.
O Slang- highly informal language that is not
considered standard usage
Logos- Logical/Rational
Appeal
Appeals to the head rather than
the heart. Facts, numbers, and
hard evidence can be very
convincing.
Example: A Snickers
bar has 280 calories
and 30 grams of
sugar. That’s not
very healthy.
Ethos- Ethical Appeal
Making readers trust the writer
and believe that his/her position
is the “right thing to do.”
Examples- References
to family, beliefs,
character, people who
the audience looks up
to; this also includes
proving oneself as a
credible person
Pathos- Emotional
Appeal
Getting people to feel happy, sad,
or angry can help your argument.
Example: Your
donation might just
get this puppy off the
street and into a
good home.
Kairos- Appeal to
Urgency
Try to convince your audience
that this issue is so important
they must act now.
Example: This is a
one-time offer. You
can’t get this price
after today.
Creating Effective Visuals
Persuading people is only one of the
purposes of advertising. Ads also need
to create a powerful impression in a
short period of time, and to inform
people about a topic or issue.
Ads are an effective way to do this as
our brain remembers images better
than it does text.
Creating Effective Visuals
Qualities of effective visuals:
a) Catchy: grabs the audience’s
attention
b) Concise: brief
c) Comprehensive: presents all the key
information
d) Convincing: makes the viewers
believe the information on the visual is
important and believable
Creating Effective Visuals
Qualities
Catchy
Techniques
•
•
•
Concise
∙
Comprehensive ∙
∙
Convincing
bold headings___________________________________________
snappy captions____________________________________________________
_provocative images___________________________________________________
color___________________________________________________
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
point form, not full sentences_____________________________________
_uses images to
communicate____________________________________________
_title and headings______________________________
_short passages__________________________________________________
__uses captions to explain ______________________________________
_provocative images________________________________________________
_powerful phrases__________________________________________________
__supported with facts__________________________________________
__famous people________________________________________
Your Assignment
Find an example from your novel
when a character is clearly using
scare tactics to try to influence
another character or characters.
Copy the example on notebook
paper, then CLEARLY explain why
this is an example of scare tactic.