Download Win Their Trust - Seminar on Modern Debate

Win Their Trust
Quintilian’s Useful Doubt
Using selflessness for personal gain
Win their trust…
“To be not as eloquent would be more eloquent.”
-Christopher Martin Wieland
Aristotle’s third ethos asset is disinterested goodwill.
This is a combination of selflessness and likability.
This speaker “feels your pain” and is free of special interest.
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Consider this debate moment with Bill Clinton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta_SFvgbrlY
Great Moments from US Presidential Debates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y8SZDH3B_4
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Today, many people use the words “disinterested” and “uninterested”
interchangeably.
What is the difference?
Why is it important for ethos for a speaker to appear to be beholden to
no special interests?
Can you think of examples?
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**Important Term**
Libertas originally meant both freedom and frankness. Free people—
those who weren’t beholden to a source of income—could speak freely
because they were ‘disinterested’.
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Advice from Cicero…
“Seem to deal reluctantly with something you are really eager to
prove.”
(Act as if you felt compelled to reach your conclusion, despite your own
desires. Make it sound as if you reached your conclusion after
confronting overwhelming evidence.)
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The author envisions a scenario between a son and his father; the son
wants to borrow his father’s car to take his girlfriend on a date.
How did the young man ‘frame’ his argument to communicate
disinterest and switch the focus of the debate from himself?
How did the author suggest handling the “death penalty” issue?
Do you think it is effective? Why or why not?
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Tip…
Act as if the choice hurts you personally.
The attitude of self-sacrifice helps build ethos.
Remember the example of the child who hates to eat brussels sprouts…
“I hate them too…but, I learned to bear it!”
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Jimmy Carter, “Malaise Speech”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IlRVy7oZ58
Consider these other examples…
Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, Marie Antoinette, Hamlet
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“Marie Antoinette didn’t actually say, “Let them eat cake”; her enemies
planted the quote. But her lousy ‘ethos’ made it believable. An
argument rests on what the audience believes, not on what is true.”
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Cicero said that you want your audience to be…
-attentive
-trusting
-willing to be persuaded
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Your audience will be interested when they find you worthy of their
attention.
Therefore, model ‘virtue’, ‘practical wisdom’ and ‘good will’.
Remember…it is important that your audience thinks you have these
attributes. They must be made aware of them; for, if you have them but
they are unknown…your ethos is poor!
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“Make it seem as if you have no tricks”
“A speaker might choose to feign helplessness by pretending to be
uncertain how to begin or proceed with his speech. This makes him
appear, not so much as a skilled master of rhetoric, but as an honest
man.”
The Romans called this **dubitatio** (do not look tricky; seem to be in
doubt about what to say)
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Watch these videos…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ne13Zft9Q
<It’s a Wonderful Life>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6UbYHCkoZs
<Mr. Smith Goes to Washington>
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Tip—
If you are nervous before giving a speech…don’t try to calm your
nerves. Use the butterflies in your stomach to your advantage. Start
from uncertainty then gradually build force. It will seem that you are
gaining confidence from the contents of your speech!
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Modern persuasion research confirms Quintilian’s theory—
-a knowledgeable audience tends to sympathize with a clumsy speaker
and even mentally argue his case for him.
George W. Bush and his “Bushisms”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV4lJr6AhJA
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“Modern persuasion research confirms Quintilian’s dubious theory: a
knowledgeable audience tends to sympathize with a clumsy speaker
and even mentally argue his case for him. Dubitatio also lowers
expectations and causes opponents to ‘misunderestimate’ you, as Bush
puts it. Lincoln’s country-bumpkin image disguised a brilliant political
analyst who could speak lucidly about the issues. His ‘ethos’ made the
audience trust his sincerity while doubting his intellect—until he
showed them his intellect.”
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Useful Tip—
“Speaker often think that they have to grab their audience’s attention
right off the bat. Not necessarily; most people start with an attention
span of at least 5 minutes.”
“In fact, a slow beginning can work better than an opening joke.”
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This technique can be used in one-on-one encounters to great effect.
For example—
Avoid direct eye contact until you are about to make your main point.
Then stare intently into that person’s eyes.
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“For your own ethos to be credible, it is essential that your audience
not notice your rhetoric’s inner workings.”
“This does not simply mean ‘being yourself’. In fact, it may mean the
exact opposite.”
Remember—your ethos must be performed for the sake of your
audience!
Video
Discuss this scene from Julius Caesar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bi1PvXCbr8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHGs4535W_o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFJ2vfS4hYk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=126jonMQGjo