What the bleep is rhetoric?

When I took Rhetoric English a couple years ago, I never really learned the actual meaning of rhetoric. Today my portfolio class had a speaker who opened my eyes to the meaning and importance of rhetoric and how it affects our professional and daily lives.

Rhetoric is not just effective communication, but the art of persuasion. We use this art in our daily lives, both in the professional and non-professional world. You can't just say, "I'm awesome" and expect everyone to just assume that you are in fact awesome. You have to effectively persuade whoever you are trying to convince that you are awesome. Dan Williams of Telcote Films adds, "if you verbalize you are awesome without qualifying it, people around you will sense it is a joke and laugh."

How can you effectively persuade someone without imposing on them? The art behind this persuasion technique is found in ethos, logos, and pathos.

Ethos is the most important one here, because this is where your character shines through. Are you trustworthy? Credible? Knowledgeable? How you present yourself, and your professional work, gives people insight into your character. What makes you so awesome? What do you have to represent this awesomeness?

This ties into logos- "the appeal to reason or logic". The message you are trying to convey must be clear, concise, and consistent. No one will be able to understand the message you are trying to convey if it is unclear and inconsistent. I know I certainly would not think someone was awesome if their stories were inconsistent; this provides no credibility. (It also makes you look like you're full of yourself and don't really know what you're talking about).

So if you're message is clear, concise, and consistent who are you trying to persuade? "Pathos is the appeal to the sympathies, values, beliefs, and emotions of the audience." Let's say you're a photographer or videographer (like us) and a client approaches you and says, "Hey, I'm looking for an awesome videographer/photographer to capture my wedding on the beach." Why on earth would you show them a demo reel of the football games or car races you filmed last summer?! Yeah, they're great shots, but this client is looking for something sentimental, romantic, and beautiful. Show them a demo reel of some beautifully lit scenes or similar events. Messages cater to clients; but what if you just want to tell the world, "I'm awesome"? This is where all the previous traits merge together to form what you choose to put in your message. Put character and originality into your creative message and the awesomeness will speak for itself.