The Rhetorical Act: Thinking, Speaking and Writing Critically - Research Paper Example

 The Art of Rhetoric has been in practice since the time of Plato and Aristotle. According to Aristotle, rhetoric is defined as the ability to be able to make use of the available sources of persuasion that are available in order to win a case. Aristotle viewed rhetoric as an absolute art, and his work On Rhetoric explores the subject with great detail. He regarded rhetoric as an art that was not confined by a set of rules, limitations and methods for making arguments about issues that were confusing and vague (Oakley, 2009). Rhetoric is theoretical in nature, yet it forms the basis of the productive skill of speech making (Oakley, 2009). This follows that rhetoric can be applied and made use of in different fields of life. The definition of rhetoric, as proposed by Aristotle, encompasses not only theoretical knowledge, but also takes into account the practical and productive aspects of knowledge (Oakley, 2009). The meaning of rhetoric has been taken to be the “art of expressive speech” for a very long time (Campbell & Huxman, 2008). Therefore, rhetoric can be an instrumental tool for people who engage in delivery of speeches and require effective speechmaking skills in their daily conduct. Speechmaking is an important tool in the kit of managers of an organization. Every day, managers have to engage in activities that require them to communicate with their employees. This may include designating tasks to employees and briefing them about their jobs, motivating employees to work harder, appreciating the accomplishments of the associates and subordinates as well as the organization as a whole, giving constructive criticism to the employees regarding their jobs and communicating with the stakeholders of the organization such as the public. It is essential for managers to learn the art of speechmaking so that they can communicate effectively. The job of a manager is such that he or she has to use persuasion often in communication. Persuasion can prove to be a very beneficial tool for the success of the individual manager, and hence the organization. Persuading a hardworking and resourceful employee to stay in the organization if he or she is planning to join any other company can retain the labor skills of the employee in the organization. Using persuasive speech in press releases to convince the public that the organization is actively engaged in environmental protection and sustainable development can go a long way in promoting the reputation of the organization. Moreover appealing to the audience’s mood and ethics can be done through the effective use of rhetoric (Hauser, 2007). Therefore one can conclude that rhetoric can prove to be an indispensable tactic for managers. According to Aristotle, there are three main ways through which one can influence the level of persuasive speech. These methods are grouped into ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos refers to the personal nature and disposition of the orator. Pathos entails the emotions of the orator and logos encompass the nature of the message delivered and the degree of logic and rationality embedded in the message (Eadie, 2009). If the manager wants to convey source-centered meaning to his or her subordinates, the subordinates must firstly be able to trust the managers and to believe that the information that they give can be relied upon; this constitutes the ethos of the communication process. For the managers to effectively communication information, they must be apt enough to use verbal and non-verbal means of communication to induce and enhance the emotional reactions of the audience, i.e. the subordinates. There are a number of stylistic devices that can be used by the managers to influence the emotional responses of the subordinates. Moreover, in order to bring about optimum results of the persuasion strategy employed, the managers should structure the content of the information delivered in such a way that not only is it logical and reasoned, but is easy to comprehend (Eadie, 2009). The rhetorical approach to communication is more manager-directed and encompasses greater emphasis on the one-way delivery of speech (Eadie, 2009). Voice is the most important component of speech, and every other aspect of speech is additional. Voice is a boon given by nature, and to some people, nature has granted it with greater perfection. However, this does not mean that people who are not bestowed with refined persuasive skills cannot inculcate rhetoric in their daily conduct (Anon, 2008). Even people with natural talent for persuasion require training so that they do not offend the audience. Cultivating effective speechmaking requires that the certain features of the voice are met. These features include an elevated pitch as well as “distinct articulation, correct pronunciation, judicious pausing, varied modulation and appropriate intonation” (Anon, 2008). The association between persuasion and rhetoric is very important because a number of ethical issues are dependent on it. When managers are delivering speech to the employees and to the stakeholders of the business, they have to ensure that they do not infringe upon the notion of free will. Infringement of free will encompasses negative suggestions of exploitation, duress, brainwashing and misinformation (L'Etang & Pieczka, 2006). It is important for managers to consider the impact of using rhetoric excessively, since it may project the negative messages to the audience. The annals of history are rife with examples where organizations have gone wrong, resulting in failure rather than public service (Fritz, 1998). Persuasion skills can be developed by applying the ethos, pathos and logos model of rhetoric proposed by Aristotle. For a manager to effectively communicate information, he or she needs to appear credible. There are three main criteria that need to be met for the manager to establish credibility. These criteria are competence of the manager, good intention and empathy. Ethos is a phenomenon that manifests itself during action. Action includes the voice of the manager, the gesture and facial expressions as well as his proxemics, body language and the movement (European Rhetoric, 2010). These characteristics can further be classified into the eloquence of the body and the eloquence of the speech being delivered. In the analysis of the ethos of rhetoric, there is no general good or bad about the nature of the speaker being portrayed; rather the ethos of the individual is contingent on the effect that it has on the audience and therefore is judged on the basis of being functional or dysfunctional (European Rhetoric, 2010). The manager can leave a likeable impression on the range of audience that he or she has to communicate with by working on the ethos. When communicating with the public and stakeholders, the usage of good vocabulary and wearing good clothes can help to create a good impression. The popularity and the social ranking of the manager can also contribute to the development of effective ethos. The speaker can make use of his or her ethos to create persuasion in the content being delivered depending on the audience being addressed (European Rhetoric, 2010). The manager can thus talk about social hierarchies when conversing with stakeholders of the organization, whereas they can discuss preferences and distastes when communicating with employees (European Rhetoric, 2010). Dialogue delivery can be made more impressive by the use of alliterations, parallel structures and archaic words, depending on the audience being addressed. No matter what the content of the message to be delivered is, pathos can be made use of by the manager to influence the emotional response of the audience. According to Awonbioghon (2010), there is always emotional information present in the message that can be employed to the effect. The message should be presented in such a way that a lot of passion is stirred up in the audience. Managers can make use of rhetorical tools to enhance upon the emotional content of the message delivered. Carl W. Buechner highlights the importance of appealing to the emotions of the audience in his quote, “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel” (Awonbioghon, 2010). The power and the impact that emotions and feelings have in the interpretation of the message cannot be overstated; this is because there are greater chances for the people to give positive reactions to the message if they feel good about it. In Ong’s article, The Writer's Audience Is Always a Fiction, he writes of how the audience can be made to respond in a particular way (The Bedford Bibliography, 2010). According to Aristotle, the orator is aware of the type of emotions that he or she can elicit in the audience, and how and in which situations can they be brought out. Aristotle talked about how emotions can be used to affect the judgment of the people. The emotions that the manager can elicit through his speech include anger, pity and fear. There are diverse arrays of possibilities that can be used to elicit the emotions of the audience. However managers should have some information about the type of audience that he or she is encountering. Traditional topics of rhetoric such as the faith and belief may not have the desired impact on very liberal audiences (European Rhetoric, 2010). There are also certain topics that can be conveyed through pathos that can make the audience less critical. One such strategy is the use of storytelling; telling stories make the audience react differently than how they would have reacted to a speech given in a the style of a lecture (European Rhetoric, 2010). Logos encompasses appealing to the logic of the recipient. This requires that the managers give an argument that is considered as sound, coherent and just by the audience. The logos of the speech delivered include not only the content of the message but also the arguments presented. Aristotle observes that persuasion is directly influenced by the speech itself when the manager has to establish a truth or an apparent truth through an argument appropriate for the case under discussion (European Rhetoric, 2010). In order to strengthen the argument presented, there are two types of proof that can be used by managers. These include natural and artificial proofs. Natural proofs cover information that has been presented in the form of data like documents etc. On the other hand, artificial proofs are implied in conversation and are not tangible (European Rhetoric, 2010). The manager cannot argue facts and so the best way of ensuring the audience that the message being delivered is credible is to give evidence for them (Toxboe, 2010). The world today necessitates that leaders possess strong communication skills (Barrett, 2006). As discussed above, rhetoric is an effective tool for polishing the communication skills of the managers. However the question arises that what are the managers' views of their own roles as rhetoricians. In a study conducted by Nilsson (2010), the subjective experiences of people in the top management were researched and their readiness to incorporate rhetoric in their speech. It was found out that managers are reluctant to accept themselves as rhetoricians. The managers were of the point of view that a rhetorician is someone who is simply expressing excessive enthusiasm and waves his hands a lot when speaking. The findings of the study indicated the presence of an attitude amongst the managers of not giving importance to the management of strategic change (Nilsson, 2010). Mortensen (2004) adheres that in order to be a successful manager, managers should spend time perfecting their persuasion skills. There is great emphasis now being placed on the development of effective communication skills, and therefore managers should endeavor to overcome their unwillingness towards rhetoric and to inculcate it into their speeches in order to enhance upon their “manage meaning” profitably (Nilsson, 2010). Reference List Anon. (2008). Sacred Rhetoric: Or, the Art of Rhetoric as Applied to the Preaching of the Word of God. READ BOOKS. Awonbioghon, T. (2010). Towards a Great Speech - Demystifying Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Towards-a-Great-Speech---Demystifying-Ethos,-Pathos-and-Logos&id=4798094 Barrett, D. J. (2006). Strong communication skills a must for today’s leaders. Handbook of Business Strategy, (7)1, 385-390. Campbell, K. K., & Huxman, S. S. (2008). The Rhetorical Act: Thinking, Speaking and Writing Critically (4th ed.). Cengage Learning. Eadie, W. F. (2009). 21st Century Communication: A Reference Handbook, Volume 1. SAGE. European Rhetoric (2010). Modes of Persuasion. Retrieved from http://www.european-rhetoric.com/rhetoric-101/modes-persuasion-aristotle/ Fritz, R. (1998). The Art of the State - Culture, Rhetoric, and Public Management. Clarendon Press. Hauser, G. A. (2007). Philosophy and rhetoric in dialogue: redrawing their intellectual landscape. Penn State Press. L'Etang, J., & Pieczka, M. (2006). Public relations: critical debates and contemporary practice. Routledge. Mortensen, K. W. (2004). Maximum influence: the 12 universal laws of power persuasion. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Nilsson, T. (2010). The reluctant rhetorician: senior managers as rhetoricians in a strategic change context. Journal of Organizational Change Management, (23)2, 137-144. Oakley, T. (2009). From attention to meaning: explorations in semiotics, linguistics, and rhetoric. Peter Lang. The Bedford Bibliography (2010). Audience. Retrieved from http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/bb/comp6.html#312 Toxboe, A. (2010). Designing for logos, pathos, and ethos. Retrieved from http://ui-patterns.com/blog/Designing-for-logos-pathos-and-ethos Read More