Public Speaking

Lecture 03- Rhetoric in Public Speaking

Prof. Binod Mishra

DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

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“Rhetoric may be defined as
the faculty of observing in
any given case the available
means of persuasion".
Aristotle in Rhetoric
(trans. by W. Rhys Roberts)

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 Aristotelian Modes of Persuasion
❑ Ethos, Pathos and Logos

❖ That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant

striving so that we may fulfill the pledges we have so The essence of sophistry consists in the
often taken and the one we shall take today. The service moral purpose, the deliberate use of
of India means, the service of the millions who suffer. fallacious arguments. In Dialectic, the
dialectician has the power or faculty of
❖ “For the price of a cup of coffee, you can feed a starving making use of them when he pleases; when
child.” he does so deliberately, he is called a
sophist. In Rhetoric, this distinction does not
exist; he who uses sound arguments as well
❖ This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no as he who uses false ones are both known
time for ill will or blaming others. We have to build the as rhetoricians
noble mansion of free India where all her children may
dwell.

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 Historical Background
➢ The eminent Roman orators, Cicero (106-43 BCE) and Quintilian (35-95 CE), added
significantly to the study of rhetoric.

➢ Cicero tried to resolve the perpetual debate regarding content versus delivery in
oration. He argued for a balance between the style and the substance - harmony of
the rhetorical perspective and the oratorial perspective. He propounded the five
canons of Rhetoric for curating a persuasive speech: Invention, Disposition, Style,
Memorization, and Delivery.

➢ Quintilian, another significant rhetorician believed that knowledge could be acquired

through proper education.

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➢ In American Revolution, the rhetorical studies of ancient Greece and Rome
were resurrected as speakers and teachers looked to Cicero and others to
inspire defense of the new republic.

➢ John Quincy Adams of Harvard advocated for the democratic advancement

of the art of rhetoric.

➢ Throughout the 20th century, rhetoric developed as a concentrated field of

study with the establishment of public speaking courses in high schools and
universities. The courses in speaking apply fundamental Greek theories (such
as the modes of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos).

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 Rhetoric: Later Trends
➢ Francis Bacon aimed to bring the power of language under rational control
when he said,“. . . the duty of rhetoric is to apply Reason to Imagination for
the better moving of the will.”

➢ Later trends in literature are:

▪ Epistemological
▪ Belletristic
▪ Elocutionist

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Contd…

➢ The Epistemological Tradition comprised Campbell’s The Philosophy of

Rhetoric (1776) and Richard Whately’s Elements of Rhetoric (1828) where
they brought forth their knowledge of classical rhetoric and
contemporary psychology to create rhetoric based on an understanding
of human nature. They inaugurated audience- centered approaches to
rhetoric and initiated the way for contemporary investigations with
audience analysis.

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➢ The Belles Lettres Movement, marked a departure from the rationalists
and elocutionists, valued aesthetic qualities of writing over informative
value.
➢ The Elocutionary Movement focused primarily on delivery and was
widely publicized as planned gestures, loud and dramatic movements.
These trends faded with time.

❑ In early twentieth century, however, National Communication

Association that was formed in the United States by a small group of
public speaking teachers who wanted to restore the rich qualities and
scope that were once attributed to rhetoric.

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 TYPES OF PERSUASIVE SPEECHES

Judicial Rhetoric ● Establishes facts and judgments about the

past
● Example- detectives at a crime scene

● Makes a proclamation about the present

Demonstrative Rhetoric
situation
● Example- wedding speeches

● Focuses on the future

Deliberative Rhetoric ● Employed by Politicians, Activists

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 Psychology of Persuasion
• A public speaker’s personality is entitled with the goal to persuade and
determine audience’s mood and motivation.
• Kluckhohn and Murray have pointed out four personality determinants
for persuader as follows:
❖ Constitution (outward appearance)
❖ Group membership (adaptability)
❖ Role
❖ Situation

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 Persuasion Filters and Barriers Chart (Ross 1977)
Attention
Constitution

Group membership
Needs
MESSAGE

Motive Appeal RECEPTION

Topic Objections
Role

Situation
Comprehension

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 Theories of Persuasion

❑ Raymond Ross in his text on Speech Communication affirms that

rhetoric is “the method of giving effect to the truth” which can also
“be taught”.
❑ According to classical rhetoric theory, there are five basic tasks in
preparing and sending persuasive messages, which are referred to as
“canons”:
❖ Invention: Content of message and audience’s needs
❖ Arrangement: of the whole speech and crux message
❖ Style: of language with regards to the audience
❖ Memory: of speech content in sequential order
❖ Delivery: of message through voice and body action

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 Theories of Persuasion
Congruity theory of persuasion:
• This theory positions persuasion as a means to seek common agreement
and harmony.
• Given the established differences between individuals, a public speaker
could act as a mediator to bring people together in congruity.

Balance theory:
• As the name suggests, the theory suggests persuasion as a tool to reduce
tension due to imbalance of ideas, motivation and action through speech.
• It is achieved by “modifying either the affective (feelings) or cognitive (belief)
element of an attitude.” (Ross 274)

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 Rhetorical Devices

➢ A rhetorical device is a technique that is used by a speaker or an author for

conveying a particular message to the audience in such a way that it
provokes an emotional response to a particular action.

➢ It is a linguistic tool, whose employment can be used to construct an

argument or make an existing one more compelling.

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 Types of Rhetorical Devices
Alliteration(L) This device is the repetition of sounds of
two or more words placed nearby in any sentence. This is
usually applied to consonants, employed to emphasize and
draw attention. If two witches
were watching
For example, Five miles meandering with a mazy motion. two watches,
(Coleridge). which witch
would watch
And the balls like pulses beat;/For the sky and the sea, and the sea
and the sky/Lay like a load on my weary eye. (Coleridge, Rime of the which watch?
Ancient Mariner)

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 Contd…
Anadiplosis (Gk ‘doubling’) In this rhetorical device, there is a repetition of the
last word in a phrase at the beginning of the next phrase or sentence.
For example, Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering. –Yoda, Star Wars

Labour and care are rewarded with success, success produces confidence, confidence relaxes the
industry, and negligence ruins the reputation. (Dr Johnson’s Rambler no. 21)

Antistrophe-(Gk ‘ counter turning’) While using this device, there is a specific type
of repetition of words at the end of consecutive phrases/clauses/sentences.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo
Emerson

“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live. It is asking others to live as one wishes to live…” ( Wilde)

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Antithesis-(Gk.) There are two
juxtaposed ideas in one sentence which
are opposite and contrasting.
For example, “Ask not what your country can
do for you; ask what you can do for your
country.”

“Crafty men contemn studies; simple men

admire them; and wise men use them.”
(Bacon)

Also, this term is closely associated with

thesis and synthesis.
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Anaphora (Gk ‘carrying up or back’)- a rhetorical device involving the repetition of a word or
group of words in successive clauses.
And so if we praise him, our words seem rather small, and if we praise him, to some extent
we also praise ourselves. ( J.L. Nehru)
Diacope (Gk.) - a repeated word or phrase split up by another word, to display strong
emotion.
For example, Free at last! Free at last! Thank god we are free at last! (Martin Luther King)

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Leo Tolstoy)

Ellipsis- This particular device has a few words, depicting an event that is omitted to highlight
the narrative gaps for readers.
For instance, “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth…the proposition that all men are
created equal.” ( Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address)

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Litotes (Gk litos) This is a commonly used device in conversations where double
negatives that present a positive statement. An understatement for emphasis,
For example, ‘She is not thin’, ‘You are not unfamiliar with speech’.
“He hath not failed to pester us with message” - Hamlet (Act 1 Scene 2)
Hyperbole (Gk overcasting) A commonly used expression of mere exaggeration, this
device is often used to draw attention to the gravity of the matter or to make a
strong point.
For instance, ‘ I have not seen him for ages.’

“I’ll love you till the ocean/ is folded and hung up to dry” - W.H. Auden in his poem “As I
Walked Out One Evening.”

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 The Power of Rhetoric
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning
of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves
and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table
of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of
their character. I have a dream today.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

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“The rhetoric is the key to the character.
It's the verbal music of the piece.”
-Peter Shaffer

Thank You
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 Works Consulted
• Barot, Hrideep. “4 Ways to Use Rhetorical Devices to Make Powerful Speeches (with
Examples).” Frantically Speaking, 15 Feb. 2021, https://franticallyspeaking.com/4-
ways-to-use-rhetorical-devices-to-make-powerful-speeches-with-examples/.
• Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, et al. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: In Seven Parts. Calla
Editions, 2015.
• Cuddon, Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Penguin Books, 1999
• Kluckhohn, Clyde et al. Personality in nature, society, and culture, Knopf, 1956.
• Roberts, W. Rhys. Jebb's Translation of Aristotle's Rhetoric., 1909.
• Ross, Raymond. Speech Communication, Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977.
● Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina. Fingerprint Publishing, 2016.
● https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/rhetorical-strategies-list

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