WEEK 5 – The Rhetoric by Aristotle (West and Turner, chapter 18)

Name : Yohana Margareth Harianja

ID : 000 000 22 307

Aristotle is generally credited with explaining the dynamics of pubic

speaking. The Rhetoric consists of three books: each concerned with public
speaking, the audience, and attending to the speech itself. He was the first to
provide the “how to” for public speaking.

The Rhetoric could be considered as Aristotle’s way of responding to the

problems he saw in these handbooks. Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric is the
available means of persuasion. What Aristotle envisions and recommends is for
speakers to work beyond their first instincts when they want to persuade others.
They need to consider all aspects of speech making, including their audience
members (by assessing both her words and her audience’s needs).

After all, rhetoric means the art of using language (Cuddon; 2013)

The Assumptions
 Effective public speakers must consider their audience.
This assumption recall about communication is a transactional process.
Speakers need to be audience centered and should think about the audience
as a group of individuals with motivations, decisions, and choices and not
as some undifferentiated mass of homogeneous people. Speakers engaged
in audience analysis, which is the process of evaluating an audience and its
background and tailoring one’s speech so that listeners respond as the
speaker hopes they will. Each listener is unique, and what works with one
listener may fail with another.
 Effective public speakers employ a number of proofs in their
presentations.
This assumption underline about what speakers do in their speech
preparation and their speech making. Aristotle’s proofs refer to the means
of persuasion, and acording to Aristotle, there are three proof exist: Ethos
(the perceived character, intelligence, and goodwill of a speaker), Pathos
 (emotional proof; emotions drawn from audience members), and Logos
(logical proof; the use of arguments and evidence in a speech). Each of
these three is critical to speech effectiveness, but each alone may not be
sufficient.

Syllogisms
Syllogism is defined as a set of propositions that are related to one another
and draw a conclusion from the major and minor premises. A syllogism is nothing
more than a deductive argument, a group of statements (premises) that lead to
another group of statements (conclusions). In other words, premises are starting
points or beginners used by speakers. They establish justification for a conclusion.
Syllogisms are a critical part of the speaking process for Aristotle. Speakers use
them to enhance effectiveness in their speeches. Speakers also incorporate other
techniques that are labeled canons.

Canons
Aristotle was convinced that for a persuasive speech to be effective,
speakers must follow certain guidelines or principles which he called canons for
making a speech more compelling. There are five canons:

 Invention is defined as the construction or development of an argument

that is relevant to the purpose of a speech. Invention is discovering all the
proofs a speaker plans to use. Invention is broadly interpreted as the body
of information and knowledge that a speaker brings to the speaking
situation. Aids to invention are identified as topics or lines of argument or
modes of reasoning a speaker uses in a speech. Speakers look to what are
called civic spaces or the metaphorical locations where rhetoric has the
opportunity to effect change. Using logic and evidence in speech makes it
more powerful and more persuasive.
 Arrangement is the speaker’s ability to organize a speech, used to
enhance the speech’s effectiveness. Aristotle states two parts of a speech
which are stating the subject and finding the proof, or what he calls
“demonstrating it”. Speeches should generally follow a threefold
 approach: introduction (to gain the audience’s attention, suggest a
connection with them, and provide an overview of the speech), body
(arguments, supporting details, and necessary examples), and conclusion
or epilogue of a speech (aimed at summarizing the point and arousing
emotions. It should be arrived logically and attempt to reconnect with
listeners).
 Style or the use of language to express ideas in a certain manner which
includes words choice, words imagery, and word appropriateness. Strange
words (glosses) should be avoided, but speaking in terms that are too
simplistic will also turn off an audience. To bridge this gap between the
unfamiliar and the too familiar, Aristotle introduces the notion of metaphor
or a figure of speech that helps to make the unclear more understandable.
Metaphors are critical devices to employ in speeches, because they have
the capacity to change the perceptions and the minds of listeners.
 Memory is storing invention, arrangement, and style in the speaker’s
mind. Aristotle reminds us to consider a number of issues prior to the
presentation. The speakers must have basic understanding and need to
memorize a great deal before getting up to speak.
 Delivery is how a speech is delivered. It refers to the nonverbal
presentation of the speaker’s ideas includes a host of behaviors, including
eye contact, vocal cues, pronounciation, enunciation, dialect, body
movement, physical appearance, and manipulation of the voice. Aristotle
encouraged speakers to use appropriate levels of pitch, rhythm, volume,
and emotion because the way in which something is said affects its
intelligibility. Speakers should strive to be natural in their delivery and
avoid being gimmicky in their preseantions and strive for authenticity.

Types of Rhetoric
1. Forensic Rhetoric (past) pertains to establishing a fact; and at the core of
forensic rhetoric is justice. This type specifically refers to speaking in
courtrooms. It pertains to speakers prompting feelings of guilt or
innocence from an audience.
2. Epideictic Rhetoric (present) or ceremonial speaking is discourse related
to praising or honoring, shaming or blaming. This rhetors include people,
events, organizations, or nations in their speeches. Epideictic speaking
can’t be seperated from ethos because speakers need to understand the
importance of their own character to praise or blame.
3. Deliberative Rhetoric (future) or political rhetoric concerns speakers
who must determine a course of action – something should or shouldn’t be
done (what an audience will do or think as a result of a speaker’s efforts. It
requires the speaker to be adept at understanding how his or her thoughts
are aligned with those of the audience. Larry Arnhart comments that the
deliberative rhetorician needs to know not only the actual subject of
deliberation but also the elements of human nature that influence
deliberation.

Thursday, 21st of September 2017