Rhetoric, and the art of persuasion, or the art of getting what you want.

SO being a former english a level student i should know my stuff here shouldnt i, well sort of, but i do know how powerfull the art of persuasion is. Throguh time this "art" has been used in many diffrent cultures and societies to influence the way in which people think. There are so many persuasive lagnuage tools at the disposal of any given writer that listing them would make for a very good wikipedia page, however this is my blog, not wikipedia. However in a video example below i will refernce to a few of these techniques.

Persuasion can be used in form of writing and video, a perfect example is a film called 9/11 loose change.





Loose change basically provides an hours worth of footage and commentary on how 9/11 is a conspiracy theory, plotted by the American government. Now this video has time and time again been proved wrong but many people go on to believe its message, why? Well first the footage is very select, meaning that the creators are only allowing you to see what they want you to see, on top of this the commentary by one of the creators is in such a tone, and provides so many facts that it makes for a very believable take on the events of 9/11. This all being down to the art of persuasion, and at the end of the day that's what the creators are trying to do, change peoples views via a film.



Rhetoric is perhaps an outdated discourse, dating back to ancient Greece. Compiled of logos, pathos and ethos, meaning grammar logic and dialectic, all of which were taught as separate disciplines however we have seen a cultural shift into which all three are taught under one subject (English). However as of the turn of the last century many believe that rhetoric is making a firm comeback and has made way for modern theorists.






HOW IS IT USED?

1. 
   
   Language tools such as the repetition of three, metaphors and similes indent information into the human mind.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   The way in which an argument is structured.
   
   
   
3. Making grammatical sense
   

WHY?

1. 
   
   You use it every day, so much in fact that its subconscious
   
   
   
2. 
   
   When arguing
   
   
   
3. When persuading a point of view
   

WHEN?
Every debate, every speech, every complaint, the list is endless but its such a part of our lives that we don't realise it. The art of persuasion is indeed a powerful one. My most intimate experience with it, was when i was in Gran Canaria and the only English channel i could watch was SKY news. At the time the presidential race was about to reach its climax and in honesty i was gripped by the speeches made by Barrack Obama. History was made and his speech will indeed go down in history, the following extract is my favourite line as i feel its not only persuasive but reaches out to every American that was holding on to the hope of change, and in a few small words he gave the people what they wanted to hear, thus changing their mindset.



" it's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America. " - Barrack Obama November 2008