Putting Aristotle’s theory of rhetoric and persuasion into practice

In his work “Rhetoric,” Aristotle (384-322 BC) identified a triad of pillars for persuasion and effective speaking. His three pillars (ethos, pathos and logos) refer to the three key elements in communication, namely, the speaker’s fame and credibility, the strength of his arguments, and their emotional impact. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject of how to communicate effectively, but most of them rehash Aristotle’s teachings on rhetoric without adding value. Although it only takes a few hours to familiarise oneself with Aristotelian rhetoric, it is tricky to put it into practice. It is a fact that most people aren’t effective public speakers and that, by attending a communication course, they will barely improve their skills. Why are rhetoric and persuasion so difficult? Plato (429-347 BC) pointed out one of the main reasons that render rhetoric and persuasion so difficult, namely, that people do not want to be perceived as manipulative. They do not want to be seen as pushy marketeers that will tell lies for personal gain. In his dialogue titled “Gorgias,” Plato presents a discussion between Socrates, the rhetoric teacher Gorgias, and his student Polus. In fact, Plato is himself speaking through Socrates. Socrates remarks that rhetoric is often misused and attacks Gorgias (a teacher of rhetoric) for his willingness to teach how to manipulate other people for personal gain. He accuses Gorgias of ignoring truth and virtue, and giving more importance to style than to substance. Socrates considers evil to employ persuasion for personal gain (financial, political or in court cases) and obliterate genuine knowledge. Socrates believed that rhetoric should be used only to foster justice and virtue. Thus, he admonished Gorgias for his moral indifference. Socrates found it appalling that Gorgias, as long as he got paid, was willing to accept anyone as student. When people state that they feel uncomfortable speaking in public, they may be experiencing the same ethical reservations that Plato had presented in his dialogue. What Plato and Socrates had called manipulation, modern psychologists may call aggressive salesmanship. The point is that some people regard all persuasion techniques as evil, and refuse to use them. No wonder that learning about Aristotelian rhetoric does not do them any good. Plato and Socrates were wrong because they hadn’t grasped the concept of individual freedom. Their demand that Gorgias should teach persuasion only for virtuous purposes was absurd. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/putting-aristotles-theory-of-rhetoric-and-persuasion-into-practice/