In William Duffy’s “What Is Rhetoric? A “Choose Your Own Adventure” Primer”, he goes over the definiton of rhetoric and how, over the years the defintion of the word has constantly changed. Rhetoric is seen most commonly as the art of effective communication or persuasion, while that may be true, rhetoric is also an element of discourse. This is because how rhetoric is used during different conversations with a different person and/or people, your audience, can impact your conversation and the language you use changes depending on how you are speaking to. Culture, , are also factors of rhetoric. According to A.S. Hill, one of several professors of rhetoric, it is also a “principle” that “good” writers and speakers follow.
In Laura Bolin Carroll’s “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis”, she further emphasizes how realizing/knowing who you’re having a conversation with is important. But she also introduces how your environment can play a role in rhetoric. Knowing who you’re speaking with or being in a specific environment can allow a person or people to do several different things without even realizing like changing your vocabulay depending on how close you are and/or if you have a level of authority within the conversation or not. Or even something as simple as picking out an outfit because you know you’re going to a party with the “cool kids” versus when you’re scheduled to have a meeting with your boss.
Leave a Reply