Clear Writing is Clear Thinking Though “rhetoric” began as the art of speaking to groups out loud, it has long also included writing as well. Though many of the principles we’ve discussed with speaking apply to writing, there are also some differences worth highlighting. For one, writing tends to handle detailed, complex material better than speaking. For another, writing tends to allow for greater polish (and for that polish to be appreciated). Also, with writing, you can’t “read” your audience live and make adjustments – once you put it out there, that’s what folks will read, for better or worse. Below, we’ll cover some ways to cope with and take…
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We now come to what might be considered the heart of rhetoric, which is how to use our speech and writing to convince others of things we would like them to think, feel, or do. I hope that by now I’ve made clear why we didn’t jump straight into persuasion, as central as it may be. If we aren’t clear on our values and ethics, persuasion becomes a matter of mere expediency, twisting and turning to whatever shape suits our self-interest. Even with values nailed down, though, if we can’t think through how set goals and pursue them effectively, then we will not know when or how to deploy our…