The ART and SCIENCE of Persuasion
We
should all equip ourselves with
the power of rhetoric: the ability to
find all available means of persuasion in any instance. It is the the art of effective or
persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of what would
appeal to logos, pathos and ethos...the logic, emotion and customs. A good proponent can
use this skillset to inform, persuade, or motivate others to influence their
beliefs, attitudes, intentions , motivations and behaviour – to a desired
outcome or action. This is important in
business as it is in personal dealings and can apply in any endeavour where an audience is sought on the spoken or written word.
Middle
English rethorik, from
Old French rethorique, from
Latin rh
toric, rhtorica, from Greek rhtorik (tekhn), rhetorical (art),
feminine of rhtorikos
toric, rhtorica, from Greek rhtorik (tekhn), rhetorical (art),
feminine of rhtorikos
As a young brand and copywriting consultancy we aspire to help companies create powerful copy to effectively and
persuasively showcase the company’s services and products.
We will and can consult on a
diverse range of strategic and integrated copy writing projects for corporate,
consumer and retail set ups starting
from the local scene and beyond. The range of industries may include
financial services , interior design, spas, sports and medical
companies ; retail and consumer products.
We are also interested in ghost writing which basically puts the effort on us to come up with spirited (ok - couldnt resist the pun) script whilst you feed us with your spectral visions.
We get into your mind and flesh out the ideas in living breathing text that captures all that you had thought of, and then some. We endeavour to understand your ideas and dreams and hopes in what you wish to lay down for posterity in the written word... this is as much a collaborative effort and one where good and effective communication is important to ensure we get everything out.
MORE on what we can do later!
Why RHETORIK?
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers that attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers that attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.
Its
best known definition comes from Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of
both logic and politics, and calls it "the faculty
of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion”.
The
three main means of persuasion and appeals are codified as:
ethos pathos logos
Here at RHETORIK we advocate this art
of language as a medium to effectively
and persuasively appeal to the credible, emotional and logical attributes of a good
copy. Not mere rhetoric that is bombastic,
full of contrived significance,
ornamentally pretentious and vacuous, but
rhetoric grounded as it was by ethos,
pathos and logos.
The Medium is The Message
Ethos (Credibility) means convincing by the character of the author in the perception of the company or product or service we are writing about. The task here is to project an impression to the reader that this is something worth looking at. Ethos (Greek for 'character') refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. This is often conveyed through tone and style of the message and through the way the writer or speaker refers to differing views.
Pathos (Emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. We can look at texts ranging from classic essays to contemporary advertisements to see how emotional appeals are used to persuade. This is the 'appeal to the audience's sympathies and imagination.' An appeal to pathos causes an audience not just to respond emotionally but to identify with the writer's point of view. The most common way of conveying a pathetic appeal is through narrative which fleshes out abstractions of logic into tangibles. The values and beliefs of the writer are implicit in the copy and should move the audience to decision or action.
Logos (Logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning. This involves deductive and inductive reasoning. Giving reasons is the heart of argumentation and contemporaneously there should be clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence.
[The above text drawn in part from Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean. Writing Arguments. 4th Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1998, 81-82.] http://www.u.arizona.edu/ic/polis/courses021/ENGL_102-78/EthosPathosLogos
Please contact us at rupert.ongct@gmail.com or rhetorika@hotmail.com for a no obligation discussion. We would love to hear from you and help your business grow.
