Learn These Rhetorical Strategies to Become More Persuasive!

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6 min read. Updated on February 26, 2023

Ken Chase (TR)

Learn to leverage rhetorical strategies to make your business communications stronger and more memorable

Many of today’s employers continue to place a premium value on their employees’ ability to communicate in a persuasive way. As a result, job seekers who can demonstrate those skills often have an advantage over rival candidates. If you’re a job seeker who wants to improve your ability to persuade others, it’s important to learn as much as you can about different rhetorical strategies.

In this article, we’ll explain the different types of rhetorical strategies and why they’re so important for effective communication. We’ll also provide some key examples of rhetorical strategies that you can use to create more compelling messages for your audience.

Why are rhetorical strategies important?

Having a deeper understanding of rhetorical choices and how to use persuasive speech in pitches, team meetings, and even email campaigns can help you develop the power to persuade, tell better stories, and impress your audience.

Advertisers make use of rhetorical choices all the time. It's how they figure out how to phrase advertising slogans, design campaigns, and make creative decisions. “Four out of five dentists surveyed recommend Trident sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum.”

Politicians also make rhetorical choices to craft speeches that tug on heartstrings, inspire an audience, and leave memorable phrases stuck in their heads. Remember “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country?” That memorable line is a great example of a politician using rhetorical strategies to appeal to patriotic emotions.

What are rhetorical strategies?

A rhetorical strategy is the approach used when you’re building an argument. There are three main types of rhetorical strategies, which Aristotle described as modes of persuasion logos, ethos, and pathos. Sometimes called rhetorical appeals, each mode appeals to a unique sensibility: logic, the speaker’s credibility, or the audience's emotions.

Let's take a look at each of their definitions.

Logos

Logos is the appeal of logic. This strategy focuses on persuading your audience with arguments based on logic and reason. The logos approach relies on facts, documented evidence, and literal analogies.

To use logos in your arguments, make sure you include testimonials, data, and historical precedents to support your position. You can also use logical causality – otherwise known as if/then statements – to further your argument.

“The data shows this investment consistently turns a profit year-over-year”
“If our constitution calls equality self-evident, why should I be denied due process because of my gender?”
“After thousands of hours of research, the science on climate change is clear”

Ethos

Ethos is the appeal to ethics – not in the sense of the morality of the argument, but rather in the trust an audience places in the speaker. The word ethos, in ancient Greek, means “character.”

This rhetorical strategy appeals to an audience's sense of ethics by having the idea presented or supported by someone who appears to have a strong character. In other words, the argument comes from a source that the audience will deem worthy of trust. It's the same reasoning advertisers use when they employ celebrity spokespeople to sell products.

This works as a rhetorical strategy too. To make use of ethos in your writing, demonstrate that you're a trustworthy source of accurate information. Once an audience trusts you, it will trust what you say. Highlight your background, education, and achievements to solidify your credibility on the topic. If your own credibility isn't strong enough, direct attention to experts who support your position.

Ethos can also be used in language and presentation choices to make the overall presentation more trustworthy. For example, not exaggerating, not straining inductive reasoning, and not using stories that seem unlikely.

“As a doctor who has performed the procedure many times, I can tell you this course of treatment will lead to the best results”
“Bob, who has three decades of experience in this sector and has seen many plans try and fail, agrees that my strategy will solve this issue”
“If my years as a plumber have taught me anything, it's that these pipes won't last the winter”

Pathos

Pathos appeals to emotions. Getting an audience to feel sad, happy, angry, nostalgic, or even proud is a great way to motivate them to act. The pathos rhetorical strategy capitalizes on this by attempting to persuade the audience through an appeal to their feelings. An audience that connects with someone on an emotional level is more receptive to being persuaded by them.

To use pathos in your writing, find ways to elicit particular emotions in your audience. Common experiences like childhood, family, aspirations, and failures, are all rife with shared emotions. Try using stories with a protagonist who experiences the same struggles that your audience faces. That focus will allow the audience to see themselves in your story and help them connect with your narrative.

We often associate pathos with feelings of joy or sorrow, but it can also be used to elicit fear or anger. Fear of missing out, fear of pain or death, and anger at being exploited or forgotten are all common goals of advertisers, politicians, influencers, talk show hosts, and others.

“If we miss this investment opportunity, we'll be dead in our market in less than a year. It's a mistake that could destroy everything we've built.”
“There's nothing more important than keeping your family safe. Our security system will protect your loved ones from the dangers that lurk outside.”
“We've been through so much together. Brenda has guided us like a mother through the lean years. Firing her would be like losing the heart of our group.”

What are rhetorical devices?

Where rhetorical strategies are about the general approach for building an argument, rhetorical devices are specific language tools used to enhance persuasive speech. Figurative language elements like similes, alliteration, and metaphors are all rhetorical devices. Other rhetorical devices include elements like word choice, speech rhythm, and storytelling tools.

Let's look at a few rhetorical devices and see how they're used to create effective rhetorical strategies.

10 rhetorical devices with examples

Aphorism. A concise statement designed to illustrate a commonly held belief. "Early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Paradox. A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true. "Nobody goes to that restaurant; it's too crowded.”
Juxtaposition. Placing two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose. “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Hypophora. Raising a question and then immediately providing an answer. “Will we stand for this? No, we will not!”
Chiasmus. A figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second. “Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate.”
Deduction. Deductive reasoning (If a=b and b=c, then a=c) allows you to lead the audience to a conclusion by pointing out “facts” that they already agree with. “The last two rollouts were our bestsellers. Both were developed in a new cooperation with two teams. This cooperation leads to bestselling rollouts.”
Anaphora. The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses. "We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight on the oceans. We shall fight in the sky."
Euphemism. Substitution of a milder or less direct expression for one that is harsh or blunt. The family dog didn't die; they went “over the rainbow bridge.”
Consonance. The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels. “Splish-splash” or “click-clack.”
Assonance. The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words. “Easy, breezy, CoverGirl” or “teeny weenie.”

Integrate rhetorical strategies into business communication

Marketing, advertising, and copywriting are obviously prime opportunities to employ rhetorical devices and strategies to elicit moods, persuade, and inspire. However, there are many other situations in the workplace where using rhetorical strategies with surgical precision can improve your persuasiveness – from memos to your team to a full presentation for your superiors.

The first step is to know your audience so that you can identify the rhetorical strategy that will have the strongest impact on readers or listeners. Are they an emotional group or do they demand facts? The second step is to know your subject. Is it a topic that’s easier to explain with a good story or would your message be better served by focusing on detailed facts and figures?

Once your strategy is laid out, you can then select the best rhetorical devices to strengthen the language in your presentation. Rhythms, repetitions, and mnemonics can make your presentation not only persuasive but memorable.

Master rhetorical strategies to enhance your persuasiveness

With time and effort, anyone can become a more persuasive communicator. The key is to learn how to use the many different types of rhetorical strategies to create more compelling messages for your audience. But following the tips and strategies in this guide, you’ll soon find that your powers of persuasion are growing by leaps and bounds.

Wondering whether your resume employs the rhetorical strategies needed to help you land your next job? Find out by getting your free resume review from our team of experts today! check

This article was originally written by Robert Lyons. It has been updated by Ken Chase.