WORKWISE

THE FOURTH CORNER?

The Rhetoric (making persuasion possible) of Aristotle is an early neutral tool developed by him to measure the success of a public speaker. According to him the four important parts of a successful speech would be the speaker, the speech, the audience and the powerful communication. 

Aristotle was a student of Plato's who disagreed with his mentor over the place of public speaking in Athenian life. Plato's negative view of public speaking was based on his assessment of the Sophists. Aristotle saw rhetoric as a neutral tool with which one could accomplish either noble or fraudulent ends. We all know truth is inherently more acceptable than falsehood. Nonetheless, unscrupulous persuaders may fool an audience unless an ethical speaker uses all possible means of persuasion to counter the error. Speakers who neglect the art of rhetoric have only themselves to blame for failure.

Although Aristotle's Politics and Ethics are polished, well-organized texts, the Rhetoric is a collection of lecture notes. Aristotle raised rhetoric to a science by systematically exploring the effects of the speaker, the speech, the audience and their powerful communication. For Aristotle, rhetoric was the discovery in each case of the available means of persuasion. In terms of speech situations, he focused on civic affairs under the categories of Forensic, Deliberative and Epideictic speaking. Aristotle classified rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic. Dialectic is one-on-one conversation; rhetoric is one person addressing the many. Rhetorical proof: Logical proof (logos), Ethical proof (ethos) and Emotional proof (pathos) is the feeling the speech draws from the hearers.

Aristotle focused on two forms of logical proof-enthymeme and example. An enthymeme is an incomplete syllogism. Typical enthymemes leave out the premise that is already accepted by the audience. The example uses inductive reasoning-drawing a final conclusion from specific examples. Ethos emphasizes the speaker's credibility, which is manifested in intelligence, character, and goodwill. Although skeptical of the emotion-laden public oratory typical of his era, Aristotle attempted to help speakers use pathos ethically. Aristotle catalogued a series of opposite feelings, and then explained the conditions under which each mood is experienced. The five canons of rhetoric - Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory, Delivery. 

I thought of some other names too but it did really not work out for me but am putting them here, if it interests you let me know and would help you build on that for your company.

01. Calligramme
02. Kineme
03. Mediacy
04. Metonymy
05. Proxemics
06. Thaumatrope
07. Zoetrope
08. Enunciation
09. Elucidate
10. Promulgate
11. Annotate
12. Apostle