Figures of Speech Served Fresh

Firstly, I'm big fan of both your books, and this blog. Keep up the great work!

I am going to be leading a rather in depth review of an agency in a few days. I have been on many of these throughout the years, but I have never led one. During this process, I have to speak to both my team members and the agency we are examining.

Hypothetically, say I am corrected by a team members because I forget to mention something, or I leave something out of the entrance interview. What are some prosaic ways of going about correcting myself, thanking my team member for his/her insight and still come off as the "boss" while not skipping a beat?

Thank you!

Mickey

Dear Mickey,

I can tell you're already a star: you want to use your mistakes to your advantage. I love those moments when I can prove my Ethos in front of an audience. When a team member corrects you, brag about what a good recruiter you are. Or say, "A good manager always hires people smarter than he is. Proof positive, right here." That kind of false modesty tends to get a chuckle while showing your smooth leadership skills.

Let me know how it works out.

Fig.

Mickey

Dear Jay,

I recently finish reading your book "Thank You for arguing" and I was mulling whether you will create a post about how to efficiently write an ethos resume.

Cheers,
Henry

Dear Jay,

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Gavin Wedell
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gavin.wedell@doodleslide.com
m: +44-7549-919-147
http://doodleslide.com
www.gavinwedell.com

Figaro,

In "Thank You for Arguing" on page 239, you discussed the five senses and their relation to ethos, pathos, and logos. I wondered if you could direct me to further work on this subject. I have had a difficult find digging up more information on this particular topic, and your presentation of it has intrigued me.

Thank you!

Dear Andrew,

You'll find references to the senses' logical and pathetic natures in Aristotle's Rhetoric; but for the most part the speculating is all mine (Jay Heinrichs's, I mean). The parts about various media serving the cause of Kairos are also mine.

Fig.

Figaro,

In "Thank you for Arguing" you mentioned that are rhetorical forefathers kept a note book for recording common places. I am struggling a little on how to do this. It seems I might be writing everything down as a common place. Would you give me a little guidance on how to be best to identify "common place" worhy for note?

ALR

Dear ALR,

Look up the diaries of most of the American founders--particularly Thomas Jefferson--and you'll find a treasure trove of commonplaces.

Fig.

Dear Figaro,

Just finished Thank You For Arguing. I loved it and will be continuing my study of Rhetoric immediately. I also intend on integrating it into my work and advocating for it at my alma maters! (What's the point of learning Latin and Greek and NOT studying Rhetoric?)

I do have a question? What is a good way to handle a rhetorical foul? namely blatant and utter stupidity. Is there a way to refocus or should I focus on landing a coup de grace upon my opponent at that point? I have been arguing quite effectively with people until they will say something utterly insipid (e.g. You may be right about the issue but you are still wrong!).

Thank you very much!

Prometheus

Smile and walk away. Your example isn't a foul so much as a gesture that your opponent is tired of arguing. That's assuming, of course, that the person you're trying to persuade is your opponent. If there's a larger, more persuadable audience, turn to them and ask their opinion. You'll at least appear to be the nicer guy.

Thanks for pushing my books and, more importantly, rhetoric at your institutions. Persuade them gently!

Fig.

Hey Figaro,

I really enjoyed both your books and have applied quite a few of your techniques to my songwriting. In particular, the "unwriting" technique is a perfect way to adjust a line or two of a song to help drive a point home or make sure I don't phrase words weirdly just to make a rhyme. My first question: Have you ever thought about exploring tropes and wordplay as tools for songwriters? Second question: As a person studying songwriting and tropes, is there a songwriter or musical act that you would recommend as being a "Word Hero"? Thank you for the work you do!

Jonas

Dear Jonas,

While I haven't explored writing a book called "Figure Your Way to a Hit Song!", it would be fun to do up a web page for songwriters sometime. I just may do that.

Meanwhile, the best songwriters for wordplay are the top hip-hop artists, particularly the more cerebral among them. Figaro is a fan of Jay-Z, for example. Some of the country-western writers are masters at tropes, particularly the synecdoche. Which is interesting, given the rhetorical divide between political parties: Democrats love wordplay, Republicans love tropes.

Fig.

Dear Figaro,


Allegations of sexual harassment were raised against Herman Cain.How must Mr Cain deal with the allegations effectively?


Yours

Arie Vrolijk

Dear Arie,

By quitting the race, which he appears to have done. The rhetorical "status" defense wouldn't help him much. (See Thank You for Arguing for an explanation.) An alternative would have been to admit guilt, apologize, and claim to have been reformed. Having a vision of God appearing in his bedroom in the middle of the night could have enabled this defense. It works for Christians, who believe in redemption. Would it have worked for a serial groper? Frankly, I doubt it.

Fig.

Dear Figaro,

I have a copy of "Thank You for Arguing", and I find that it is enjoyable. I endeavor to use it as much as possible. Once I have finished explored your site and some of your other works, I might be back.

Alwyn

Dear Alwyn,

You do that. I'll be here.

Fig.

Note: let me eat my socks on the last message, I didn't realize Word Hero was out. Purchasing soon.

Barry

Dear Barry,

I swear I didn't make you up. Let me know how you like Word Hero.

Fig.

Dear Figaro,

I absolutely loved your first book. I've read it multiple times, have gifted it for Christmas to a cousin, and have saved your next book on Amazon for purchase.

My questions is; how can I add rhetorical skills to my "muscle memory", so to speak? You get good at math by doing math. You get good at piano by playing piano. How can I repeat arguments over and over, if in the beginning I will have to use references to do it right? How can I train myself to automatically respond in effective rhetorical form, when I veer towards "straight shooting" if I don't pay attention.

Thank you Figaro!

Figaro,

If a person learns the art of using figures then that person learns the art of controlling context. And if a person knows how to control context, then that person has the power to control discussions. A person may not have the clout to dictate the topics of an agenda but if that person knows how use figures then that person can shine a light or cast shadows on different aspects of a discussion. Would you agree this is the value of learning to use figures?

ALR

Dear Ally,

Figures do much more than control context, and tropes do more to control context than figures do. Figures also change the mood, make crowds feel more involved, rebut points, and...well, they do a myriad of things (include interrupt sentences).

That being said, figures can help define issues--which is what "setting context" is all about.

Fig.

Dear Figaro,

I learned how to use active voice, and to eliminate the copula (which we may include in passive voice?) when I took up the craft of screenwriting.

No I can see how the use of active voice persuades with more conviction than passive voice.

How do you feel about active/passive voice and copula usage? It seems to me that speakers and writers who rely on the copula lack in working vocabulary and verb utilization.

Also, something about active voice conveys both more subjectivity, but also more convicion at the same time. Instead of 'this music is bad!', 'this music hurts my ears'.

thanks

Gabriel

Dear Gabe,

By "copula" I take it you mean using the verb "to be" in a sentence. Generally, the active voice works better than the passive voice, and stronger verbs exist than "is." But as with any kind of rhetoric, there are many exceptions--I mean, exceptions abound. Read Wallace Stevens' "Emperor of Ice-Cream" for an example of ingenious employment of "is".

Still, as a longtime magazine editor, I've slaughtered many a "to be" in my time. Thanks to me, thousands of "is's" never came to be.

Fig.

Dear Figaro,

After reading Word Hero a few times, I was thinking the best thing to focus on when having a conversation is really the definition of the subject. Isn't the defintion of the topic the main point of any back and forth discussion ... the figures are just different ways to affect the definition. Your thoughts?

ALR

Dear Aller,

That depends on the purpose of that conversation, no? If we were entertaining each other over a beer, defining the topic could drive one of the party to start a conversation with the bartender. If on the other hand, the "conversation" were a primary debate on national television--then, yes, defining the issue can be critical. (For that, see my earlier book, Thank You for Arguing.)

One of the best ways to gain control of an issue, however, may not be definition but a trope--a striking image connected to the audience's values. See my post on Herman Cain's smokin' campaign ad.

Fig.