Applying Rhetorical Theory with Communications - Essay Example

Application of Rhetoric in Making a Speech The use of rhetoric when making a speech has been applied for many years in the ancient Greek. Aristotle made great improvement in the development of rhetoric theory. In his book, “The Art of Rhetoric” he has extensively expanded on the application of rhetoric while making a speech. Rhetoric is the art of using words effectively so as to persuade the audience. According to Aristotle, it is the art of influencing one’s point of view using carefully selected words.

Aristotle was Pluto’s student who greatly criticized the use of rhetoric while making a speech. Aristotle identified three forms of appeal: ethos, pathos and logos (Henry 16). These elements have been applied by many famous orators including the President Obama, the current USA president during his inaugural speech. This paper will focus on the use of Aristotle’s elements in developing a speech to address business leaders on the importance of allowing their employees time off so as to participate in blood donation.

Aristotle’s Classical theory on speech is based on five rhetorical canons. These include the use of invention, disposition, style, delivery and memory. Invention involves the selection of a pattern that will help in the attaining the purpose for the speech. Disposition, on the other hand dictates the arrangement of a speech so as to achieve the purpose of the speech. The speech will include the following a brief history, epidemiological fact and the procedure of blood donation. It will also explain the benefits to the business for allowing their employees to go for blood donation.

Style involves the use of creativity in expressing ones ideas. This involves the use of details, figures of speech and creative analogies during the speech. The speech will include epidemiological facts on how many businesses have benefited from giving their employees time-off for blood donations. These facts will be represented in graphs and charts relating increased profits with participation in blood donation. Memory involves the use of devices that will ensure that the business leaders do not forget the details in the speech.

This will include the use of picture representations and repetition of the important points. Delivery focuses on how the speech will be delivered.Aristotle viewed the use of rhetoric as a means of persuasion without the use of torture unlike the ancient Greek practices. He assumed that a great orator is able to consider his audience and provide proof for his argument. This speech is directed towards business leaders. It is thus important to highlight how the company will be affected by allowing their employees to donate blood.

In developing the speech, thorough research will be done. This will include statistical data on other companies that have benefited from participating in blood donation.In the book the art of rhetoric, Aristotle tries to elaborate on the difference between public speaking and speaking in private. Aristotle highlights that although just words appease the gods, they do not appease men (Henry 313). He further explains why a good orator has to make use of the forms of appeal so as to persuade his audience.

The goal of the speech is encourage the business leaders to give their employees time off so that they can participate in blood donation. This will be achieved by emphasizing the how the business will benefit from this practice. However, the sole purpose of this speech is to get more people to participate in blood donation so as to stock the Red Cross Blood Bank. The speech will however, not portray the use of power by the business leaders in asking their employees to donate blood.Ethos involves the ability of the speaker to portray his morals, goodwill and credibility during the speech (Richard, West and Lynn, Turner 313).

This will be effected by thanking the business leaders for sacrificing their time to attend the seminar. The speech will also highlight the intentions of Red Cross in providing blood used for saving lives. It will also indicate how the companies will benefit from allowing their employees to participate in blood donation. The epidemiological facts highlighted during the speech will demonstrate the amount of research as well as knowledge of the subject. This will help improve the speaker’s credibility.

The use of pathos involves the ability of speech to influence the emotions of the business leaders. This will be successfully archived by giving an analogy of how important blood is when saving lives. It will also highlight the importance of Red Cross in saving lives during emergencies. In order to create a mental picture in the audience, the speech will highlight the facts on the number of people who have been saved by blood donation. According to Aristotle, logos involve the orator’s ability to present an argument as well as provide statistics and facts to support the argument.

It also includes the speaker’s ability to elicit logic reasoning within the audience and influence them to take his stand (Henry, 258). This will be demonstrated by the use of epidemiological facts to show how many companies benefit from allowing their employees to participate in blood donation. It will also include the facts on the number of people who benefit from blood donation. As this is not an argumentative speech, the use of logos will be limited (Henry 257). The use of logos involves the incorporation of syllogism.

These are a set of prepositions that are associated to one another and draw a conclusion from the major and minor premises. They are used to establish a relationship between two variables (Richard, West and Lynn, Turner 313). In the speech, the major premise will be to highlight the importance of donating blood in saving lives. The minor premise will highlight why it is important to for companies to allow their employees to participate in blood donation. Finally, a relationship will be established to show how the companies will benefit from allowing their employees to participate in blood donations.

In conclusion, there are various components that make up a great speech. This include the setting, the speech and the mode of delivering the speech. A good orator is one who can capture the attention of his audience and maintain it throughout the speech. The use of formal word for example sacrifice, service and prosperity will help in enhancing the credibility of a speech. The use of the forms of appeal will enable one to deliver a speech that will effectively achieve its purpose.BibliographyHenry, John.

The Art of Rhetoric. London: William Heineman, 1926. Print.Richard, West and Lynn, Turner. Introducing Communication Theory Analysis and Application. New York: NY, 2007. Print.