In what
ways do you use principles of rhetoric in your teaching, research, service,
and/or grant writing today? Where might some of those principles come from,
historically?
I had to think back and recall my
experiences in the military to answer this blog question. Before I learned about
the rhetorical triangle, my experience with rhetoric centered on the principles
of public speaking, primarily knowing the audience. Much
centered on either a military or government audience; what I’d say to the
Airmen I supervised differed from the reports I wrote to global analysts or the memorandums I wrote to and for my own leadership. Communication could be as
short as “K” (for “okay”) when I had to make decisions in real-time operations
or lengthy if I needed to explain a complex computer system or new management
decision. Throughout my baccalaureate experience, I maintained this style (perhaps,
“attitude”?) of communication; I chafed at writing papers in which I
“elongated” sentences to fit word count or page count, if I finished what I had
to say. With thanks to professors who patiently hammered away at my reticence,
my rhetorical style slowly evolved into a much wider audience (in this case, everybody else) and the ability
to tailor accordingly.
Now that I’ve learned more about rhetoric in theory and practice,
my styles came from Aristotelian principles (even when I didn’t know it). My
audiences correlated to his: peers, students (young Airmen), and those who made
“the big decisions.” Combining logos, pathos, and ethos, knowing my target
audience, and building the perception that I could be trusted were instrumental to my success as a leader. Audience reception was key to making regulations and changes to process actually work. These principles are indispensable for any successful leader; the average person watching a politician or a general speak can attest to either buy-in and support or repugnance and dismissal.
