Characteristics of Rhetoric
Rhetoric is, in the most basic way, defined as persuasion through language. From various readings and exposure to ideas of rhetoric, I have concluded three main characteristics of what I would consider to be good rhetoric. In a recent Twitter post, I compare rhetoric to an “excellent dish”: served fresh, tasteful in seasoning, and after the last bite, demands another. In this piece, I look at rhetoric in three categories: time, taste, and recurrence.
When a dish is ready, it must be served promptly. The cook has been slaving over the stove while the appetite of the one receiving the dish has been growing. Extreme work and effort have been put into the creation of this dish, and when it is all cooked thoroughly, it must be sent out immediately. If it is left to long, the dish becomes cold; it must be served fresh. There is a small window of time where the dish will be fresh and accepted by the one receiving it. If the food is cold, it will be sent back. The same concept here applies with rhetoric. When it comes to persuasion, there are ideal moments to be persuasive and to make an argument. If one waits to long, the moment is passed and the chance for effective persuasion is gone. In a way, the persuasion “gets cold”, and the one you are attempting to persuade will not want what you have to say. There is a time for rhetoric, and it comes in small windows; if the chance comes to be rhetorical, take it, and serve it while it’s fresh.
A good dish is also tasteful in seasoning: the cook has prepared this elegant dish with various herbs and spices, and the slightest excess in just one of the seasonings would throw off the entire balance of the dish. With rhetoric, the language must be tasteful. All components must be balanced and whole, complementing the persuasion. If a dish is not seasoned correctly, the one eating it will not enjoy it and therefore will not buy it again. In rhetoric, the “seasoning” of the language, and the argument as a whole, should be balanced, and not overbearing. Good rhetoric is tasteful.
The purpose of rhetoric is persuasion; using language to bring others alongside you and your idea. If the rhetoric is good, it will adhere to time and tastefulness. If the rhetoric is in fact timely and tasteful, then just as an excellent dish, after the last bite, it will demand another. It is that moment when you have eaten all you can, and yet the dish was so delicious, that you must take another bite. A good dish keeps one coming back, for just another bite, just as good rhetoric keeps the audience asking and willing for more of your persuasion. In a way, good rhetoric almost demands an act of recurrence, because the audience is never fully satisfied, always longing for more.
