The Art of Manliness Podcast #639 artofmanliness.com • August 31, 2020
For thousands of years, the study of rhetoric was a fundamental part of a man’s education. Though it ceased to be commonly taught in the 19th century, it’s an art well worth reviving in the modern day.
Meet Jay Heinrichs– he’s an expert in language and persuasion and the author of Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion. Jay explains what rhetoric is, why after being taught around the world for centuries it fell out of favor as a component of education, and why it’s still essential for everyone, especially leaders, to learn. The difference between fighting and arguing, and how it’s the latter that’s a lost art, especially in our digital age. What are Aristotle’s three tools of rhetoric — ethos, pathos, and logos —your character is so important, and do an ethos analysis of your resume. What about Cicero’s five canons of rhetoric, and Jay shares a smart technique for memorising a presentation, and thus delivering it more persuasively.
Show Highlights
- What is rhetoric?
- The history of sophists and rhetorical studies
- Why did rhetoric stop being taught in school? What’s lost when we don’t teach rhetoric?
- What’s the difference between a fight and an argument?
- Can you have a constructive argument with someone who just wants to fight?
- 3 primary things to know about your audience
- Why tense matters so much — forensic (past), tribal (present), and deliberative/political (future)
- How to argue well with your significant other
- Aristotle’s “tools of character”
- How to connect with groups of people different from you
- Getting people in the mood to be persuaded
- What Homer Simpson can teach us about speaking
- Why logical fallacies aren’t always bad in persuasion
- Cicero’s Five Canons of Rhetoric
- The value of memorization when it comes to persuasion
- A rhetorical game to bone up on your skills
Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast
- Lectures on Rhetoric by John Quincy Adams
- The Art of Rhetoric by Aristotle
- The 35 Greatest Speeches in History
- AoM series on Rhetoric 101
- 12 Rules for Civil Conversation
- 6 Ways to Bring Civility Online
- Want People to Hear Your Message? Let Them Overhear It
- Influence, Persuasion, and Personal Presentation
- How to Develop Authentic Gravitas
- How to Improve Your Speaking Voice
- An Introduction to Public Speaking
- The Winston Churchill Guide to Public Speaking
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- 10 Ways to Improve Your Memory
Connect With Jay
