In Thank You For Arguing, the book's author discusses the necessity for a rhetor to appear virtuous, even if not actually a good person. What this means is that a speaker or writer's virtue is determined by their audience, rather than themselves. What the speaker deems a virtuous quality may be seen as heinous by a specific audience, which is why knowing one's audience is so vital as a rhetor. However, it does raise concern as to whether any rhetor you see actually believes in what they are talking about - after all, if the goal is to appeal to their audience, what's stopping them from just saying what their listeners want to hear?
This concern can be met by the counterpoint that it isn't the rhetor's job to believe in what they say, which is a rather unfortunate truth. The rhetor's job is to convey a message in a way that moves their audience, and that doesn't have to mean they support their own message. The responsib bility of a wholesome message being delivered is in the hands of those employing the rhetor to spread said message.
Appearing credible is so much more important than the message you're delivering, when really thinking about rhetoric. For example, believing suggestions on the internet. If your stomach hurts and you google it, you will get an answer from multiple sources of what to do. If it SEEMS like a reliable source, you'll go with it.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't appear to be credible then people are not going to believe what you say. For example if you are giving a presentation in class and you are unsure of your topic the rest of the class is not going to listen to what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteYou must appear credible in order for people to believe what you are saying. You must have evidence to back up your claims, the example of giving a class presentation is a great example of why its so important to know what you are talking about and have evidence to support you.
ReplyDeleteIn order for people to believe what you are saying you must appear credible to your audience. For instance someone is more likely to believe a doctor when they diagnose them with an issue, than believing their friend who told them that they think they have an issue. If you truly know what you are talking about and you are educated about the topic then more people are more likely to believe you.
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