The Role of Rhetoric

Whether we realize it or not, rhetoric is involved in nearly every aspect of our lives. It plays a key role in job interviews and presentations, the success of sales representatives, in discipling children, working our differences with a spouse, persuading another of your opinion, and even just expressing ideas and concerns with another. Along with appearance, I believe it is one of the most important keys in influencing people, for it is one of the greatest things that people judge in others. Though mainly all of us look down upon judging someone off of one or two characteristics, this is in actuality done very frequently. For instance, though none would like to admit it, those that struggle with studdering automatically drop levels in reference to ethos, for many believe that they simply are not educated when more often than not, this isn't the case. Certainly, this is not fair is any sense of the word, but that's the way it is. It is important then for us recognize this so as to be able to present ourselves in a way that appeals to the audience we desire, especially for things like job interviews. It is unlikely that an employer will be able to even come close to understanding your level of work ethic and character within a few simple questions. Most often, these can only be discovered through observation and experience. Even so, being able to understand how to present youself to your audience in a way that will advocate a favorable reaction is huge. Perhaps it is time for us to begin to recognize the grand influence which rhetoric has on nearly every aspects of our lives so as to be able to utilize it to our advantage rather than allowing it to dictate us, and thereby, prove our downfall in relation to ethos.