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Rhetoric: How to Inform, Persuade, or Motivate your Audience

June 12, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

Persuasive speaking is needed in a wide range of situations; from arguing with a colleague, to haggling down a price, to performing a speech. Rhetoric is the key to developing this skill. In this article, we discuss how to use rhetoric for effective public speaking.

What is rhetoric?

Rhetoric is the study and art of writing and speaking persuasively. Its aim is to inform, educate, persuade or motivate specific audiences in specific situations. It originates from the time of the ancient Greeks.

Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men  – Plato

Rhetoric is not just a tool used only in speeches, you use it in everyday life when, for example, you only disclose certain parts of your weekend to certain people.

Treatise of rhetoric

Aristotle stated that there are three types of persuasive speech:

• Forensic / judicial rhetoric  – looks at the justice or injustice of accusations and establishes evidence about the past. It’s used mainly in a court of law.
• Epideictic / demonstrative rhetoric  – praises or blames and makes a declaration about the present situation. It’s used in, for example,  wedding  and retirement speeches etc.
• Symbouleutikon / deliberative rhetoric  – tries to get the audience to take action by talking about a possible future. Politicians often use this approach and Martin Luther’s “I have a dream” speech is a good example.

Rhetorical situations

To use rhetoric you must first:

• Analyse the rhetorical situation you are in – an effective speech is one that responds to its rhetorical situation (context)
• Identify what needs to be communicated
• Provide a strategic response using rhetorical tools

When you analyse the rhetorical situation think about the following:

The rhetor (yourself)  – the person speaking to the audience. Your personal characteristics and beliefs will influence what you decide to say, such as:

• Geographical location
• Previous experiences
• Socio-economic status, etc

The audience  – the people you are  trying to persuade . Usually the same factors that affect the rhetor affect the audience. Think about what they already know. What questions or reservations might they have? What expectations do they have? Where should you conform to and stray from these expectations?

The setting  – the situation which causes the need for your speech, for example, current events, location, time period, political situation etc. Where is the speech happening and when? How do these this impact you? For example, speeches may need to differ between countries.

The topic  – needs to be relevant to the rhetorical situation you are in. How does your topic limit what you can do for the audience? Depending on your audience, what should you include or exclude?

The purpose  – why are you saying this? Is it to:

• Instigate action, etc

Five canons and three appeals

The five canons of rhetoric.

The Five Canons of Rhetoric are tools for creating persuasive speeches:

• Invention  – the process of developing an argument. For this you need to pick effective content and sort through everything you could say and decide what should be included or excluded. There needs to be a balance between what the audience needs to hear and what you need to say.
• Arrangement  – once you have determined the content you must organise and order your speech to create the most impact, such as thinking about how long each section should be and what should follow on from one point etc.
• Style  – deciding how to present your chosen arguments, including thinking tactically about how your audience will respond to your word choices. Perhaps include visualisation or other techniques to evoke emotions. (See rhetorical devices and tools)
• Memory  – memorising your speech.
• Delivery  – this includes your projection,  gestures ,  eye contact , pronunciation, tone and  pace .

The three appeals

According to Aristotle, rhetoric rests on the three appeals:  ethos, logos and pathos . They are modes of persuasion used to convince an audience.

• Ethos : your credibility and character
• Pathos : emotional bond with your listeners
• Logos : logical and rational argument

Ethos – the ethical appeal

Ethos consists of convincing your audience that you have good character and you are credible therefore your words can be trusted. Ethos must be established from the start of your talk or the audience will not accept what you say. In fact, ethos is often established before your presentation, for example, you may be the CEO of the company you’re presenting to so you’re already perceived as a specialist.

Characteristics of ethos

There are four main characteristics of ethos:

• Trustworthiness and respect
• Similarity to the audience
• Expertise and reputation/history

Improve ethos

• Ensure that people know about your expertise by promoting yourself, for example, ensure that people can easily access testimonials, reviews, papers etc.
• In your introduction draw attention to your ethos.
• Tell personal stories  that show the audience that you follow your own recommendations because they are more likely to believe you on other points that cannot easily be confirmed.
• Facts, stats and quotes should be up-to-date and from reputable sources, for example, between choosing from social media or Mind’s website to  quote a statistic  about anxiety, you would choose Mind’s website as this has high ethos which in turn increases your ethos.
• Be unbiased by admitting that you and your opposition’s side agree on at least one matter. This highlights that you are credible because you are treating the topic with consideration and fairness.
• Stick to your promises, for example,  during the Q&A  you may have agreed to find out an answer to a question and tell everyone – ensure that you do this to be seen as honest.

Pathos – the emotional appeal

Pathos is to persuade by appealing to the audience’s emotions. Pathos is more likely to increase the chances of your audience:

• Understanding your point of view
• Accepting your arguments
• Acting on your requests

Improving pathos

• Use  analogies and metaphors  – linking your ideas with something your listeners already know about and feel strongly about can trigger emotional responses. For example, “They are terrible” compared to “They are poisonous.” This will use the audience’s knowledge that poison is bad and therefore this issue needs to be dealt with.
• Use emotionally charged words, for example, say “This brush is a life-saver” rather than “This brush is amazing.”. Another way to make a statement more emotional is to use vivid and sensory words which allow the audience to experience the emotion. For instance, “The smell of your grandparent’s house” will increase the recollection of, hopefully warm memories, and therefore will trigger certain emotions.
• Positive emotions, such as joy, should be linked with your claims.
• Negative emotions, such as anger, should be linked to your rival’s claims.
• Visual aids can sometimes be more powerful than words
• Storytelling is a quick way to form an emotional connection
• Match what you’re saying with your body language, face and eyes
• You may target the audience’s hopes by describing a positive future situation if your proposed actions are followed

Logos – logical appeal

Logos is to appeal to logic by relying on the audience’s intelligence and offering evidence in support of your argument. Logos also develops ethos because the information makes you look knowledgeable. Logos is important because logical arguments are not easily dismissed.

Improving logos

Be comprehensive : Make sure your points and arguments can be understood

• Use language that your audience will understand. Avoid jargon and technical terminology
• Use figures and charts
• Make the relationships between your evidence and conclusions clear
• Use analogies and metaphors

Be logical : Ensure that your arguments make sense and that your claims and evidence are not implausible. Have a plan for dealing with opposing viewpoints that your listeners may already believe.

• Ensure that the  audience is involved  by asking them engaging questions.
• Talk about opposing views as this allows you to explain why your logical arguments are more reasonable.
• Build your argument on the audience’s widely held beliefs – commonplaces. For example, a company’s main value and therefore commonplace may be “Compassion makes us the best company”. Use the audience’s commonplace like a fact and apply it to a new situation. So if you want to encourage your staff to join a committee, use their commonplace, for example, rather than your belief say: “This committee needs considerate and kind-hearted people.”

Be specific : Base your claims on facts and examples as your arguments will be accepted quicker than something nonspecific and non-concrete. The more easily the evidence is accepted, the more easily the conclusions will be accepted.

• Facts and stats cannot be debated and they signify the truth.
• Visual evidence, such as, objects and videos are hard to challenge.
• Citing specialists and authorities on a topic increases the quality of your evidence and therefore your claims.
• Tell stories, such as, case studies or personal experiences. The audience would like to hear your own stories if you’re a specialist, for example, “When I was excavating in Nottingham…”

There is uncertainty over which pillar is the most important – Aristotle thought that logos was vital but when used by itself it lacks impact. So ensure that you treat all three pillars with equal importance to succeed in persuading your audience.

Rhetorical modes

Rhetorical modes are patterns of organisation used to produce a specific effect in the audience. They assist in increasing the speaker’s ethos, pathos and logos.

• Telling a story or narrating an event.
• Uses facts – what happened, where it happened, when it happened and who was there.
• It helps put information into a logical order – usually chronological order.
• Purpose : to evoke certain emotions in the audience.

Description

• Re-create, inventing or visually presenting a person, place, object, event or action through words
• This helps the audience imagine what is being described
• Use precise verbs and nouns and vivid adjectives
• Using the five senses is especially useful
• Purpose : to evoke certain emotions in the audience

Argumentation/Persuasion

• Articulating your opinion about an issue – proving or contesting a point or view or an issue.
• Consists of presenting the evidence.
• Inductive arguments- Forming generalisations from the evidence. For example: “All the theme parks I have been to have been safe. This is a theme park. So it must be safe.”
• Deductive arguments – Forming conclusions from generalisations. For example. “I don’t like busy places. That shopping centre is really busy. So I won’t like that shopping centre.”
• Persuasion is a type of argumentation with a call to action directed at the audience.
• Purpose : the speaker tries to get the audience to agree with their opinion and in the case of persuasion the speaker tries to get the audience to take action.
• Informing, instructing or presenting ideas objectively. Exposition can use the following techniques:

Illustration/Example

• Using evidence to explain a general idea or statement.
• The stronger your evidence, the more likely the audience will consider your points.
• Usually used to support an argument.
• Use evidence suitable for your topic and audience.
• How complex the topic is
• The audience’s knowledge
• Purpose : gives your statements/arguments more credibility and helps the audience understand more quickly.
• Explaining what a word, idea etc means to your audience and/or to explain what it is not.
• This is more difficult than looking up the term in a dictionary because you may be re-defining a common term or explaining a term that is commonly used incorrectly, such as, the word depression.
• By reshaping what the audience thought a concept meant they can see and think about that concept in a different way.
• There are multiple ways you can define something, it doesn’t have to be in a clinical way – you can use the rhetorical strategies discussed later.
• Purpose : helps the audience see things from your point of view.

Process analysis

• Explaining how a particular event occurs or how something is done or how something works, for example, how to sew, or how to move on from the death of a loved one.
• This procedure is usually explained in clear steps.
• Purpose : to provide clear information so the audience can fully understand – the more the audience understands, the more likely they will be persuaded.
• Dividing one concept into smaller ones.
• This can be helpful for you, the speaker, as it can provide the audience with an insight of how you view a concept.
• Purpose : to help the audience understand a complex issue.

Classification

• Often looking at a diverse group of objects and finding similarities.
• The rhetor creates categories based on the similarities and gives each category a name.
• Purpose : useful for organising complex issues.

Cause and effect

• Examining the causes of a situation and the consequences of it.
• Causes help you understand why something happened and effect helps you understand what could happen or what has happened.
• Especially useful when the rhetor can show a cause and effect relationship the audience haven’t noticed before because this helps the audience see the situation in a different way.
• Often leads to debates as it’s not always easy to determine this relationship.
• Purpose : to determine how concepts are related to each other.

Comparison and contrast

• Comparison looks at similarities and contrast looks at differences.
• The more divergent the two things initially appear the more interesting it will be to look at the similarities.
• Purpose : generally to show something is more superior to another, to show unexpected similarities or to help the audience understand a person, place, idea etc in relation to another.

Rhetorical devices and tools, with examples

Rhetorical devices can be useful for assisting with the above modes of persuasion:

Adynaton  – a type of hyperbole (exaggeration) in which the exaggeration is taken to such extreme lengths to suggest impossibility.

• Example: “When pigs fly!”

Alliteration  – the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of several words that are close in proximity to each other.

• Example: “The dog dived deeply.”
• Example: “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe its Maybelline.”

Allusion  – a reference to an event, literary work, person etc usually within popular culture.

• Example: “It’s only £10, you’re acting like Scrooge.”

Anaphora  – repeating a word or phrase in successive phrases.

• Example: “As you know, we’ve got the iPod, best music player in the world. We’ve got the iPod Nanos, brand new models, colours are back. We’ve got the amazing new iPod Shuffle.” – Steve Jobs

Antanagoge  – when a negative point is followed by a positive one to reduce the impact.

• Example: “It’s expensive but it’s unbreakable”

Antimetabole  – a phrase or sentence is repeated in reverse order.

• Example: “It is not even the beginning of the end but is perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill

Antiphrasis  – a phrase or word that is opposite to its literal meaning to create an ironic or comic effect.

• Example: Calling your friend Tiny even when they are 6 foot 5.

Antithesis  – two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence for contrast.

• Example: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

Appositive  – places a noun or phrase next to another noun for descriptive purposes.

• Example: “Your friend Sam is waiting outside for you.”
• Example: “The neurologist, a well-renowned expert in Paediatric Neurology, looked at the scans.”

Epanalepsis  – repeating the initial part of a sentence at the end of the same sentence.

• Example: “Today, I want it done today.”

Epithet  – using an adjective or phrase to emphasises a person’s characteristics. Often, this adjective or phrase becomes linked to the person and can be used with their name or instead of their name.

• Example: Eddie the Eagle

Epizeuxis  – repeats one word in immediate succession for emphasis.

• Example: “That film was great, great, great.”

Hyperbole  – an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally.

• Example: “I’ve got tons of work to get through.”
• Example: “I’m freezing.”

Metanoia  – correcting a statement you just made deliberately to strengthen or soften it.

• Example: “This has made my day, no, my month.”

Metaphor  – a comparison made by stating one thing is the other.

• Example: “This cake is heaven.”

Metonymy  – where something is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it.

• Example: Referring to business professionals as “suits.”
• Example: Referring to royals as “Crown.”
• Example: Referring to a plate of food as a “dish.”

Onomatopoeia  – words that are similar to the sound they describe.

• Example: Drip, pop, buzz, bang

Oxymoron  – a combination of contradictory words.

• Example: Cruel kindness, definitely maybe, open secret

Parallelism  – uses components in a sentence that are similar grammatically or in their construction, sound or meaning. It makes sentences flow better by adding rhythm.

• Example: “The dog was barking, the bell was ringing and the children were shouting.”

Personification  – The attribution of human characteristics to something non-human.

• Example: “The traffic slowed to a crawl.”

Simile  – compares one thing to another to make a description more vivid, usually uses “as” or “like”.

• Example: “As light as a feather.”

Understatement  – deliberately making a situation sound less important or serious than it is. You can use it for humour, to be polite or to remain modest over something.

• Example: You won an award for a piece of artwork but you say “It’s no big deal.” (Modest)
• Example: Your friend is worried about people staring at a stain on his T-shirt, you say “I wouldn’t have even noticed if you hadn’t said anything.” (Polite)
• Example: You walk outside with your coat on and realise it’s very hot – “I may be a little over-dressed.” (Humour)

Criticisms of rhetoric

Some people believe that rhetoric is a type of lying or false behaviour and manipulation. However, even when you’re criticising rhetoric, you are engaging in an act of rhetoric because you are trying to get others to agree with you.

Rhetoric works well in many situations, such as, in business presentations, lectures etc. So rhetoric is a good tool but, like with other tools, it’s up to you how to use it effectively.

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Tap into the power to persuade by using these 6 techniques of clear and compelling speech

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Politicians and other public figures deploy particular rhetorical devices to communicate their ideas and to convince people, and it’s time that we all learned how to use them, says speechwriter Simon Lancaster.

This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community; browse through all the posts here.

There is a secret language of leadership — and it’s one that anyone can learn, says UK speechwriter Simon Lancaster in a TEDxVerona talk . He has made a career out of crafting addresses, remarks and talks for top politicians and CEOs of international corporations such as Nestle and Unilever, and continues to do so . Refreshingly, rather than clinging Gollum-like to what he’s learned and knows, he believes everyone should have access to the same tools that he and his colleagues use.

By tools, he’s not talking about special software or databases — he’s referring to rhetoric. Rhetoric has its roots in ancient Greece ( think: Aristotle ) as clear, convincing speech was seen as an essential component of communication and participation in a democracy. Instruction in rhetoric remained part of the curriculum in many secondary schools in Europe and the US until the 19th century.

“The reason we all used to learn rhetoric at school was because it was seen as a basic entry point to society,” explains Lancaster, who is based in London. “How could society be fair, unless everyone had equal ability to articulate and express themselves? Without it, your legal systems, your political systems, your financial systems are not fair.”

Yes, the power to persuade is just that — power.

Lancaster states there is only one school in England that still teaches rhetoric: Eton, the alma mater of 20 Prime Ministers (including current officeholder, Boris Johnson). He adds, “It should be of intense concern to all of us that education in this has been narrowed to a very small … elite.”

While Lancaster can’t send the world to Eton, he can share the 6 rhetorical building blocks needed to speak persuasively. Here they are:

Building block #1: Breathless sentences or phrases

Barack Obama gave an acceptance speech for the ages in 2008 after he was first elected president of the US. He spoke vividly of the challenges that lay ahead for the country: “Even as we celebrate tonight, we know that the challenges tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime: Two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.”

Lancaster wants us to pay special attention to the last part of that sentence, the “two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century” part. Yes, it’s a stressful mouthful — not just because of the content but because of how it’s delivered. Short, staccato phrases like these mimic how we speak when we’re anxious and in a hurry. This technique helps communicate urgency to an audience.

Building block #2: Speaking in 3s

What’s the other rhetorical trick underlying “two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century”? The rule of 3.

Humans are accustomed to things coming in 3s: whether it’s judges on American Idol , bowls of porridge in a fairy tale , or sides in a triangle. Our minds and ears have been trained by speeches (Abraham Lincoln’s “government of the people, for the people, by the people”); slogans (reduce, reuse, recycle); and book titles ( Elizabeth Gilbert ‘s memoir Eat, Pray, Love ). “You put your argument in 3s, it makes it sound more compelling, more convincing, more credible. Just like that,” says Lancaster.

Recall British PM Winston Churchill’s stirring triplet from the speech he delivered to Parliament on June 4, 1940 : “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets.” Besides the rule of 3, he gave the line additional rhetorical firepower by repeating the opening clause.

Lancaster explains, “When we are emotional about things, our perspective distorts, and this then manifests in our speech. So this is the authentic sound of passion.” Doing this can catch an audience in the speaker’s enthusiasm.

Building block #3: Balanced statements

“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” It’s a line from president John F Kennedy’s inspiring 1961 inaugural address , and one that’s stood the test of time. Why? Its balanced construction, says Lancaster. “If the sentence sounds as if it’s balanced, we imagine that the underlying thinking is balanced and our brain is tuned to like things that are balanced.”

Grouping balanced statements in 3s further amplifies the effect:

“We’re looking to the future, not the past.

We’re working together, not against one another.

We’re thinking about what we can do, not what we can’t.”

Building block #4: Metaphor

According to Lancaster, people use a metaphor once every 16 words on average ( side question: Where do statistics like this even come from? ). He declares, “Metaphor is probably the most powerful piece of political communication.”

Metaphors are rich in imagery and awake immediate feelings in people, so it follows that politicians love them and sprinkle them like birdseed (“like birdseed” is a simile, not a metaphor , and similes are other strong rhetorical tools to have in your kit). At times, they can employ them to point us to an ideal or aspiration. For example, in his farewell address , president Ronald Reagan movingly invoked America, h/t to John Winthrop, as a “shining city upon the hill.”

Too often, however, metaphors are used to manipulate, incite and denigrate. Politicians and talking heads could have called the 2015-16 refugee encampment in Calais, France, a “refugee camp” or “refugee settlement.” Instead, they deployed this loaded word: “jungle.” Lancaster says,“It’s planting in your mind the idea that migrants are like wild animals to be afraid of, that they are dangerous, that they represent a threat to you. This is a very dangerous metaphor because this is the language of genocide; it’s the language of hate.” Unfortunately, media outlets picked up “Calais jungle” and used it as their shorthand identifier of the camp, extending the metaphor’s reach.

Building block #5: Exaggeration

In the same way that we get breathless when they’re speaking with passion, our speech distorts in another significant way. We exaggerate. So when we’re sitting down to a meal after having eaten little that day, we tell our family and friends: “I love this pizza.” But when we say things like this to each other, we also realize it’s a bit of distortion: We do not love the pizza in the same way that we love our children or parents or the planet, and everyone present knows that.

Similarly, politicians and leaders might say things like “I’ve waited my whole life to say these words” or “I will work to achieve this with all my heart and soul.” These utterances are indeed over the top, but because they’re acceptable and even welcome since they echo how we speak.

Building block #6: Rhyming

Starting from childhood, many of us are taught concepts through rhymes — such as “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” or “i before e except after c.” With their musicality, they’re a pleasing informational snack that sticks in memories like a musical earworm .

Rhymes can seem corny, but sprinkled in at the right time, they can be incredibly potent. We all  remember the pithy “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” from defense attorney Johnnie Cochran during O.J. Simpson’s 1995 murder trial.

Rhyming’s appeal comes “down to what linguists talk about as the processing fluency of language — how easy is language to swallow?” says Lancaster. “If you speak using long words and long sentences, it’s like giving someone a steak and asking them to swallow it. Whereas if you give them something pithy, like a rhyme, it’s like asking them to just sip on some Prosecco.”

These six tricks can help us speak directly to people’s instinctive, emotional and logical brains, and they are extremely effective, says Lancaster. There’s no need for us to be in the public eye to use them in order to sway others or make our words stay in people’s minds. Even if we never employ them in our own lives, it’s equally important for us to recognize them. Politicians, con artists and advertisers utilize them to win votes, spread opinions, or sell products people don’t need. By being alert to these rhetorical devices, we can be better citizens and consumers.

To learn more about rhetoric, watch this:

Watch Simon Lancaster’s TEDxVerona talk here:

About the author

Daryl Chen is the Ideas Editor at TED.

• how to be a better human
• public speaking
• simon lancaster

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Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking

Gain critical communication skills.

This Harvard online course introduces learners to the art of persuasive writing and speaking and teaches how to construct and defend compelling arguments.

What You'll Learn

We are living in a contentious time in history. Fundamental disagreements on critical political issues make it essential to learn how to make an argument and analyze the arguments of others. This ability will help you engage in civil discourse and make effective changes in society. Even outside the political sphere, conveying a convincing message can benefit you throughout your personal, public, and professional lives.

We will be using selected addresses from prominent twentieth-century Americans—including Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Margaret Chase Smith, Ronald Reagan, and more—to explore and analyze rhetorical structure and style. Through this analysis, you will learn how speakers and writers persuade an audience to adopt their point of view.

Built around Harvard Professor James Engell’s on-campus course, “Elements of Rhetoric,” this course will help you analyze and apply rhetorical structure and style, appreciate the relevance of persuasive communication in your own life, and understand how to persuade and recognize when someone is trying to persuade you. You will be inspired to share your viewpoint and discover the most powerful ways to convince others to champion your cause. Join us to find your voice!

The course will be delivered via  edX  and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• When and how to employ a variety of rhetorical devices in writing and speaking
• How to differentiate between argument and rhetorical technique
• How to write a persuasive opinion editorial and short speech
• How to evaluate the strength of an argument
• How to identify logical fallacies in arguments

Course Outline

• Define the term "rhetoric."
• Articulate the importance of effective communication
• Summarize the history of rhetorical study, from the ancient Greeks to the modern-day
• Identify the parts of discourse
• Define the three modes of appeal
• Identify tropes and schemes, and explain their use in composition
• Compose an opinion editorial on a topic of your choice
• Analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream…” speech
• Define inductive reasoning and some of its associated topics
• Identify instances of inductive reasoning in writing and speech
• Define deductive reasoning and some of its associated topics
• Identify instances of deductive reasoning in writing and speech
• Recognize and evaluate the strength of an argument's refutation
• Apply the elements of rhetoric you have learned so far into the final draft of your op-ed
• Analyze Sarah Brady’s Democratic National Convention Keynote Speech
• Analyze Charlton Heston’s speech on the Second Amendment
• Define “inductive reasoning” and some of its associated topics
• Define “deductive reasoning” and some of its associated topics
• Recognize and evaluate the strength of an argument’s refutation
• Apply the elements of rhetoric you have learned so far in the final draft of your op-ed
• Describe the origins of the practice of oratory
• Recognize ways in which orators tailor their writing for the spoken word
• Describe techniques for effective public speaking, both prepared and extemporaneous
• Brainstorm ideas for your own short speech
• Analyze Joseph McCarthy’s “Enemies Within” speech
• Analyze Margaret Chase Smith’s "A Declaration of Conscience" speech
• Identify the modes of appeal and the logical reasoning of the featured speeches
• Identify both common and special topics used in these speeches, like cause and effect, testimony, justice and injustice, and comparison, and begin to recognize their use in other speeches
• Identify examples from these speeches of logical fallacies including the either/or fallacy, the fallacy of affirming the consequent, the argument ad hominem, the argument ad populum, begging the question, the complex question, and the use of imprecise language
• Discuss the importance of winning and keeping an audience’s trust and the pros and cons of attempting to tear down their confidence in an opponent
• Define for yourself the definition of "extremist rhetoric," debate its use as a political tool
• Consider the moral responsibilities of those who would seek to persuade others through language
• Discuss how the audience and the desired tone for a speech can influence diction (word choice)
• Compare the effects of using passive vs. active voice, and first-person vs. other tenses in a speech
• Discuss the effectiveness of the use of symbolism in writing and speech
• Define hyperbole, antimetabole, and polysyndeton, and identify when these devices might be appropriate and useful in terms of persuasion
• Describe techniques for connecting with your audience, including storytelling and drawing on shared experience

Your Instructor

James Engell  is Gurney Professor of English and Professor of Comparative Literature, also a member of the Committee on the Study of Religion, and a faculty associate of the Harvard University Center for the Environment.  He has also directed dissertations in American Studies, as well as Romance Languages & Literatures (French).

Education:   B.A. 1973, Ph.D. 1978 Harvard

Interests:  Romantic, Eighteenth-Century, and Restoration British Literature; Comparative Romanticism; Criticism and Critical Theory; Rhetoric; Environmental Studies; History and Economics of Higher Education

Selected Works:   The Call of Classical Literature in the Romantic Age  (2017, ed. with K. P. Van Anglen) and contributor, "The Other Classic: Hebrew Shapes British and American Literature and Culture."  William Wordsworth's  Prelude  (1805), edited from the manuscripts and fully illustrated in color (2016, ed. with Michael D. Raymond).   Environment: An Interdisciplinary Anthology  (2008, ed. with Adelson, Ranalli, and Van Anglen).   Saving Higher Education in the Age of Money  (2005, with Anthony Dangerfield).   The Committed Word: Literature and Public Values  (1999).   Coleridge: The Early Family Letters  (1994, ed.).   Forming the Critical Mind  (1989).   Johnson and His Age  (1984, ed. and contributor).   Biographia Literaria  for the  Collected Coleridge  (1983, ed. with W. Jackson Bate).   The Creative Imagination:  Enlightenment to Romanticism  (1981).

Ways to take this course

When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.

A Verified Certificate costs $209 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate. 

Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums.  Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

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• Identify instances of inductive reasoning in writing and speech
• Define deductive reasoning and some of its associated topics
• Identify instances of deductive reasoning in writing and speech
• Recognize and evaluate the strength of an argument's refutation
• Apply the elements of rhetoric you have learned so far into the final draft of your op-ed

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4 Ways to Use Rhetorical Devices to Make Powerful Speeches (with Examples)

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Writing

I am certain all of us have come across powerful speeches, novels, or presentations that left us speechless at some point. But have you wondered how the speaker or the author managed to do so?

How did they manage to make almost everyone in the audience riveted? You might have attributed this skill of captivating the audience to good public speaking, which is partially true but the other half of this lies in their use of magic tools which are referred to as rhetorical devices.

A rhetorical device is a technique that is used by a speaker or an author for conveying a particular message to the audience in such a way that it provokes an emotional response to a particular action. It is a linguistic tool, whose employment can be used to construct an argument or make an existing one more compelling .

To put it simply, rhetorical devices are devices used to spice up your conversations, work presentations, and speeches. They are often used to provoke an emotional response and make the matter of the speech more compelling, with the goal of persuading the audience.

Why are rhetorical techniques important?

Why should rhetorical devices be used? What impact do they have? Well, here’s why,

There is one common thing between the world’s famous speeches and presentations, which is their ability to create an emotional connection with the audience. The way in which a speaker makes the audience feel is very important as that feeling will stay with the audience long after the speech or the presentation is over. This emotional response is evoked with the help of rhetorical devices.

Apart from this, rhetorical devices help you become more persuasive. It also aids in composing successful presentations and writings. It helps you make your speech crisp and improves the understanding of the audience.

Moreover, with the correct rhetorical devices, it enables you to make stronger arguments and a way of handling controversial topics. It also has a powerful impact on the audience helping them remember the ideas better through repetition or grammatical manipulation.

Most used rhetorical devices

In order to know how to use these magic tools, it is crucial to know some of these most used rhetorical devices and also its application in a speech.

1. Alliteration

This is the repetition of sounds of two or more neighboring words. This is usually used to put emphasis and to draw attention. For instance, safety and security Ate apples all afternoon

2. Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word in a phrase at the beginning of the next phrase or sentence. For example, Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering –Yoda, Star Wars

3. Antistrophe

This is repetition of words at the end of consecutive phrases/clauses. It can be termed as a specific type of repetition. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.”

The above sentence is quoted by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent essayist. Here, the words ‘What lies’ is repeated leading to the creation of a poetic effect.

4. Antithesis

In this, two opposite and contrasting ideas are juxtaposed. For example, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Here, two contrasting ideas are proposed in the same sentence in such a way that it shows the strikingly different ideas showing a compare and contrast kind of situation.

A repeated word or phrase split up by another word, to display strong emotion. Understanding it with an example, Free at last! Free at last! Thank god we are free at last!

6. Ellipsis

In this, few words are depicting an event is omitted making the readers ponder about the narrative gaps. For instance, “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth…the proposition that all men are created equal.”

This is the start of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, where the three dots are ellipsis points suggesting a time lapse.

This is a simple method of double negatives that present a positive statement. It is often used to express irony. This is commonly used in conversations as well.

For example, ‘She is not thin’ OR ‘You are not unfamiliar with poetry’.

8. Hyperbole

This is an expression of mere exaggeration, often used to draw attention to the severity of the matter or to make a strong point. This is also frequently used in day to day language.

For instance,

‘I called her a thousand times’

‘It raining cats and dogs’.

9. Epistrophe

Repetition of words at the end of successive phrases for a poetic effect. An example of this could be the famous definition of democracy given by Abraham Lincoln, “… and that the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

10. Personification

Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects. It aids in a better explanation of ideas and concepts.

For instance, ‘The thunder roared in the evening’

‘The brutal wind bullied the trees compelling them into giving up their leaves’

11. Epiphora

Repetition of a word/phrase at the end of every clause. An instance of this could be a speech given by Steve Jobs where this technique is effectively used,

“Well, these are their home screens . And again, as you recall, this is the iPhone’s homescreen. This is what their contacts look like . This is what iPhone’s contacts look like .”

12. Anaphora

This is slightly different from Epiphora in the sense that the repetition of the word/phrase is at the beginning of the two or more sentences or clauses.

For instance, “They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and in academia, and engineering, medicine and science. They are part of the world of tech and politics and in business. They are athletes in the Olympics and they are soldiers in the military.”

This is a small chunk of a speech made by Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globes awards. Here, she tries to draw attention of the audience by emphasising on the word ‘They are’ highlighting the role of women in different parts of life.

13. Germinatio

This is repetition of a word in the same sentence for more than once. For instance, “And so I’ve got voice mail how I wanna listen to it, when I wanna listen to it, in any order I wanna listen to it with visual voicemail.”

The technique of germinatio was used by Steve Jobs in his speech in order to create a compelling effect on the listeners.

These are just a few commonly used rhetorical devices from an ocean of such magic tools. (Take a guess at what device is used here!)

How to use rhetorical devices in speeches?

Before we dive in to how to use rhetorical devices, we made a fun video on how these tools are the one simple thing that helps take your speech to the next level. There are a bunch of examples and tips here that will help you incorporate rhetorical devices for your next presentation. Highly recommend you check it out:

To know how to implement these rhetorical devices in your speech is also of utmost importance, apart from knowing them. Here’s a way of incorporating them in your speech.

1. Know the rhetorical appeals

It is important to know the types of rhetorical appeals as rhetorical devices fall into these categories. Make a rough draft and then insert rhetorical devices accordingly depending on the tone of the speech. Figure out the mode of persuasion, that is, whether it is Logos, Pathos, Ethos or Kairos.

This refers to giving logical and intellectual arguments and reasoning, supporting it with credible evidence. An example of logos can be a speech by Donald Trump, where he states a few figures regarding the illegal immigration,

“So here are just a few statistics on the human toll of illegal immigration. According to a 2011 government report, the arrests attached to the criminal alien population included an estimated 25,000 people for homicide, 42,000 for robbery, nearly 70,000 for sex offenses, and nearly 15,000 for kidnapping. In Texas alone, within the last seven years, more than a quarter-million criminal aliens have been arrested and charged with over 600,000 criminal offenses. … Sixty-three thousand Americans since 9/11 have been killed by illegal aliens. This isn’t a problem that’s going away; it’s getting bigger.”

This refers to making an appeal to the audience’s emotions. This includes using language in such a way that creates an empathetic feeling towards the speaker. Given below is an example of Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” speech.

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”

This refers to persuading the audience about the speaker’s credibility and the fact that his arguments carry weight.

An example of this could be the speech made by Mitt Romney, senator of the United States. In this speech, accepting the presidential nominee Mitt Romney points out to the fact that his business success would prove useful if he were to take the office.

“I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience. When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice. So we started a new business called Bain Capital…That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I’m pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised.”

This involves an appeal to the timing of the argument, meaning that the argument has to be made in a suitable context making the audience receptive to it. An instance of Kairos can be Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,

“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to make to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

One can use these rhetorical appeals in such a way that a combination of all 4 appeals is made simultaneously.

Making the speech highly logos specific, that is giving only facts, will make the audience bored, whereas making it too pathos oriented will make the speech very emotional and lacking in rational thinking.

If you would like some more information on ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS, you can check out the same in this short video we made:

2. A rhetorical question

Rhetorical questions can be used to control the thoughts of the audience. These questions may have obvious answers or may not have a clear cut answer.

One technique of using such questions is inserting them in the start of the speech and then carrying on with the speech in such a way that the rhetorical question is answered in the content of your presentation.

Another way is by inserting a rhetorical question, which as an obvious answer to it at the end of the speech- making sure that the question is related to what the speech entails.

The election speech of Ronald Reagan for the 1980 presidential debate between Governor Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter, where the governor ended with a bunch of rhetorical questions is a perfect example for this,

“Next Tuesday is Election Day. Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we’re as strong as we were four years ago? And if you answer all of those questions yes, why then, I think your choice is very obvious as to whom you will vote for. If you don’t agree, if you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.”

Check it out in action, here:

3. A powerful beginning

It is rightly said that the first impression is the last impression and hence a powerful beginning is very important. To capture the audience it is important to insert some rhetorical devices at the start of your speech which create some poetic effect that helps you engage the audience. It may also include the use of diacope or anadiplosis which focus on repetition of the words of phrases creating emphasis and a strong display of emotions.

An example of anadiplosis can be: “Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution.” This was used by the George W. Bush

4. A powerful end

Climax is the most important part, be it a speech or a movie! What you say in the end is what stays with the audience hence, ending the speech with impactful rhetorical devices is advisable.

These may include inserting a rhetorical question making the audience ponder a little as mentioned above. It may also include the use of Epistrophe.

For instance, while addressing the nation about terrorism George Bush ends his speech in a powerful way assuring people that he will take the necessary actions to prevent terrorism, with appropriate use of Epistrophe:

“I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.”  

Watch the full speech here:

Use of rhetorical devices by Frederick Douglass

The credit for developing the basics of rhetoric goes to Aristotle and since then there has been extensive use of these literary tools. A prominent figure who is well known for his use of rhetorical devices is also Frederick Douglass, who was a slave who had escaped and went on to become an activist, author and public speaker.

He is known not only for his idea of abolition of slavery but also his superior skill of rhetoric and the art of persuading the audience. In his memoir called the ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave’, a number of rhetorical devices are used to argue against the heinous act of slavery.

Here is a look at how he used some of them to make his communication all the more poewrful:

It involves persuading the audience about the author’s qualifications and credibility pointing to the fact that the speaker’s arguments carry weight.

In the memoir, Frederick Douglass talks about his first-hand experience with slavery by talking about being oblivious about his birthday unlike other people in the first chapter itself, building his ethos.

In order to make an appeal to the audience’s emotions, Douglass talks about his experience of watching his aunt being whipped by the slaveholder until she is covered in blood.

Frederick writes, ‘He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave. I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cow skin.’

Frederick talks about how animals were treated better than humans by the slaveholder.  

He writes about the condition of the slaves by saying:

‘Everything depended upon the looks of the horses, and the state of Colonel Lloyd’s own mind when his horses were brought to him for use. If a horse did not move fast enough, or hold his head high enough, it was owing to some fault of his keepers. It was painful to stand near the stable-door, and hear the various complaints against the keepers when a horse was taken out for use. To all the complaints, no matter how unjust, the slave must answer never a word. Colonel Lloyd could not brook any contradiction from a slave. When he spoke, a slave must stand, listen, and tremble; and such was literally the case. I have seen Colonel Lloyd make old Barney, a man between fifty and sixty years of age, uncover his bald head, kneel down upon the cold, damp ground, and receive upon his naked and toil-worn shoulders more than thirty lashes at the time.’

In Fredrick Douglass’s speech- “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”, he also makes a similar appeal through the use of ethos, pathos and logos . To begin with, he makes an appeal to ethos, by initiating his speech with modesty and meekness. For example, “He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have.”

To steer emotions among the audience, he also uses metaphors such as “A horrible reptile is coiled up in your nation’s bosom; the venomous creature is nursing at the tender breast of your youthful republic . “

“From the round top of your ship of state, dark and threatening clouds may be seen.” This is an example of an extended metaphor where he is comparing the United States to a ship at sea and the dark and threatening clouds are compared to the ongoing threats and troubles.

There has also been use of simile , where the speaker makes a direct comparison of the slaves to animals sold in the market. For example, “I hear the doleful wail of fettered humanity, on the way to the slave-markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine.”

Other Rhetorical Devices used by Douglas

Moreover, through the phrase ‘ doleful wail of fettered humanity ’ the speaker is trying to give the human quality of being fettered to an abstract noun of humanity, pointing out to the use of personification .

Apart from these rhetorical devices, Frederick Douglass also uses rhetorical questions to make the audience ponder about the situation of slavery by asking them, “Is slavery among them? Is it at the gateway? Or is it in the temple?”

“What would be thought of an instrument, drawn up, legally drawn up, for the purpose of entitling the city of Rochester to a tract of land, in which no mention of land was made?”

Another important rhetorical device used by him was that of allusion . Allusion is when the author or the speaker refers to an event, object, person or to a work of art either directly or indirectly. In his speech, Frederick alludes to biblical material, knowing that the audience mostly comprises of Christians.

For instance, “ The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain.” Through this, the speaker makes an analogy between the Lord sending the Israelites back to their homeland and the hope that slavery will perish. Frederick Douglass has made such allusions in order to support his arguments, knowing that words from the bible would carry weight and have a strong impact.

Use of rhetorical devices in famous speeches

1. michelle obama – anaphora.

“I trust Hillary to lead this country because I’ve seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children – not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection but every child who needs a champion: Kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs. Kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college. Kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English but dream of a better life. Kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be.”

This is a small part of a speech made by Michelle Obama. In this, it is seen the word “ Kids ” is used more than once to start sentences that follow each other, pointing out to the use of anaphora.

Here’s the video for the speech made by the former first lady:

2. Steve Jobs – Germination

“That’s 58 songs every second of every minute of every hour of every day.”

This is an instance from the speech of Steve Jobs, where he puts emphasis on the word “ every ” by repeating it frequently in the same sentence.

See the entire speech here:

3. Barack Obama – Antistrophe

“It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.”

Here, the phrase “Yes, we can” is used repeatedly at the end of every sentence in order to put emphasis on the subject.

Watch the video of the speech here:

4. Martin Luther King, Jr – Antithesis

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Here, the speaker uses antithesis by inverting the statements to show that America will have a day when people are judged by their character and not their skin colour.

Given below is the historic speech made at the Lincoln Memorial by Martin Luther King Jr :

5. John Kennedy – Ellipsis

“This much we pledge — and more.”

Here the former President uses “and more” instead of listing more ideas. He also compels the audience to keep thinking about the ideas they should pledge to, instead of listing them.   

In order to use a wide variety of rhetorical devices, it is important to know the different types of these literary techniques. A powerful speech is not just about a good orator or good public speaking skills but much more than that! And these rhetorical devices constitute an integral part of the components which make your speech extraordinary.

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My Favorite Speeches for Rhetorical Analysis: 10 Speeches for Middle School ELA and High School English

Teaching rhetorical analysis is one of my absolute favorite units to complete with my students. I love teaching my students about rhetorical strategies and devices, analyzing what makes an effective and persuasive argument, and reading critical speeches with my students. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite speeches for rhetorical analysis.

I absolutely LOVE teaching rhetorical analysis. I think it might be one of my favorite units to teach to my high school students. There are just so many different text options to choose from. Here is a list of some of my favorite speeches to include in my rhetorical analysis teaching unit.

10 Speeches for Teaching Rhetorical Analysis

1. the gettysburg address (abraham lincoln).

Some notable things to mention in this speech include allusion and parallel structure. To make your analysis more meaningful, point out these devices to students and explain how these devices enhance the meaning of the text.

Teaching Resource : The Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Analysis Activity Packet

2. Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech (Lou Gehrig)

This speech is one that many of my athletes love to analyze, and it is an excellent exemplar text to teach pathos. And like The Gettysburg Address, it is short. This is another speech that you can read, analyze, and even write about in one class period.

When I use this speech in my class, I have students look for examples of pathos. Mainly, I have them look at word choice, tone, and mood. How does Lou Gehrig’s choice of words affect his tone and the overall mood of the speech?

3. I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King,  Jr.)

In the classroom, it is important to point out the sermonic feel to the speech and also to have your students look for calls to action and pathos. Have your students look for tone, allusions, and word choice to help them notice these rhetoric expressions throughout it.

Teaching Resource : I Have a Dream Close Read and Rhetorical Analysis

4. Speech at the March on Washington (Josephine Baker)

This is another important speech that held a lot of importance for the changes that needed to be made in America. The speech is a shorter one, so in the classroom, it will not take as long to analyze it, and students can understand the significance of the use of rhetoric in a shorter amount of time than some other speeches.

When teaching this speech, I like to remind my students to search for devices that portray an excellent example of the pathos that is so present in this speech. Some of these devices could be mood, repetition, and diction.

5. Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech (Steve Jobs)

In class, it is good to have your students annotate and analyze the speech just as they have done for the others. The organization of the speech will help them to notice the similarities and differences between each point Jobs makes.

6. Space Shuttle Challenger (Ronald Reagan)

This speech represents a strong sense of pathos as a movement to help the American people cope with loss after the deaths of the astronauts aboard the Challenger. It is another speech that is not too long, so it should not take a long time to both analyze and annotate the entire speech.

When teaching this speech in class, be sure to mention how pathos is the driving force behind the speech, through the tone and the diction. How does Reagan use emotion to focus on the astronauts as humans, rather than solely focusing on the tragedy?

7. The Perils of Indifference (Elie Wiesel)

This speech is a good one to teach because it both makes students question their own lives, but also how the world works. The speech relies on pathos, and a little ethos too, to get the audience to feel the full effect of the tragedy of the Holocaust and what the speaker went through. It is a long speech so it may take longer for the students to fully grasp all the details that make it such a persuasive speech.

When I teach this speech, I like to have students annotate every place they notice an example of pathos, and then have them explain why in their annotations this makes them feel an emotion. The same with the ethos, and then we can further analyze the rest together.

8. 9/11 Address to the Nation (George W. Bush)

This speech shows another example of the use of pathos in the midst of a tragedy. The President wanted to show the American people how much he was feeling for those lost in the tragedy of 9/11. It is not a long speech, but the amount of emotion within the words is significant for students to notice.

When teaching this speech, it is essential that students look very closely at each part of it, noticing each piece that reveals tone, mood, and other literary devices. How do the different devices add to the pathos of the speech?

FREE TEACHING ACTIVITY : September 11 Address to the Nation Sampler

Teaching Resource : September 11 Address to the Nation Rhetorical Analysis Unit

9. We are Virginia Tech (Nikki Giovanni)

This speech is probably the shortest speech on this list but provides one of the most emotional and pathos-filled rhetoric. This describes another tragedy that is spoken about with pathos to give the audience a safe feeling after such an emotional thing. Students can spend time analyzing the different devices that make the piece so strong in its emotion.

In the classroom, make sure your students make a note of the repetition, and what that does for the speech. Does it make the emotion more impactful? How does it make the audience feel like they are a part of something bigger?

10. Woman’s Right to the Suffrage (Susan B. Anthony)

This is another short speech that holds a lot of power within it. A lot of students will enjoy reading this to see how much the country has changed, and how this speech may have some part in influencing this change. It is a great speech to help teach logos in the classroom, and it will not take a long time to analyze.

Make sure your students notice, and they also understand, the use of allusions within the speech. These allusions help to establish the use of logos, as Anthony wants the use of American historical documents to show how logical her argument is.

Ready-For-You Rhetorical Analysis Teaching Unit

You might also be interested in my blog post about 15 rhetorical analysis questions to ask your students.

Teaching rhetorical analysis and speeches in the classroom is a great way to teach informational text reading standards.

Rhetorical Analysis Teaching Resources:

These resources follow reading standards for informational text and are ideal for secondary ELA teachers.

• Rhetorical Analysis Unit with Sticky Notes
• Ethos, Pathos, Logos: Understanding Rhetorical Appeals\
• Rhetorical Analysis Mini Flip Book

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What is Rhetoric?

Rhetoric definition.

Rhetoric is used in speech and writing to make a specific impact on the audience /reader. Rhetoric often relies on language and composition techniques to create an effect that is intended to:

Occasionally, rhetoric can sound insincere or empty, as if the words lack meaning.

Use of Rhetoric in Literature

Writers often use rhetoric in the form of figures of speech to engage and have an effect on the reader. Rhetoric can be used in description and/or dialogue as a means of making an impression or point that the writer wants the reader to accept. However, overuse of rhetoric is likely to feel tedious and/or meaningless to readers.

Difference Between Rhetorical Device and Figures of Speech

Rhetorical figures or devices are employed to achieve particular emphasis and effect. Rhetorical devices, however, are different from “figures of speech”. Wherever and whenever a figure of speech is used in written texts and speech, it alters the meanings of words. For example, the metaphor used in the expression “He is a tiger,” is a complete altered form of the simple idea “He is brave.” Try to compare this example to the use of a rhetorical device in the example below:

“ I am never ever going to rob anyone for you and never, never ever give in to your sinful wish.”

The repetition in the above example does lay emphasis on the statement but does not alter the sense of it.

Common Rhetoric Examples

Below are a few examples of how rhetoric is employed by using various literary devices :

• How did this idiot get elected ? – A rhetorical question to convince others that the “idiot” does not deserve to be elected.
• Here comes the Helen of our school . – An allusion to “Helen of Troy,” to emphasize the beauty of a girl.
• I would die if you asked me to sing in front of my parents . – A hyperbole to persuade others not to use force to make you do something you don’t want to do.
• All blonds are dumb . – Using a stereotype to develop a general opinion about a group.

Nevertheless, the difference between rhetorical devices and figures of speech is so minute that both share many features. A figure of speech becomes a device in rhetoric when it is aimed at persuading the readers or listeners.

The Importance of Rhetoric

Rhetoric is very important in common life in general and in academic life in specific. In general, it is used to convince people around you. However, when you are in an academic setting , you use subtle arguments to win people, convince others and make your arguments strong. It is through the knowledge of rhetoric that a person uses communication effectively to win the public. Specifically, in political life, people use all modes of rhetoric to make their arguments strong and win more votes. The reason is that democracy reinforces this perception that it is better to win the public heart rather than to rule by force.

Three Modes of Persuasion in Rhetoric

As rhetoric is associated with making an appeal to the mind, there are three major strategies in rhetoric that make a common appeal strong. The first one is the ethos which is the appeal to authority, while the second one is pathos which means appeal to emotions. The third one is logos which means appeal to logic. There is a fourth mode which is kairos means to make rhetoric suitable to the time. This suitability of timing is sometimes very important, while at other times it is not so important. However, logos, pathos, and ethos are very important to make an argument convincing and persuasive.

Difference between Rhetoric and Dialectic

Whereas rhetoric intends to persuade, dialectic does not mean it. Rather, dialectic is more academic in which persuasive techniques are used with a purpose not to persuade but to interpret and present arguments. Also, whereas figurative and bombastic language is the hallmark of rhetoric, dialectic is marked with soberness as well as pragmatic choice of words. Also, dialectic is rather sophisticated while rhetoric could be tautological. Moreover, whereas rhetoric intends to convince, dialectic intends to unearth truth rather than interpret.

Examples of Rhetoric in Literature

Let us try to analyze the use of rhetoric in some literary works:

Example #1: Paradise Lost by John Milton

“…advise him of his happy state— Happiness in his power left free to will , Left to his own free will , his will though free Yet mutable .”

John Milton ’s Paradise Lost has several examples of rhetoric. The above sentence is from Book V: The repetition of the phrase “free will” emphasizes the theme of human creation, which is making free choices , but the phrase “yet mutable” creates ambiguity that, despite being free, Adam had to be careful, as a wrong act could make him lose his freedom.

Example #2: Death, be not Proud by John Donne

“Thou ‘art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy ‘or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then ?”

John Donne addresses death in his Death, Be Not Proud (Holy Sonnet 10). The rhetorical question “why swell’st thou then?” serves to play down the horrific nature of death. He devalues death by calling it a “slave,” and that it keeps the despicable company of “poison, war, sickness” and seeks their support.

Example #3: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman

“Flood-tide below me! I watch you, face to face ; Clouds of the west! sun there half an hour high! I see you also face to face .”

Anaphora is a device where the same word or phrase is repeated at regular intervals to achieve a rhetorical effect. Here Walt Whitman in his poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry use anaphora to create a rhetorical effect.

Function of Rhetoric

Rhetoric, as explained above, is a tool for writers and orators which empowers them to convince their readers and listeners about their point of view . Often, we find rhetoric examples in religious sermons and political speeches. They aim to make comparisons , evoke tender emotions, and censure rivals, and all this is done to persuade listeners.

Advertisers give their ads a touch of rhetoric to boost their sales by convincing people that their product is better than other products in the market. For instance, in an advertisement, a girl – after shampooing her hair with a particular product – says, “I can’t stop touching my hair.” This is an attempt to entice consumers, through visual rhetoric, to buy this product, in order to have soft and shiny hair like her.

Synonyms of Rhetoric

The following words are the closest to the meaning of rhetoric: oratory, eloquence, diction , delivery, power of speech, discourse , composition, and expression could be replaceable words.

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What is Rhetoric?

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In today’s media, we often hear terms like “divisive rhetoric” or “bad rhetoric,” which often gives a negative perception of rhetoric even if someone may not understand what it exactly is. At its core, it’s a term that has its roots dating back to ancient Greece. Back then, they focused on persuasion techniques and speech rather than written text. Now, rhetoric encompasses not only speeches and written works, but also visual rhetorics such as images and film.

To this day, scholars are still debating the definition of rhetoric and everything it incorporates. Below is The Learning Hub’s working definition of rhetoric, which explains how it can improve your writing and also the world around you.

What is Rhetoric: A Working Definition

Rhetoric is the way in which you communicate in everyday life. These communications can be persuasive in nature and can be made of text, images, video, or any other type of media.

Rhetoric requires an understanding and control of language and knowledge of culture; the rhetorical situation which includes the purpose, audience, topic, writer, and context, genre; and other aspects to achieve an intended purpose. In many cases, rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) can also contribute to this intended purpose.

The Rhetorical Situation

Consider what the purpose of the writing is.  Are you writing to inform, evaluate, analyze, or convince?

When writing anything, consider who is being addressed.  Audiences bring in their own perspectives, biases, experiences, and expectations, which can make writing for a particular audience very difficult.

What are you writing about? The topic may be self-selected or assigned, but writers should try and find an angle that they are motivated to write about.  The topic should also be broad enough to fit the assignment’s parameters and specific enough to go into detail.

Writers, just like their audience, are influenced by a number of things, like their age, location, perspective, bias, culture, experiences, and expectations.  Writers may need to consider if the traits they are bringing in may have a positive or negative outcome.  For example, even if someone is very passionate about stopping animal testing, to convince others, they may have to show restraint in expressing all of their personal views about people who test products on animals.  If these are the people they must convince, no matter what the writer may personally feel, writers should avoid insulting or degrading their audience if they have a chance at motivating change.

The context describes the circumstances surrounding the writing which include the time (when the text is written), location (where is the text placed), events surrounding the writing, and the culture.

Why is Rhetoric Important?

• Since everyone can use rhetoric, an awareness of its prevalence can be empowering and can help you become a more critical consumer and creator.
• It helps you as a writer and reader understand the different and interrelated influences surrounding your writing and how it will be received and interpreted.
• Rhetoric gives you a framework to think critically about your writing and reading choices.
• Knowing how to use the tools of rhetoric can improve your communication and can help more people to agree with your perspective.
• Rhetoric is a careful way of channeling your creative energies and incorporating written/visual/audio compositions to create, affirm, and improve the world around us.

Analyzing a Tweet from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Twitter Page

Now we will look at a tweet to demonstrate how these features can be rhetorically analyzed. When conducting a rhetorical analysis, generally writers are asked to examine how a particular message is conveyed. This means looking at different aspects or parts of the media to determine the intended effect on the audience.

Lin-Manuel Miranda @Lin_Manuel (posted March 2): “Win tickets to see SanFranHam opening night with my parents.  They are fun… (Prizeo link to giveaway) (YouTube link about contest)

Tone and Audience

The term “SanFranHam” speaks to the more casual nature of Twitter and is directly addressing an audience familiar with the Hamilton musical’s updates and shows.

Additional Resources

The link to the YouTube video allows viewers to learn more about the contest while still adhering to the then 140 character limit.

When Miranda talks about seeing Hamilton with his parents, he is building a more personal relationship with his followers as he invites them to join his family. Literally.

Composition

The center framing and natural lighting puts all focus on him, and his casual, easy half-smile is welcoming and a bit goofy, which appeals to an audience interested in learning more about him.

Wardrobe Choices

Miranda’s Hamilton shirt is a purposeful choice to advertise the show in addition to the contest.

“Did you miss me?!” Expresses enthusiasm, but also hints that if Miranda is followed on these platforms, more contest opportunities may become available since this is not the first time a contest has been offered.

Rhetoric is everywhere and is a way to enact change in your world; however, it takes practice to recognize and use rhetoric. Check out our linked resources to learn more about using rhetoric as a tool in your everyday life. Remember—rhetoric can be a catalyst for change in your world and the lives of people in it, but it is up to you whether or not to harness this power.

Miranda, Lin-Manuel. “Win tickets to see SanFranHam opening night with my parents. They are

fun…”  Twitter , 2 Mar. 2017, twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/837363185518854145.

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25 Examples of Rhetorical Strategies in Famous Speeches

I’m not trying to be cheesy! An emotional response is a meaningful response, and that reaction stays with you long after the presentation is over. Whenever you think of that speaker or of that topic, your brain will bring back those feelings for you- whether they be of motivation, inspiration, sadness, empathy, or otherwise.

Rhetorical strategies use language to convey special meaning and/or to persuade someone. Basically, these strategies can be used to intentionally invoke feelings in others.

If your first reaction to all this is “Huh?” that’s okay- so was mine. Here’s how I understand it now: rhetorical strategies = emotional connection = memorability.

If you’ve ever considered becoming a master presenter (no judgement if you have), you need these tools in your repertoire ASAP. They’re just so effective!

Don’t believe me? All the cool kids are using (or used) them – I’m talking about thought leader Simon Sinek , technology guru Steve Jobs, past American president Barack Obama, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and even good old William Shakespeare.

Unless you’re above any of these greatly respected people, I’m betting that you could benefit from a little rhetorical strategy in your next speech!

25 rhetorical strategies from the best minds

We’ve compiled 25 rhetorical strategies from the most memorable presentations on the planet so that your next presentation is undeniably memorable. Ready to begin?

1. Alliteration:

Two or more words in a row that start with the same sound.

“They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different, and difficult places.” – Barack Obama

2. Allusion:

A statement that hints at something instead of being direct about it.

“You must borrow me Gargantua’s mouth first. ‘Tis a word too great for any mouth of this age’s size” – Shakespeare

3. Anadiplosis:

Repeating the last word (or words) of a sentence at the beginning of the next sentence.

“Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution.” – George W. Bush

4. Analogy:

A literal comparison of two things.

“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Churchill

5. Anaphora:

Using the same word (or words) to begin 2 or more sentences (or paragraphs) that follow each other.

“I trust Hillary to lead this country because I’ve seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children – not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection but every child who needs a champion: Kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs. Kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college. Kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English but dream of a better life. Kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be.” – Michelle Obama

6. Anastrophe:

A reversal of the typical ordering of a sentence.

“This much we pledge, and more” – JF Kennedy

7. Antistrophe:

Repeating one (or more) words at the end of a sentence.

“It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can” – Barack Obama

8. Antithesis:

A contrast of thoughts.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

9. Asyndeton:

Leaving out conjunction words (as or and) from a sentence.

“…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

10. Assonance:

Repeating a vowel sound in a sentence.

“I feel the need, the need for speed” – Tom Cruise (from the movie Top Gun)

11. Chiasmus:

The reversal of the latter of two parallel sentences.

“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” – John F. Kennedy

12. Diacope/Tmesis:

Inserting a word (or more) between the components of a compound word.

“Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, free at last!” – Martin Luther King

13. Epistrophe:

Another name for antistrophe (see above).

“…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth” – Abraham Lincoln

14. Expletive:

Using a word or phrase only to fill out a sentence for grammar, rhythm or balance.

“… we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving …” – Winston Churchill

15. Germinatio:

The repetition of a word within the sentence.

“That’s 58 songs every second of every minute of every hour of every day.” – Steve Jobs

16. Hyperbole:

Exaggerating a description for emphasis.

“Best version of Google Maps on the planet, widgets, and all with Edge and Wi-Fi networking.” – Steve Jobs

17. Hypophora:

Posing a question that you will answer yourself.

“When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do? It did what it always has done in all its times of peril. It appealed to the heroism of its youth” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

18. Litotes:

An understatement that expresses an affirmative by negating its opposite.

“I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

19. Meiosis:

A massive understatement.

“The situation has developed, not necessarily to our advantage” – Emperor Hirohito, announcing to the Japanese people that atomic bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

20. Metaphor:

Comparing two unlike objects to provide a clearer description.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” – William Shakespeare

21. Parallelism:

using a sequence of identical constructions in writing

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

22. Scesis Onomaton:

Repeating two (or more) different words with identical or similar meaning within the same sentence.

“That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America” – Barack Obama

23. Simile:

Comparing two unlike things using the words “like” or “as” with an example.

“We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

24. Symploce:

Repeating one (or more) words at the beginning and end of successive sentences.

“In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone” – Barack Obama

25. Tricolon:

A sentence with three clearly defined parts of equal length

Rhetorical strategies improve audience engagement

If you got a little lost amidst the English jargon, here are the 2 main takeaways you need to know:

• Repetition emphasizes meaning Repetition is perhaps the most common rhetorical strategy. Whether it be the repetition of a word, a phrase, or a specific sound, it is incredibly effective. Use this strategy to build meaning behind the essential points you need to get across.
• Comparisons facilitate understanding Comparisons are also an extremely popular strategy, likely because they make the subject matter more relatable. If your audience can identify with what you’re saying, that creates an opportunity for you to cultivate a connection with them.

In sum, the best designed presentations , a slick new outfit, or a commanding voice may impress an audience initially, and can be important to gain their attention, but they lack true substance for any long-term retention. Rhetorical strategies are the single greatest tool for memorability. If you recognized even one of these examples, you just proved that rhetoric strategies are memorable. Why not start using them to your advantage?

Incorporating rhetorical strategies is kind of like learning how to ride a bike – you’re going to think you look unsure the first few times you try and you’re probably going to walk away with some scrapes and bruises. But, once you gain confidence, you’ll be able to ride circles around everyone else.

See what I did there? Here’s to being memorable!

Note: All definitions have been adapted from Your Dictionary .

Looking for more presentation insights?

Check out our Top 30 Most Popular Presentations of All Time , 16 Strategies Used by Pitch Deck Designers , 10 Things to Never Do When Presenting , or read our Top 10 Presentation Tips .

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31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

What is a rhetorical device and why are they used.

As with all fields of serious and complicated human endeavor (that can be considered variously as an art, a science, a profession, or a hobby), there is a technical vocabulary associated with writing. Rhetoric is the name for the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion, and though a writer doesn’t need to know the specific labels for certain writing techniques in order to use them effectively, it is sometimes helpful to have a handy taxonomy for the ways in which words and ideas are arranged. This can help to discuss and isolate ideas that might otherwise become abstract and confusing. As with the word rhetoric itself, many of these rhetorical devices come from Greek.

Ready, set, rhetoric.

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

wild and woolly, threatening throngs

Syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another

you really should have—well, what do you expect?

Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word in one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next

rely on his honor—honor such as his?

A literary technique that involves interruption of the chronological sequence of events by interjection of events or scenes of earlier occurrence : flashback

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground

The repetition of a word within a phrase or sentence in which the second occurrence utilizes a different and sometimes contrary meaning from the first

we must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately

The usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings

this giant of 3 feet 4 inches

The use of a proper name to designate a member of a class (such as a Solomon for a wise ruler) OR the use of an epithet or title in place of a proper name (such as the Bard for Shakespeare)

The raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it

we won't discuss his past crimes

An expression of real or pretended doubt or uncertainty especially for rhetorical effect

to be, or not to be: that is the question

Harshness in the sound of words or phrases

An inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases

working hard, or hardly working?

A disjunctive conclusion inferred from a single premise

gravitation may act without contact; therefore, either some force may act without contact or gravitation is not a force

The substitution of a disagreeable, offensive, or disparaging expression for an agreeable or inoffensive one

greasy spoon is a dysphemism for the word diner

Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

of the people, by the people, for the people

Emphatic repetition [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

An interchange of two elements in a phrase or sentence from a more logical to a less logical relationship

you are lost to joy for joy is lost to you

A transposition or inversion of idiomatic word order

judge me by my size, do you?

Extravagant exaggeration

mile-high ice-cream cones

The putting or answering of an objection or argument against the speaker's contention [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

not a bad singer

The presentation of a thing with underemphasis especially in order to achieve a greater effect : UNDERSTATEMENT

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them ( Metaphor vs. Simile )

drowning in money

A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated

crown as used in lands belonging to the crown

The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words

cruel kindness

The use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense : REDUNDANCY

I saw it with my own eyes

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by "like" or "as"

cheeks like roses

The use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context with one literal and the other metaphorical in sense

she blew my nose and then she blew my mind

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (such as fifty sail for fifty ships ), the whole for a part (such as society for high society ), the species for the genus (such as cutthroat for assassin ), the genus for the species (such as a creature for a man ), or the name of the material for the thing made (such as boards for stage )

The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one

opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy

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Ethos Definition

What is ethos? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Ethos , along with logos and pathos , is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is an argument that appeals to the audience by emphasizing the speaker's credibility and authority. If the speaker has a high-ranking position, is an expert in his or her field, or has had life experience relevant to a particular topic, anything the speaker says or does to ensure that the audience knows about and remembers these qualifications is an example of ethos .

Some additional key details about ethos:

• Ethos shares a root with the word "ethics ." This is helpful to remember because speakers often try to establish their own strong moral character by using ethos.
• The word "ethos" is also often used to refer to a community or organization's characteristic belief or spirit, as in the sentence, "We will not give you a larger bonus than your coworkers: that is against our company's ethos of fairness." However, this guide focuses specifically on the rhetorical technique of ethos used in literature and public speaking.
• The three "modes of persuasion"— pathos , logos , and ethos —were originally defined by Aristotle.
• While ethos appeals to an audience's instinctive respect for authority, logos appeals to the audience's sense of reason, and pathos appeals to the audience's emotions.
• Ethos is used in advertising just as often as it is used in public speaking and literature. Any commercial in which a celebrity endorses a product, for example, hopes to persuade its target audience by cultivating an aura of authority or expertise through its association with the celebrity—and is therefore an example of ethos.

How to Pronounce Ethos

Here's how to pronounce ethos: ee -thos

Ethos Explained

Aristotle (the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist) first defined e thos , along with logos and pathos , in his treatise on rhetoric, Ars Rhetorica. Together, he referred to e thos , logos , and pathos as the three modes of persuasion, or sometimes simply as "the appeals." Aristotle believed that in order to have ethos a good speaker must demonstrate three things:

• Phronesis : Sound reasoning, and relevant experience or expertise.
• Arete : Moral character.
• Eunoia : Good intentions towards the audience.

Aristotle argued that a speaker in possession of these three attributes will naturally impress the audience with his or her ethos , and as a result will be better able to influence that audience. Over time, however, the definition of ethos has broadened, and the significance of the three qualities Aristotle named is now lost on anyone who hasn't studied classical Greek. So it may give more insight into the meaning of ethos to translate Aristotle's three categories into a new set of categories that make more sense in the modern era. A speaker or writer's credibility can be said to rely on each of the following:

• Within literature, it's interesting to notice when characters attempt to invoke their own authority and enhance their ethos by reminding other characters of the titles they possess. Often, this can be an indication that the character citing his or her own credentials actually feels his or her authority being threatened or challenged.
• In literature, this form of ethos is particularly relevant with respect to narrators. Authors often have their narrators profess impartiality or objectivity at the outset of a book in order to earn the reader's trust in the narrator's reliability regarding the story he or she is about to tell.
• This type of ethos translates into literature quite easily, in the sense that characters' opinions are often evaluated within the framework of their professions.
• Literary characters often use ethos to communicate similarity or likemindedness to other characters, and you can detect this by certain changes in their speech. In these situations, characters (as well as real-life speakers) often use a shibboleth— a specialized term or word used by a specific group of people—to show that they belong. For example, if you knew the name of a special chemical used to make jello, and you wanted to impress the head of a jello company, the name of that chemical would count as a shibboleth and saying it would help you show the jello executive that you're "in the know."

The Stagecraft of Ethos

In order to impress their positive personal qualities upon audiences, public speakers can use certain techniques that aren't available to writers. These include:

• Speaking in a certain manner or even with a certain accent.
• Demonstrating confident stage presence.
• Having reputable people to introduce the speaker in a positive light.
• Listing their credentials and achievements.

Put another way, the ethos of a speech can be heavily impacted by the speaker's confidence and manner of presenting him or herself.

Ethos and Ad Hominem

An ad hominem argument is a specific type of argument which involves attacking someone else's character or ethos, rather than attacking that person's position or point of view on the subject being discussed. Ad hominem attacks usually have the goal of swaying an audience away from an opponent's views and towards one's own by degrading the audience's perception of the opponent's character. For instance, if one politician attacks another as being "elite," the attacker may be seeking to make voters question whether the other politician is trustworthy or actually has the public's interest at heart. But the first politician is not in any way attacking their opponent's positions on matters of policy.

An ad hominem argument is not necessarily "wrong" or even a bad strategy, but it's generally seen as more dignified (another component of ethos ) for speakers to focus on strengthening their own ethos, and to debate their opponents based on the substance of the opposition's counterarguments. When a literary character uses an ad hominem argument, this can sometimes indicate that he or she is insecure about his or her own position regarding a certain issue.

Ethos Examples

Examples of ethos in literature.

Characters in novels often use ethos , as well as logos and pathos , to convince one another of certain arguments in the same way that a speaker in reality might use these techniques. In addition, authors often use a subtler form of ethos when establishing a narrator's reliability at the outset of a novel.

Ethos in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

In Atlas Shrugged, a group of pioneering American industrialists, financiers, and artists go on strike against a corrupt government. As the strike nears its end, its leader—John Galt—delivers a speech to the nation about his ideals. He promises that the strike will end only if Americans allow him to remake the country according to his moral code, which he explains in the following lines:

Just as I support my life, neither by robbery nor alms, but by my own effort, so I do not seek to derive my happiness from the injury or the favor of others, but earn it by my own achievement. Just as I do not consider the pleasure of others as the goal of my life, so I do not consider my pleasure as the goal of the lives of others. Just as there are no contradictions in my values and no conflicts among my desires—so there are no victims and no conflicts of interest among rational men, men who do not desire the unearned and do not view one another with a cannibal's lust, men who neither make sacrifices nor accept them.

Galt not only creates an impression of moral rectitude, but also emphasizes his own self-sufficiency. He assures his audience that he expects nothing in return from them for sharing his personal views. In this way, his ability to cultivate an aura of impartiality and objectivity enhances his ethos.

Ethos in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter opens with a chapter called "The Custom-House," in which the unnamed narrator—who has a similar biography to Hawthorne—describes his job in a Custom House, a place where taxes were paid on imports in 18th century Massachusetts. The narrator's stories about his job have no relation to the actual narrative of The Scarlet Letter, except that he finds the scarlet letter of the title in the Custom House attic. This discovery inspired him to research the life of the woman who wore the embroidered letter, and to tell her story. By presenting himself as someone who merely discovered, researched, and "edited" the story the reader is about to begin, the narrator effectively creates the impression that his is a reliable historical account, thereby strengthening his ethos.

It will be seen, likewise, that this Custom-House sketch has a certain propriety, of a kind always recognised in literature, as explaining how a large portion of the following pages came into my possession, and as offering proofs of the authenticity of a narrative therein contained. This, in fact—a desire to put myself in my true position as editor, or very little more, of the most prolix among the tales that make up my volume—this, and no other, is my true reason for assuming a personal relation with the public.

Ethos in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

In the opening lines of The Great Gatsby , the narrator, Nick Carraway, claims that he has followed one piece of his father's advice throughout his life:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'... In consequence I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men...

Nick's tendency to reserve judgement makes him an ideal, objective narrator, while his awareness of his own economic and social advantages makes him a perfect guide to the privileged world of The Great Gatsby. Though he describes his non-judgmental, "neutral" affect with self-deprecating humor, it's a subtle way of strengthening his ethos as a narrator, and of causing the reader to eagerly anticipate hearing the stories that "wild, unknown men" have shared with him.

Examples of Ethos in Political Speeches

Every politician recognizes that a speaker must earn an audience's respect and trust if he or she expects to be listened to. As a result, it's difficult to find a political speech that doesn't contain an example of ethos. It's particularly easy to spot ethos in action when listening to speeches by candidates for office.

Ethos in Mitt Romney's Acceptance Speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention

When he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, Romney pointed to his business success as relevant experience that would serve him well if he were to take office:

I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience. When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice. So we started a new business called Bain Capital...That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised.

In addition to strengthening his ethos by pointing to his past achievements, Romney also hopes to portray himself as principled, rational, and daring when he explains how his company decided to "bet on ourselves and on our advice."

Ethos in John Kasich's 2016 Ohio Primary Victory Speech

After winning his first campaign victory, 2016 presidential candidate John Kasich told his supporters about his disadvantaged yet hardworking relatives to contextualize his own rise to success:

And you know, ladies and gentlemen, my whole life has been about trying to create a climate of opportunity for people. You know, as my father carried that mail on his back and his father was a coal miner, and you know, I was just told by my cousin—I didn't realize this—that my mother, one of four [children]‚ was the only one to graduate from high school. The other three barely made it out of the eighth grade because they were poor... And you know, as I've traveled the country and I look into your eyes... You want to believe that your children are going to have ultimately a better America than what we got from our mothers and fathers. That's the great American legacy: that our kids will be better than we are.

By saying that he comes from a modest background, Kasich hopes to convey that he is "just a regular American" and that he will advocate for other hard working Americans.

Ethos in Winston Churchill's 1941 Address to Joint Session of the US Congress

In this speech to the US Congress during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill enhances the ethos of his speech by emphasizing both the qualities he shares in common with the American people and the American Democratic values instilled in him by his parents:

I am a child of the House of Commons. I was brought up in my father's house to believe in democracy. "Trust the people." That was his message. I used to see him cheered at meetings and in the streets by crowds of workingmen way back in those aristocratic Victorian days when as Disraeli said "the world was for the few, and for the very few." Therefore I have been in full harmony all my life with the tides which have flowed on both sides of the Atlantic against privilege and monopoly and I have steered confidently towards the Gettysburg ideal of government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Examples of Ethos in Advertisements

Advertisers often attempt to use ethos to influence people to buy their product. Dressing up an actor as a doctor who then extols the benefits a medication is a way that advertisers used to try to gin up a little ethos , but such obvious practices of what might be called "fake ethos" are now regularly mocked. However, any celebrity endorsement or testimonial from an expert are also attempts to build up ethos around a product's endorsement. For instance, here's a Prudential Financial commercial that ups its ethos with an appearance by Harvard social psychologist Dan Gilbert.

Why Do Writers Use Ethos?

Politicians, activists, and advertisers use ethos because they recognize that it is impossible to convince an audience of anything if its members do not believe in the speaker's credibility, morality, or authority.

The use of e thos in fiction is often different from real-world examples. Authors are not usually trying to directly influence their audience in the way politicians or advertisers are. Rather, authors often show one of their characters making use of ethos . In doing so, the author gives insight into characters' perceptions of one another, their values, and their motives.

In addition, e thos is an especially useful tool for authors looking to establish a narrator's credibility. Having a credible narrator is hugely important to the success of a literary work. Books with narrators that never establish a reasonable claim to an objective viewpoint are nearly impossible to read because everything they say is cast in doubt, so that readers come to feel like they're being lied to or "jerked around," which is fatiguing. Although often enough readers simply assume that a narrator has credibility , if you've ever read a book where you felt you simply didn't like the narrator very much—or watched a television show where you felt that none of the characters were likable or believable—that might be another sign that the writer has failed to establish a character's ethos . There are circumstances in which a writer creates an unreliable narrator —a narrator who is either purposefully or subconsciously offering a slanted narrative—but ethos is just as crucial in creating such a narrator: the author must first establish the narrator's ethos and then slowly undermine it over the course of the book.

Other Helpful Ethos Resources

• The Wikipedia Page on Ethos: An in-depth explanation of ethos , and how the concept has changed over time.
• The Dictionary Definition of Ethos: A definition and etymology of the term, which comes from the Greek ethos meaning "character, custom, or habit."
• Ethos on Youtube: An excellent video from TED-Ed about the three modes of persuasion.

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What did Trump say? Explaining the former president's favorite talking points

Danielle Kurtzleben

Franco Ordoñez

Former President Donald Trump has long made headlines with controversial comments about everything from immigration to trade, but translating those talking points isn't always easy. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

Former President Donald Trump has long made headlines with controversial comments about everything from immigration to trade, but translating those talking points isn't always easy.

Former President Donald Trump has a history of using provocative language to draw headlines, stir up support and attack enemies.

His words, at times, have been his greatest weapons but also his biggest vulnerability.

In recent weeks, he has described Nov. 5, Election Day, as "liberation day" for "hardworking Americans" and "judgment day" for his political enemies. He has called undocumented immigrants who commit crimes "not people" and has claimed Jews who vote for Democrats hate Israel.

It's not easy trying to make sense of what often appears to be indiscriminate attacks on migrants and political enemies, but Trump knows how to generate headlines, excite his base and provoke the left simultaneously.

NPR poll: Democrats fear fascism, and Republicans worry about a lack of values

He has described political correctness as a cancer that prevents honest discussion. He says that people are too easily offended and that the country doesn't have time to worry so much about others' feelings.

His language is also a political weapon — and a very effective one — to use against his enemies. It's a tool that stokes his base and baits one of his favorite foils, the media.

NPR examined Trump's campaign speeches, interviews and social media posts since he held his first rally last year in March, as well as additional relevant comments in recent years, to provide context to how his language reflects his political agenda. Here are a few of his most common talking points:

The U.S.-Mexico border

A second trump term, reshaping the federal government, foreign policy, trade and tariffs, trans issues.

Nowhere has the former president pushed the boundaries of appropriate language more than on the issue of immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border.

He has described migrants as poisoning the blood of the country and calling those who commit crimes "animals."

This demonization of migrants is not new. It has been a pillar of his political career ever since he announced his presidential campaign in 2015 and called Mexican immigrants rapists, bringing drugs and crime, while also saying that some are "good people."

The border has now become one of the fieriest political issues ahead of the November elections as both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have been pointing fingers at the other to cast blame for a myriad of problems.

It's a clear vulnerability for President Biden and the Democrats.

Consider This from NPR

With a second term, trump would take his immigration crackdown further.

Biden has struggled with historic numbers of people coming across the border. It's not just Republicans who are concerned. An increasing number of Democratic mayors and governors have raised real concerns about the drain of state and local resources in cities hundreds of miles from the border.

In a recent NPR/ PBS NewsHour /Marist poll , only 29% of respondents said they approve of how Biden is handling immigration. Republicans win the issue over Democrats by 12 percentage points when asked which party handles it better.

Critics say Trump is capitalizing on those concerns by playing up anti-immigrant sentiments.

While there is little evidence that undocumented immigrants commit more crimes than U.S.-born citizens, Trump and his supporters use anecdotal stories, such as the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley , to paint an ominous picture about America being overrun by violent migrants.

During speeches in Michigan and Wisconsin, Trump accused Biden of creating a "border bloodbath."

"This is country-changing, it's country-threatening, and it's country-wrecking," Trump said in Michigan. "They have wrecked our country."

What Trump has said:

"They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done. They poison — mental institutions and prisons all over the world. Not just in South America. Not just the three or four countries that we think about. But all over the world they're coming into our country — from Africa, from Asia, all over the world. They're pouring into our country." —Dec. 16, 2023, New Hampshire rally "They're rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums. You know, insane asylums — that's Silence of the Lambs stuff." —March 4, 2024, interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network "Hannibal Lecter, anybody know Hannibal Lecter? We don't want 'em in this country." —March 4, 2024, interview with Right Side Broadcasting Network

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, salutes at a campaign rally on March 16 in Vandalia, Ohio. Jeff Dean/AP hide caption

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, salutes at a campaign rally on March 16 in Vandalia, Ohio.

Trump has been accused of using autocratic language in this campaign that echoes rhetoric of strongman leaders of the past.

Rather than rejecting those comparisons, Trump has been wielding them as a means to stoke his base, stir up media attention and, in some ways, win back former supporters.

One example is when he sparked the anger and indignation of his many critics after declaring he wouldn't be a dictator, "except for Day 1," said Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

He says you could see a flash in Trump's eyes when Fox News host Sean Hannity provided Trump an opportunity to assure voters he wouldn't abuse his power.

Trump may get another chance to be president. He's planning an aggressive second term

The NPR Politics Podcast

Trump plans a more radical second term.

"He realizes he's got a live one on the line, right?" explained Stirewalt, who is also the political editor for NewsNation. "He has the moment where he knows that the person who he's talking to wants him to say the right thing. And he knows that the advantage comes in saying the wrong thing."

Trump responded "only on Day 1," so that he could close the border and start drilling.

"After that, I'm not a dictator, OK?" Trump quipped to Hannity as the crowd in Iowa applauded.

Those fiery remarks set off a chain reaction of events and coverage. The media dissected the language, often repeating the dictator-for-a-day comments, and Trump's supporters came out in mass, largely on conservative outlets, attacking the media for, they argued, taking the comments out of context.

Stirewalt says Trump also triggered what he called "the anti-anti-Trump immune response," which means Trump reengaged former supporters, who may have felt he went too far on Jan. 6, 2021, and/or objected to his authoritarian tendencies, to come to his defense.

"What you get is the volleying back and forth between platoons on the left and the right," Stirewalt said. "Some of it's sincere — some of it's rage, content for clicks and attention. And by the time you're done, you have strength. Trump has managed to both inflame and distract his opponents, but also to further consolidate Republican support."

"This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!" —Sept. 22, 2023, Truth Social , referring to Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "Your victory will be our ultimate vindication, your liberty will be our ultimate reward, and the unprecedented success of the United States of America will be my ultimate and absolute revenge." —Feb. 24, 2024, Trump's speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference "We're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected. Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a blood bath for the whole — that's gonna be the least of it. It's going to be a blood bath for the country. That'll be the least of it." —March 16, 2024, Dayton, Ohio

During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump described himself as a "proud political dissident" and promised "judgment day" for political opponents.

He has vowed to "root out" political opponents whom he has described as "vermin," echoing the language of authoritarian leaders who rose to power in Germany and Italy in the 1930s.

"The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within," Trump said during a Veterans Day rally in New Hampshire.

The former president faces four different criminal trials related to allegations of interference in the 2020 election, fraud stemming from a hush money payment to an adult film star and mishandling of classified documents.

He has repeatedly claimed the prosecutions are a political witch hunt, and he has cast himself as a martyr who is being targeted by Democrats.

Trump allies craft plans to give him unprecedented power if he wins the White House

George Lakoff, a professor emeritus of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, says Trump often uses salesman tricks to frame a debate on his own terms. He knows how to use repetition to strengthen association.

He repeats phrases over and over on the campaign trail and on social media, such as fake news or that he's going to obliterate "the deep state." Those descriptions, right or wrong, are then repeated by others, such as the media in its coverage. They're repeated again as opponents attack him over the use of such words.

"There is a neural reason for this," Lakoff said. "The main thing is, if it's in your brain and it's activating the neural system, whatever is activating your neural system, then your brain makes it stronger."

Trump has sought to employ the prosecutions against him to justify his own calls to overhaul the "deep state," including those longtime federal lawyers who make up the Justice Department, as well as other federal agencies that he argues are politically biased against him.

He and his allies have begun to draft plans to overhaul the Justice Department as well as expand his presidential powers by ending protections for tens of thousands of federal employees so that they can be replaced with partisan loyalists.

"We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that lie and steal and cheat on elections." —Nov. 11, 2023, New Hampshire "The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within." —Nov. 11, 2023, New Hampshire "In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today, I add, I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution." —March 25, 2023, Waco, Texas "Either the deep state destroys America, or we destroy the deep state." —March 25, 2023, Waco, Texas

During a winter campaign rally, Trump said he told a NATO leader that he would encourage Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to countries that were "delinquent" and had not paid bills they "owed" the NATO alliance.

Trump says he wouldn't defend NATO allies from Russia if they're 'delinquent'

Republicans play cleanup on aisle Trump after former president's NATO comments

His remarks set off a firestorm domestically and internationally, as Congress remains locked in a stalemate over whether to provide Ukraine with additional military assistance so that it can defend itself from the invasion by Russia.

As president, Trump sought to largely pull the United States out of foreign conflicts. But that hasn't stopped him from making bold claims about the current armed conflicts raging in Europe and the Middle East.

He has repeatedly insisted that those conflicts are related to Biden's election.

"Look what happened to our country," Trump said at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "You have wars that never would have taken place. Russia would have never attacked Ukraine. Israel would have never been attacked. You wouldn't have had inflation."

If elected in November, Trump has vowed that both conflicts would be resolved fast. He has said he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours but has provided no details.

"There's a very easy negotiation to take place. But I don't want to tell you what it is because then I can't use that negotiation — it'll never work," Trump told Fox's Hannity last year. "But it's a very easy negotiation to take place. I will have it solved within one day, a peace between them."

Stirewalt says the secret to Trump talking about foreign policy is making it sound so easy and simple — even the most incredibly complex problems of the day — and people believe him.

"The authoritarian tendency in politics, not just in the United States but anywhere, is to say that there is a simple and easy answer," Stirewalt said. "But the bad people will not let you obtain it because they're weak — or they're corrupt."

Meanwhile, Trump has pressured lawmakers on Capitol Hill to oppose billions of dollars in additional aid for Ukraine. He has also seemed to go out of his way to avoid criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump's approach to the war in Gaza has been a little more nuanced.

Then-President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a ceremony in 2017 in Jerusalem. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

Then-President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a ceremony in 2017 in Jerusalem.

While they worked closely together during his administration, Trump was angry when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Biden after winning the 2020 presidential election.

He at first criticized Netanyahu for being unprepared for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people, and he complimented the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it stepped up attacks against Israel.

While he has since pledged strong support for Israel, Trump has also called on Netanyahu to end the war and has warned that Israel was losing the PR war.

"What I said very plainly is get it over with, and let's get back to peace and stop killing people," Trump told The Hugh Hewitt Show . "And that's a very simple statement. Get it over with. They've got to finish what they finish. They have to get it done. Get it over with, and get it over with fast, because we have to, you have to get back to normalcy and peace."

Time magazine: You think you could work better with [Israeli politician] Benny Gantz than [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in a second term? Trump: I think Benny Gantz is good, but I'm not prepared to say that. I haven't spoken to him about it. But you have some very good people that I've gotten to know in Israel that could do a good job. Time : Do you think — Trump: And I will say this: Bibi Netanyahu rightfully has been criticized for what took place on October 7. — Interview with Time magazine , published April 30, 2024 "You didn't pay? You're delinquent? No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills." —Feb. 10, 2024, rally in Conway, South Carolina "You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They're all very smart." —Oct. 11, 2023, speech in West Palm Beach, Florida "Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves." —interview with former Trump administration senior adviser Sebastian Gorka on March 18, 2023

Anti-abortion activists march outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2022. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption

Anti-abortion activists march outside the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2022.

Trump's abortion stances are all about politics. He has repeatedly changed his positions over the years — in 2016, he told MSNBC's Chris Matthews during a town hall that if abortion were outlawed, "there has to be some form of punishment" for women seeking abortions. He later retracted that statement.

As president, he supported a 20-week federal abortion ban, pushing the Senate to pass it. He also repeatedly took credit for the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade . But by the time of the 2024 presidential campaign — when Roe was overturned, meaning a federal ban would be possible — his position on a federal ban was unclear.

Notably, he went the entire Republican primary without clarifying his stance on abortion, instead saying he would bring together both sides — abortion-rights supporters and abortion-rights opponents — and negotiate a compromise policy.

When he has spoken about abortion policy during this year's campaign, he has often stressed one point in particular: that he wants to win.

He said exactly that again when he made an abortion policy announcement on April 8. In that announcement, he said that he wants states to make their own policies and that he supports exceptions to protect a mother's life, as well as for pregnancies caused by incest or rape. He later added, "But we must win. We have to win."

Trump backed a federal abortion ban as president. Now, he says he wouldn't sign one

Why anti-abortion advocates are reviving a 19th century sexual purity law

Trump is attempting to walk a careful line on abortion. On the one hand, he wants to maintain the favor of the abortion-rights opponents who have long been the Republican base. But on the other hand, he understands that most Americans are not abortion hard-liners and that tight restrictions have proved unpopular in several statewide elections.

In addition, he has not taken a position on sweeping abortion restrictions proposed in Project 2025 — a road map for a conservative presidency written by a coalition of right-wing groups. Those restrictions include curtailing access to abortion pills, as well as using the Comstock Act — a 19th-century law intended to stop indecency — to prohibit the mailing of any goods used in abortions.

Time magazine: Are you comfortable if states decide to punish women who access abortions after the procedure is banned? Trump: Are you talking about number of weeks? Time : Yeah. Let's say there's a 15-week ban — Trump: Again, that's going to be — I don't have to be comfortable or uncomfortable. The states are going to make that decision. The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me. — Interview with Time magazine , published April 30, 2024 "The states will determine [their abortion policies] by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state. Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others. ... Always go by your heart. But we must win. We have to win." —April 8, 2024, Truth Social "The number of weeks, now, people are agreeing on 15, and I'm thinking in terms of that, and it'll come out to something that's very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners, are agreeing, seems to be 15 weeks, seems to be a number that people are agreeing at. But I'll make that announcement at the appropriate time." — Sid & Friends in the Morning , WABC, March 19, 2024 Trump: People are starting to think of 15 weeks. That seems to be a number that people are talking about right now. Kristen Welker: Would you sign that? Trump: I would sit down with both sides and negotiate something, and we'll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years. I'm not going to say I would or I wouldn't. Trump: Both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you'll have an issue that we can put behind us at the federal level. It could be state or it could be federal. I don't frankly care. — Meet the Press , NBC , Sept. 16, 2023 "I support the three exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. And I think it's very hard politically if you don't support, but you have to go with your heart. You have to go with what you believe, and you have to rely on your heart for that." —speech to the Concerned Women for America, Sept. 15, 2023 "After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the 'shock' of everyone." —May 17, 2023, Truth Social "It wasn't my fault that the Republicans didn't live up to expectations in the MidTerms. ... It was the 'abortion issue,' poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters." —Jan. 1, 2023, Truth Social "I call upon the Senate to pass this important law and send it to my desk for signing," referring to the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have banned abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of gestation. —Jan. 19, 2018, March for Life "The answer is, there has to be some form of punishment." —March 30, 2016, MSNBC town hall

What Trump hasn't said:

Trump refused to answer whether a fetus has constitutional rights in that September 2023 Meet the Press interview. In addition, Trump has not weighed in on the main abortion proposals included in Project 2025. One proposal calls on the Food and Drug Administration to roll back rules making abortion pills more available or to even rescind approval of the pills altogether. The other proposal calls for invoking the Comstock Act , an anti-indecency law, to halt the mailing or transporting of any goods used in providing abortions. That move would greatly restrict abortions, even in states where abortion is legal. NPR asked Trump's campaign what his position is on the Comstock Act. The campaign wouldn't answer directly.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a visit to a family farm in Leighton, Iowa, on Oct. 1, 2023. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a visit to a family farm in Leighton, Iowa, on Oct. 1, 2023.

Trump is unfailingly strident in how he talks about trade, proposing policies that are deeply protectionist. His communication about that protectionism is central to his political persona — he uses trade as a way to telegraph that he is business savvy, not to mention that he is tough and wants the U.S. to not get "ripped off."

This involves suggesting tariff levels that are unheard of in modern U.S. trade policy. During this election cycle, Trump has reportedly discussed tariffs of 60% and, in one speech, of 100%.

There is also a full Trump presidential term of trade policy to observe. As president, Trump started a trade war with China. He also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, with the rationale that those tariffs were in the interest of national security because they increased U.S. self-reliance for defense supplies. The right-leaning Tax Foundation estimates that while Trump's tariffs did create revenue, they will also cost nearly 170,000 jobs in the long run. Its research also found that the Biden administration kept many of Trump's tariffs in place.

In his discussions of trade throughout his political career, however, Trump has at times exhibited indifference to, or even a lack of understanding of, how trade works. For example, he has talked about trade deficits as if they are indications that a country is losing money. He also has cast bilateral trade deals as superior to multilateral deals. Most trade experts disagree with that take . Furthermore, while he casts tariffs as beneficial for Americans, tariffs also often end up raising prices for American consumers. Finally, he often talks about trade deals as policies with winners and losers, when the goal of trade deals is to allow all parties to benefit.

It is also worth noting that while Trump's trade policy is aimed at protecting American industry, it is also deeply concerned with domestic politics — it's a way to court votes, particularly in industrial states.

"I think when companies come in and they dump their products in the United States, they should pay automatically. Let's say a 10% tax. That money would be used to pay off debt." —Interview on Fox Business , Aug. 18, 2023 "It is the policy of my Administration to represent the American people and their financial well-being in all negot[i]ations, particularly the American worker, and to create fair and economically beneficial trade deals that serve their interests. Additionally, in order to ensure these outcomes, it is the intention of my Administration to deal directly with individual countries on a one-on-one (or bilateral) basis in negotiating future trade deals." — Presidential Memorandum Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement , Jan. 23, 2017 "Trade wars are good, and easy to win." — Twitter , March 2, 2018 "This is not merely an economic disaster, but it's a security disaster. We want to build our ships, we want to build our planes, we want to build our military equipment with steel, with aluminum from our country. And now we're finally taking action to correct this long-overdue problem." — speech at White House , March 8, 2018 "Every time I see a weak politician asking to stop Trade talks or the use of Tariffs to counter unfair Tariffs, I wonder, what can they be thinking? Are we just going to continue and let our farmers and country get ripped off? Lost $817 Billion on Trade last year. No weakness!" —Twitter, July 25, 2018

Transgender issues weren't a major national issue in 2016 they way they are now. Similarly, Trump in 2016 was neither as vocal about nor as stridently opposed to transgender rights. When the topic did come up in a 2016 Today show segment, he said he wanted people to use whatever bathrooms they wanted.

But as president, Trump took several actions to curb transgender rights — excluding transgender individuals from the military, allowing health care professionals to discriminate against them and allowing homeless shelters to exclude them.

And as transgender issues have become central to political culture wars — and as anti-transgender activists have increasingly focused their attention on transgender kids — Trump has become increasingly vocal about the topic as well. He refers to gender-affirming care for minors as "mutilation" and regularly says in his stump speech that transgender girls shouldn't play girls' sports — one of his most reliable applause lines.

Often, he wraps transgender issues in with school vaccine and mask mandates, as well as the teaching of what opponents call "critical race theory," as a way of packaging these social issues as educational policy.

"On Day 1, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto the lives of our children. I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate. And as I very embarrassingly said before, I will keep men out of women's sports." —April 13, 2024, rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania "On Day 1, I will revoke Joe Biden's cruel policies on so-called gender affirming care. ... I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. ... My Department of Education will inform states and school districts that if any teacher or school officials suggest to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body, they will be faced with severe consequences, including potential civil rights violations for sex discrimination." —Jan. 31, 2023, video originally posted on Truth Social, listing an array of anti-transgender policies that Trump would pursue as president Trump: Leave it the way it is. North Carolina, what they're going through with all of the business that's leaving and all of the strife — and that's on both sides — you leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go. They use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble. And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic — I mean, the economic punishment that they're taking. ... Matt Lauer: So if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses? Trump: That is correct. —April 21, 2016, NBC's Today "The Departments believe that, in this context, there must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local school districts in establishing educational policy. In these circumstances, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have decided to withdraw and rescind the above-referenced guidance documents in order to further and more completely consider the legal issues involved." —Feb. 22, 2017, letter from Trump administration Education and Justice department officials, referring to rescinding Obama-era rules that allowed students to use bathrooms and facilities based on their gender identity "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow ... Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming ... victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." —July 26, 2017, Twitter (three tweets: 1 , 2 , 3 ) "We're going back to the plain meaning of those terms, which is based on biological sex." —Trump official Roger Severino of the Department of Health and Human Services, May 24, 2019, on a proposed (and later finalized) rule ending Obama-era protections for transgender people against discrimination in health care "The proposed rule permits Shelter Providers to consider a range of factors in making such determinations, including privacy, safety, practical concerns, religious beliefs, any relevant considerations under civil rights and nondiscrimination authorities, the individual's sex as reflected in official government documents, as well as the gender which a person identifies with." —July 1, 2020, proposed Department of Housing and Urban Development rule allowing single-sex shelters to turn people away based on their gender identity

White House condemns takeover of Columbia University building, use of 'intifada' at college protests

WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden's White House condemned the forcible takeover of a Columbia University academic building by pro-Palestinian protesters and the use of the term "intifada," as the Biden administration sought to push back against "antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric" as a part of college protests.

Protesters at Columbia overran Hamilton Hall early Tuesday morning, hours after the school announced it had begun suspending student demonstrators who refused to leave an on-campus encampment. Some protesters hung a banner down the building's exterior that read "INTIFADA," the Arabic word for uprising or rebellion.

"President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life," Andrew Bates, a White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement. "He condemns the use of the term 'intifada,' as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days."

The president respects the right to free expression, Bates added, "but protests must be peaceful and lawful."

"Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful – it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America," he said.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

More: Columbia protesters seize building as anti-war demonstrations intensify: Live updates

Columbia protesters are demanding the school halt investments with companies profiting from Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, and they want amnesty for students and faculty involved in the protest.

After taking over Hamilton Hall, protesters hung a flag with the words "Hinds' Hall," a tribute to Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza during Israel's war against Hamas. Protesters barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, which has a long history of student takeovers during protests at the Ivy League school.

Meanwhile, at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in northern California, protesters seized control of Siemans Hall , an administrative building that includes the president's office, and renamed it "Intifada Hall." Thirty-five people were arrested at the school.

"The president believes that forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely the wrong approach. That is not an example of peaceful protest," John Kirby, a White House spokesman on national security matters, told reporters. "A small percentage of students shouldn't be able to disrupt the academic experience, the legitimate study for the rest of the student body."

Protests at Columbia and elsewhere have  raised concerns  of antisemitism after Jewish students said they were subjected to acts of hate, intimidation and harassment.

At the same time, Biden has faced increasing pressure from young voters and the left flank of his party over his support of Israel's war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. 

Contributing: Michael Collins, John Bacon and Eduardo Cuevas

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

'Violent rhetoric from extremist actors' increased since Oct. 7 attack, CSIS says

Domestic intelligence agency warns of 'certain individuals' intent to mobilize to violence'.

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The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in "violent rhetoric" from "extremist actors" that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warns.

The statement comes as newly released documents illustrate discussions last fall between the spy agency, the federal Public Safety Department and Muslim and Jewish leaders about responding to a reported uptick in hate crimes spurred by the conflict.

"While the long-term impacts of the current crisis cannot be easily predicted, it is clear that this conflict has raised tensions within our society," wrote spokesman Eric Balsam.

"Violent rhetoric from extremist actors has increased since the attack by Hamas and, as the conflict continues to unfold, it is possible that these events could impact certain individuals' intent to mobilize to violence."

The agency's role is to monitor and identify any threats and alert the government. That doesn't include lawful protests and dissent, which are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Balsam added.

Documents released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act detail summaries of discussions federal officials had separately with Jewish and Muslim leaders about the ongoing domestic turmoil.

Hate speech investigation follows pro-Palestinian rally on Parliament Hill

One such document says CSIS representatives "assured all participants that they will continue to monitor threats and to look for evidence of attacks being planned."

The agency remains in talks with leaders from Muslim and Jewish communities to hear their concerns, Balsam said. Director David Vigneault met with the federal envoy to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia last fall, he added.

Over the course of their meetings, federal officials heard concerns from Muslim and Arab leaders about public rhetoric around the war, including what one attendee felt was "silence" from the government about how the situation in the Middle East would impact the safety of Palestinians and other Muslims living in Canada.

• Justice minister says protest at his home over Israel-Hamas war crossed a line
• Ottawa police investigating complaints of hate speech at pro-Palestinian rally

Concerns were also raised about free speech.

"Activists are receiving backlash, being labelled as antisemitic, and facing various consequences for shouting chants such as, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' as well as calling for 'intifada.'

In Arabic, intifada is a word with meanings that include shaking off oppression. In English, it is most commonly associated with two periods of particular intensity in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which included a series of attacks by Palestinian terrorist groups on public venues inside Israel.

Glorifying Hamas Oct. 7 attack

Community leaders also told officials that activists were being "heavily surveilled" and "their right to free speech is being stifled," the note says.

Internal emails sent to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme also obtained through access-to-information laws show officers recording the chants and slogans that appeared at what was billed as a pro-Palestinian protest staged in Toronto in late October.

"Still legal and not looking like moving to violence," wrote deputy commissioner Mark Flynn.

• Toronto police reviewing pro-Palestinian protest that prompted Trudeau team to scrap event
• Arrests made at protest outside Toronto-area synagogue hosting event marketing occupied West Bank land

Jewish leaders along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others have decried examples of protesters glorifying Hamas's Oct. 7 attack against southern Israel at demonstrations in cities across Canada.

One such incident remains under investigation by Ottawa police.

The documents outline how federal officials consistently heard from Jewish leaders about the need for police to take more action to stop "the hateful rhetoric expressed at rallies." It specifically points to the use of the term "Zionist."

"As an overwhelming majority of Jews identify as Zionists and believe in the need for a Jewish state calls for attacks against Zionists should be seen as calls for attacks against Jews."

Pro-Palestinian protests disruptive and dismantled across U.S.

The note said the RCMP was equipping its front-line members with a "tool kit" explaining the conflict's historical context to help officers "identify signs of overt and covert hate that may be seen at protests."

The national force also encouraged local police to pay attention to Jewish-owned businesses and schools, not just synagogues and community centres, according to a summary dated Nov. 29.

• TPS, demonstrators blame each other for recent hostilities

The documents also indicate Public Safety Canada would be reaching out to universities "to discuss the dampening of rising tensions and antisemitism on campuses." It later said it was relaying information to schools "on the current threat environment."

In the months since, protesters have set up pro-Palestinian encampments at McGill University in Montreal, the University of Ottawa, Vancouver's University of British Columbia and most recently at the University of Toronto.

School administrators say hate will not be tolerated, warning students will be punished if they run afoul of university policy.

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The debate around how colleges are handling protests played out in Washington D.C. Wednesday as police cleared out encampments at George Washington University. This week, we visited that encampment and others to hear why students are protesting and explore a long-standing divide over the rhetoric and language used to describe the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Stephanie Sy reports.

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Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

The ongoing debate around how colleges and cities are handling pro-Palestinian protests played out here in Washington, D.C., today.

Early this morning, hours before Mayor Muriel Bowser was set to testify on Capitol Hill about this, police used pepper spray to clear encampments and crowds at George Washington University. Nearly three dozen people were arrested. The hearing was later canceled.

Over the last week, "NewsHour" producers visited that campus and others across the country, talking to students about why they're protesting, about the language being used and the limits of free speech.

Stephanie Sy has our report.

Stephanie Sy:

For nearly two weeks on George Washington University's campus, more than 100 tents stretched across the lawn, part of a demonstration by students from around the D.C. area.

Selina Al-Shihabi, Georgetown University Student:

Gaza, that's why were here. That's why were doing what were doing. And I think a lot of students, I mean, after October 7, have been just feeling this frustration, and they have been feeling kind of this disgust with the world around them.

Twenty-year-old Palestinian-American sophomore Selina Al-Shihabi says she has lost family members in the conflict. She's here because of the high death toll in Gaza, now at more than 34,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and U.S. military support for Israel.

Selina Al-Shihabi:

A lot of us, we have been taught that the freedom of speech, the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to pursuit of happiness, that water, food, are basic rights, that everyone should have. And, like, seeing the United States endorse this is just actually outrageous.

Free, free Palestine!

But the rhetoric that has surrounded the protests has made some students fearful.

Sabrina Soffer and Skyler Sieradzky are seniors at George Washington and are both Jewish.

Sabrina Soffer, George Washington University Student:

Over the past week or so, and since this whole war even started, and since October 7, even the day after, I felt that, as a Jewish student, I have felt unwelcome in my classes and on this campus.

Even before the October 7 terror attacks, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. were on the rise, increasing by more than 35 percent in 2022 alone.

Skyler Sieradzky, George Washington University Student:

My parents are extremely concerned for my safety and well-being. My mom was asking me if I could put go on the campus as little as possible. Don't go near the encampment.

Sabrina is Israeli-American, and most of Skyler's extended family lives in Israel.

Skyler Sieradzky:

And without Israel, my family would have been a part of the six million that we have lost — that we lost during the Holocaust. Without Israel, it means that I wouldn't be here today, that my peers wouldn't be here today.

And they say the signs they see around campus go far beyond protesting a war or the policies of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, known as Bibi.

I think you can absolutely critique Israel's politics. You can critique Bibi and his government, as I do with my friends and my family. And that's not antisemitic. It becomes antisemitic when you start criticizing the state of Israel's existence.

Sabrina Soffer:

The sentiment that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism is far detached from reality, and it is these so-called moral high ground causes that are far removed from the history of the Jewish people.

Zionism, genocide, "From the river to the sea,' these are among the terms fueling the conflict over the conflict playing out across the country and most visibly on college campuses.

How many kids did you kill today?

Protesters:

Kenneth Stern, Director, Bard Center for the Study of Hate: Each is in a political moment. Each feels somewhat threatened. And each is staking out a maximalist position.

These differing viewpoints, though not new, have only intensified in the aftermath of Hamas' October 7 terror attacks and Israel's military response, says Kenneth Stern, the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate.

Kenneth Stern:

This is such a fraught subject where there are two sort of national identity stories that are in direct conflict with each other, and people subscribe to one or the other, and really don't see the nuance.

Many protesters across the country say they are simply protesting an ideology.

Omar Aly, University of Minnesota Student: Our fight has been against Zionism, has been against an Israeli government. It has never been against a religion.

University of Minnesota senior Omar Aly was at his schools encampment last week.

We are calling for a free Palestine, so it's free of settlers, not free of one religion or the other. We want Palestinian Muslims, Palestinian Christians, Palestinian Jews to live in one place.

No justice, no peace!

At George Washington University, Jewish student Miriam is also anti-Zionist. She asked us not to use her last name, for fear of retribution.

Miriam, George Washington University Student:

I know that my Jewish identity for me is — has no ties to a nation-state. That's not something that I feel is important to me, especially a nation-state that has been occupying Palestinian land for 76 years.

So I think decolonizing sort of the Jewish identity means separating Zionism from Judaism and therefore separating anti-Zionism from antisemitism.

But, to many Jews, anti-Zionist sentiments are a direct threat to the existence of a Jewish state and are intrinsically antisemitic and threatening.

Ethan Fine IS a Jewish senior at the University of Minnesota.

Ethan Fine, University of Minnesota Student: When you seek to preserve the right to self-determination for everybody except for the Jewish people, that is antisemitic, that is anti-Jewish rhetoric,and that is where antisemitism and anti-Zionism become very close.

At colleges across the country, one phrase in particular is a lightning rod. Pro-Palestinian protesters have been chanting this.

From the river to the sea!

Palestine will be free!

The refrain reflects deeply held beliefs over who should control the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, where the nation of Israel and the occupied-Palestinian territories sit.

What we are calling for is a one-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians and Jews and Muslims can live in coexistence.

In 1977, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's own party used the same phrase in its original platform.

And, today, he says Israel should have security control over the entire area.

It's ironic that a lot of Israeli critics claim that that's problematic. They call for a Jewish state from the river to the sea. And so that is — that's just extremely contradictory.

Hamas, which has called for the destruction of Israel, added the phrase "From the river to the sea" to its charter in 2017.

And pro-Israel groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, have labeled the phrase antisemitic.

Ethan Katz, Co-Director, Berkeley Anti-Semitism Education Initiative:

Slogans like there is only one solution, intifada revolution, slogans like "From the river to the sea, Palestine will all be free" are inevitably heard as endorsements of violence because the most prominent act of so-called resistance being valorized in many of the same rallies was explicitly, at least for some of the leadership of Hamas and some of the perpetrators, about murdering Israeli Jews.

Ethan Katz, a historian at the University of California at Berkeley, acknowledges the diverse meanings of the phrase, but says it has particular charge after the October 7 terror attack on Israel, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people.

Some pro-Israel supporters say any endorsement of resistance against Israel is an implicit support for Hamas. None of the pro-Palestinian students "NewsHour" interviewed expressed support for Hamas' actions on October 7, but some student groups have lauded the attack.

Ethan Katz:

We know the horrific details. We know what a brutal attack this was, and huge parts of it on civilians in horrific ways, while being described as an act of resistance, as an act of liberation, both by its perpetrators and by many activists.

The rhetoric being used at these protests is not that of a peaceful conclusion to this war. It's that of violence.

Maha Nassar, University of Arizona: I think it is important to keep in mind that the protest is against a system of oppression and not against a group of people. And we have to be very clear about the importance of keeping those things separate.

Maha Nassar is a historian at the University of Arizona.

Maha Nassar:

For the vast majority of the protesters who are using this chant, it is a call for freedom for everyone who lives between the river and the sea.

Ezra Kaye, a Jewish student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, says how words are spoken matters.

Ezra Kaye, Case Western Reserve University Student:

Saying things like the classic "From the river to the sea" get construed as antisemitic. It all comes down to the context of what's happening, who's doing it, and at what time.

Another fiercely contested term is genocide. Some, like Samantha Ginsberg, a Jewish senior at the Ohio State University, say Israel's actions in Gaza don't meet the threshold for the charge.

Samantha Ginsberg, The Ohio State University Student:

Genocide is a really serious accusation, and it does not deserve to be watered down and simplified and just applied to everything. That's a genocide. It's not. It requires intent. There is no intent to wipe out the Palestinian people.

According to a January YouGov/Economist poll, 49 percent of young adults under the age of 30 do believe Israel is committing a genocide.

Even though no one has been convicted with genocide yet, it's starting to look and feel a lot like genocide. So whether you want to call it or not, we can see that something is happening that looks and feels a lot like it.

The ability to navigate both of those narratives simultaneously is really what's at the heart of this and the difficulty of many students, because they pick one and, you know, they ignore the other, when really both should be engaged.

As each side becomes more entrenched, Stern from the Bard Center for the Study of Hate says some university officials are struggling with how to navigate this conflict.

The obligation on campus is to keep students safe physically and from harassment and from true threats, but not safe from ideas. Students should not expect that they're not going to hear things that are disturbing. They should be expecting to have scholars and administrators and others help them unpack that and learn from it.

And they should have the intellectual curiosity to figure out why somebody has a different point of view.

In order to move forward, he says students should focus on areas of common understanding.

Where can you agree? You can agree what we're seeing is awful, whether you want to technically call it genocide or not, where can we agree on things? And underscoring that, I think, is a way forward for students.

It's unclear whether students can reconcile the warring narratives, as protests continue on campuses from coast to coast.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

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Stephanie Sy is a PBS NewsHour correspondent and serves as anchor of PBS NewsHour West. Throughout her career, she served in anchor and correspondent capacities for ABC News, Al Jazeera America, CBSN, CNN International, and PBS NewsHour Weekend. Prior to joining NewsHour, she was with Yahoo News where she anchored coverage of the 2018 Midterm Elections and reported from Donald Trump’s victory party on Election Day 2016.

Maea Lenei Buhre is a general assignment producer for the PBS NewsHour.

Layla Quran is a general assignment producer for PBS NewsHour. She was previously a foreign affairs reporter and producer.

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