Successful speakers, especially in political contexts, need to appeal to attitudes and emotions that are already within the listeners. When the listeners perceive that their beliefs are understood and supported, the speaker has created connections between the listener and the policy that they wish to communicate.To be persuasive, speakers employ a variety of rhetorical strategies. Some common strategies include:
Metaphors - Metaphors are linguistic symbols which give concrete labels to abstract ideas. This is possible because of the perceived similarity between objects and concepts as regards particular features that one wants to convey. The SUNSHINE of a smile is an example of a metaphor, where it is understood that a smile brings out the same feelings of warmth and well-being as sunshine does.
Metonymies - A metonymy is when an idea or a concept is replaced by a single word or feature that is connected to it. The foundation of metonymies is conceptual as is also the case with metaphors. They can be useful in political speeches as they reduce or increase responsibility. For instance, using the metonymy The White House instead of the President's name reduces the President's personal responsibility. In contrast, the personal responsibility is increased by using a ruler of a state's name when referring to the government or all the citizens in a country.
Analogies - Analogies, where contemporary situations are compared with historical events or myths are common features in political speeches. Ideas and concepts are intended to be clarified in an analogy by comparing them with supposedly well-known phenomena. A characteristic of Martin Luther King's speeches, was drawing analogies between the situation of the African Americans and the oppression of the Hebrews in Egypt.
Pronouns - Pronouns are words substituting for nouns, in particular I or we. I clearly declares who is responsible while we makes the status of responsibility less clear or makes an appeal to shared interests.
Active vs passive voice - Active voice demands an active subject - ex. White people suppress the rights of people of color - while passive voice does not require an actor - ex. The rights of people of color are often suppressed.
Sound-bites - A sound-bite is a short piece from a speech usually sent to media so that it can be reported as quickly as possible. The sound-bite is chosen because it will sum up the content of a longer paragraph in fewer words, suitable for a headline.
Alliteration - Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. It is used to place emphasis on a group of words or call attention to these words. ex. Deliberate and deadly.
Word-repetition - Repeating certain phrases contributes towards making the ideas contained in them seem 'common sense.' In long speeches word-repetition can be used to hold the speech together, but also to emphasize moral values
Three-part lists - A variant of repetition is the so-called three-part lists, when new ideas or pieces of information are presented in three parts. The first part initiates an argument, the second part emphasizes or responds to the first and the third part is a reinforcement of the first two and a sign that the argument is completed, assisting the audience by suggesting when it is appropriate to applaud. For example: freedom and democracy and peace.
Contrastive pairs - Contrastive pairs are used to point out a difference between two ideas, stating what something is and then contrasting it with what it is not, or a difference in time; as in between then and now.
Parallel structure - Parallel structure is when the same grammatical structure is used within a sentence or paragraph to show that two or more ideas have equal importance.
Bookending - When a speaker bookends, they begin and end their speech with the same idea/theme in order to emphasize that idea/theme.
For examples of more rhetorical strategies, consult A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices
