3. Plato
Say only what you
believe is true.
Organise your thoughts.
Define the terms
that you use.
Use correct diction.
Practise the art of
speech in public.
4. Rhetorical devices
Comparison
„Business is like riding a bicycle. Either
you keep moving or you fall down.”
- Illustration more familiar quality than
the real object
- Avoid overused images (pure as a virgin)
5. Metaphore – analogy between ideas
„A man without judgement is like a car
without brakes; but a man without
enthusiasm is like a car without a motor.”
Personification – imagine that your
subject is a human being
„Are commercial banks an endangered
species?”
6. Hyperbole – intentional exaggeration
„I believe that with the new biotechnology
we can achieve anything that can be
achieved!”
Understatement – seemingly lessening
value, merit or importance but implying the
opposite
„The disadvantages should not be
overlooked either.”
7. Irony – stating the opposite with implied
negative evaluation
„No advertisement has ever bored a
reader.
That’s because it requires little effort and
less time to turn the page.”
Antithesis – contrasting two opposing
views
„They promised prosperity and delivered
misery.”
8. Climax –arrangement of words/phrases
in order of increasing power
„He who loses wealth loses much;
he who loses a friend loses more;
but he who loses his courage loses all.”
Rhetorical question
„Is language change good? The answer is
yes.”
9. Anacoluthon - a break in sentence
structure for heightened effect
„Cleopatra’s nose, had it been shorter,
could have changed the face of the world.”
Antimetabole – repetition with inverted
order of items
„Ask not what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country.”
10. Do not:
Use long and complicated sentences
Use long and abstract words
Lie or trick your audience
Abuse cliches
Use too many figures of speech
Hum and haw with words like Well – Hum –
I mean – you know . Keep silent.
Talk about banal generalities (Everyone knows)
