Rhetoric Theory

The rhetoric theory is discovering all possible ways of persuasion and we must understand that persuasion is different than manipulation. It also falls right in the middle of the interpretive and objective scale for theories. In my life Aristotle’s theory plays out in many ways. I use the idea of persuasion when I am trying to get something that I want or think I need. One example, is when I am trying to talk my mother into buying me the next new thing. When I do this, I don’t necessarily need what I’m asking for but I usually am good at persuading her. The first time I ever received my iPhone I had to use some of the six principles Dr. Wood explained in class. I started with reciprocity, which means if you do for me I will do for you. During
my experience, I told my mom if she bought me an iPhone I would clean the house and do whatever she asked of me. Then getting to the next principle which is scarcity, or not being abundant, and I tried to trick her into thinking there were only so many iPhones, because then she is likely to feel pity for me. The next principle is authority and I showed this by telling my mom what all the iPhone could do and seeming to be an expert in knowing about the iPhone. The next principle is consistency and I would say I could not apply this to my persuasion except I made sure that by story was all relating to the same information. The fifth principle is liking, which means I tried to find a common ground with my mom and made sure she knew how important she thought it was for me to have a cell phone. Finally, the last principle, consensus, which means we worked towards reaching an understanding. My understanding for persuasion was getting my way and I was successful in persuading my mother to get me and iPhone.