Short description of rhetorics and disposition

Rhetorics
Rhetorics is a 2000 year old teaching that provides forms, means, and strategies for communicating any message to any audience. The term rhetoric often refers to argumentation, and not seldom with a pejorative connotation, that rhetorics is all about propaganda and hiding the ”truth”. On the contrary modern rhetorics is as much an instrument for analysing information as a method for training to be an effective communicator. Today rhetorics deal with both the spoken and written word. Contemporary rhetorical theory includes studies of rhetoric and gender, intercultural communication, branding and the rhetorics of new media, among others.


Disposition
The disposition of an argumentative speech contains the following parts:
• The introduction - to capture the attention of your listeners and to introduce them to your speech.
• The thesis - a sentence specifying the purpose and the subject of the speech.
• The outline of the major points in the speech (partitio)
• The arguments - different arguments supporting the purpose and the thesis of the speech.
• The refutation of possible opposing arguments
• The conclusion
• Possibly exhort to action.

The model is flexible and not all parts must be included in every speech. For example a partitio might just take up too much time, if the speech is short. In other cases it can be a good idea to rearrange the structure and start by refuting an opposing argument. However, to have a captivating introduction, ONE clear thesis, a few well chosen arguments and a good ending, is the best ”recipe” for a successful speech.