How to use rhetoric to get what you want - Camille A. Langston

Prevoditelj: Sandra Grgić Recezent: Ivan Luka Sabolović

How do you get what you want using just your words?

Kako dobiti ono što želimo koristeći samo riječi?

Aristotle set out to answer exactly that question over 2,000 years ago

Na upravo je to pitanje prije 2000 godina pokušao odgovoriti Aristotel

with the Treatise on Rhetoric.

u svom djelu Retorika.

Rhetoric, according to Aristotle,

Prema Aristotelu, retorika je

is the art of seeing the available means of persuasion.

umijeće pronalaženja uvjerljivog u svakom danom trenutku.

Danas je primjenjujemo na sve oblike komunikacije.

And today we apply it to any form of communication.

Aristotle focused on oration, though,

No Aristotel je na umu imao govore.

and he described three types of persuasive speech.

Opisao je tri vrste uvjeravajućih govora.

Forensic, or judicial, rhetoric

Forenzičko ili sudsko govorništvo

establishes facts and judgements about the past,

utvrđuje činjenice i stavove o prošlosti,

similar to detectives at a crime scene.

slično detektivima na mjestu zločina.

Epideictic, or demonstrative, rhetoric

Epideiktičko ili svečano govorništvo

makes a proclamation about the present situation,

opisuje sadašnju situaciju,

as in wedding speeches.

kao u zdravicama na vjenčanju.

But the way to accomplish change is through deliberative rhetoric,

Međutim promjena se postiže političkim govorništvom,

or symbouleutikon.

tzv. symbouleutikon-om.

Rather than the past or the present,

Umjesto na prošlost ili sadašnjost,

deliberative rhetoric focuses on the future.

deliberativna retorika usmjerena je na budućnost.

It's the rhetoric of politicians

Takva je retorika političara

debating a new law by imagining what effect it might have,

koji debatiraju o novom zakonu predviđajući mu učinak.

like when Ronald Regan warned that the introduction of Medicare

Kao upozorenje R. Regana da će uvođenje zdravstvenog osiguranja

would lead to a socialist future spent telling our children

dovesti do socijalističke budućnosti, provedene pričajući djeci

and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free.

i djeci njihove djece kako je bilo nekada u slobodnoj Americi.

But it's also the rhetoric of activists urging change,

Takva je i retorika aktivista koji zagovaraju promjenu.

such as Martin Luther King Jr's dream

Kao san Martina Luthera Kinga

that his children will one day live in a nation

da će njegova djeca jednom živjeti u naciji

where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,

u kojoj ih se neće prosuđivati po boji kože,

but by the content of their character.

već po svojstvima njihove osobnosti.

In both cases, the speaker's present their audience with a possible future

U oba slučaja, govornici su predstavili publici moguću budućnost

and try to enlist their help in avoiding or achieving it.

i pokušali pridobiti pomoć slušatelja pri izbjegavanju ili ostvarivanju toga.

But what makes for good deliberative rhetoric,

No što to čini dobro deliberativno govorništvo

besides the future tense?

osim budućeg glagolskog vremena?

According to Aristotle, there are three persuasive appeals:

Prema Aristotelu, postoje tri uvjeravajuća apela:

ethos,

etos,

logos,

logos

and pathos.

i patos.

Ethos is how you convince an audience of your credibility.

Etos je način kojim uvjeravamo publiku u vlastitu vjerodostojnost.

Winston Churchill began his 1941 address to the U.S. Congress by declaring,

Winston Churchill je 1941. započeo obraćanje američkom Kongresu riječima:

"I have been in full harmony all my life with the tides which have flowed

“Cijelog sam života bio u potpunom skladu sa strujama koje su tekle

on both sides of the Atlantic against privilege and monopoly,"

s obje strane Atlantika protiv povlastica i monopola.”

thus highlighting his virtue as someone committed to democracy.

Time je istaknuo sebe kao osobu posvećenu demokraciji.

Much earlier, in his defense of the poet Archias,

Puno ranije, iznoseći obranu pjesnika Arhije,

Roman consul Cicero appealed to his own practical wisdom

rimski konzul Ciceron pozvao se na vlastitu razboritost

and expertise as a politician:

i stručnost po pitanju politike:

"Drawn from my study of the liberal sciences

“Temeljeno na mom izučavanju slobodnih umijeća

and from that careful training to which I admit

i na mojoj pomnoj izobrazbi, svjedočim

that at no part of my life I have ever been disinclined."

da ni u jednom trenutku svog života nisam bio nesklon.”

And finally, you can demonstrate disinterest,

Naposljetku, moguće je pokazati nezainteresiranost

or that you're not motivated by personal gain.

ili to da nam motivacija nije osobna dobit.

Logos is the use of logic and reason.

Logos je uporaba logike i razuma.

This method can employ rhetorical devices such as analogies,

Ova metoda koristi retoričke figure poput analogija,

examples,

primjera,

and citations of research or statistics.

i znanstvenih ili statističkih podataka.

But it's not just facts and figures.

No nije sve u činjenicama i brojkama.

It's also the structure and content of the speech itself.

Bitna je i struktura i sadržaj samog govora.

The point is to use factual knowledge to convince the audience,

Cilj je pomoću činjeničnog znanja uvjeriti publiku.

as in Sojourner Truth's argument for women's rights:

Poput argumenta Sojourner Truth za prava žena:

"I have as much muscle as any man and can do as much work as any man.

“Imam mišića koliko i bilo koji muškarac i mogu raditi koliko i bilo koji muškarac.

I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed

Orala sam i žela i ljuštila i sjekla i kosila.

and can any man do more than that?"

Može li neki muškarac napraviti više?”

Unfortunately, speakers can also manipulate people with false information

Nažalost, govornici mogu i manipulirati ljudima koristeći netočne informacije

that the audience thinks is true,

za koje publika misli da su točne.

such as the debunked but still widely believed claim

Poput opovrgnute, ali još uvijek vrlo popularne tvrdnje

that vaccines cause autism.

da cjepiva uzrokuju autizam.

And finally, pathos appeals to emotion,

I napokon, patos apelira na emocije.

and in our age of mass media, it's often the most effective mode.

U dobu masovnih medija u kojem živimo to je često najučinkovitiji način.

Pathos is neither inherently good nor bad,

Patos sam po sebi nije ni dobar ni loš,

but it may be irrational and unpredictable.

ali može biti nerazuman i nepredvidljiv.

It can just as easily rally people for peace

Jednako lako može ujediniti ljude za mir

as incite them to war.

kao i potaknuti ih na rat.

Most advertising,

Većina oglašavanja,

from beauty products that promise to relieve our physical insecurities

od kozmetičkih proizvoda koji obećavaju ublažiti naše fizičke nesavršenosti

to cars that make us feel powerful,

do automobila koji nam daju osjećaj moći,

relies on pathos.

oslanja se na patos.

Aristotle's rhetorical appeals still remain powerful tools today,

Aristotelovi retorički apeli i danas su snažni alati.

but deciding which of them to use

No odlučiti koji od njih koristiti

is a matter of knowing your audience and purpose,

stvar je poznavanja publike i svrhe

as well as the right place and time.

kao i pravog mjesta i vremena.

And perhaps just as important is being able to notice

Jednako je važno moći prepoznati

when these same methods of persuasion are being used on you.

kad se te iste metode uvjeravanja koriste na nama samima.