META: Rhetoric

From: Greg Burch (gregburch@gregburch.net)
Date: Tue Jun 10 2003 - 05:36:00 MDT

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    I wish I had the time to read all the posts on this list, but I don't
    What I do is skim, read as many posts by people I know and/or admire as
    I can, and take a look at things to which my attention is drawn by
    offlist communication. The latter drew my attention to a recent
    re-occurrence of inflamed rhetoric here surrounding words about the Iraq
    war.

    I don't have a lot of time this morning, but I'll make a comment as a
    professional rhetorician. In my work as a trial lawyer, I've had to
    deal with some very unpleasant subjects in public speaking and writing:
    Painful death, fraud, professional negligence, bankruptcy. Crucial
    elements of carrying on a civilized discussion about such topics are
    respect for one's audience and toning the rhetoric DOWN as the
    inflammatory nature of the subject matter goes UP. Failure to observe
    these principles INEVITABLY leads to a degradation of the entire
    discourse and, ultimately, failure to communicate effectively.

    Another rule -- that rises to the level of a natural law in my book --
    is that effective communication and economy of words go hand in hand.
    As someone who spends a LOT of time these days editing the writing and
    coaching the oral presentations of journeymen lawyers, my number one
    tool is the knife: I cut, cut, cut. Often the best advice I give to
    young lawyers is to say NOTHING: You've made your point, now SHUT UP;
    let the other guy bore and offend the judge or jury with his incessant
    blathering and repetitive hammering. Finally, seventeen years of law
    practice has led me to observe another near-natural-law: The
    persuasiveness of rhetoric is in inverse proportion to the number of
    adjectives used. Saying something is "clear" doesn't make it so, and
    describing something as "horrible" doesn't evoke horror in one's
    audience. I now issue "adjective licenses" to my young lawyers, which I
    revoke with zeal at the slightest infraction.

    Please consider these observations.

    Greg Burch
    Vice-President, Extropy Institute
    My blog: http://www.gregburch.net/burchismo.html



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