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