Always Act Normal

Acting natural is the key for being a good persuader. Giving the audience confidence while arguing is very important.

Acting as a normal person and speaking normally is fundamental. Starting an argument with a very calm voice and throughout the argument gain some power and volume is something I learned in this chapter.

According to Aristotle, it is very important to be disinterested while arguing. Lets have a hypothetical situation in which I want to go to a party. Convincing my parents is very difficult because this party is for grownups. According to Heinrichs, the thing I must do to convince my parents is show some disinterest. For example, “mom, this weekend I have a party, but I am not willing to go. I will stay sometime in my house, doing homework and being alone, while my friends are having lots of fun! I am very responsible.” After this my parents will feel sorry about my situation therefore they will give me permission.

Surprising the audience is very important. Starting an argument very discrete and talking honest gains attention. According to the Spaniard, Quintilian “a speaker might choose [to pretend to be] uncertain [and this] will make him appear [as an] honest man” (75). As part of the audience I prefer a man that is honest than one that is always talking according to theory. Here is a simpler way to understand it: “don’t be tricky, seem to be in doubt about what to say” (75). This technique is called dubitation.

Dubitation has a lot of power while convincing. Using this theory may help a lot speakers, leaving them with an advantage over their opponent. Ethos plays a very important roll in an argument. Your character is the key for convincing the audience that you are right. Being secure about what you are saying helps your argument making it strong. The personality is very important, Heirichs says that “in an argument, you don’t rest on your personality and reputation, you perform them” (77).  At the end having an argument is like acting a scene, where the best “actor” will be the one that convinces the audience that their point is the right one.

 In Quintilian's I didn’t understand the word feign.

Feign: (verb) to pretend or to be affected by.