Category Archives: Rhetorical devices

A little more on ethos-building: rhetorical devices that can make your writing more credible

Posted on September 1, 2011 by

When I wrote about strengthening your credibility I neglected to mention a couple of rhetorical devices that can help boost your ethos. “But what’s a rhetorical device?” No, a rhetorical device is not a speech-writing machine. First, rhetoric is the … Continue reading →

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Strengthening the pillars—Ethos, or “a reason to believe”

Posted on August 19, 2011 by

A while back, I introduced you to (or reminded you about) the pillars of effective communication: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. (Here’s a quick refresher: ethos is your credibility, logos is the evidence and logic you use, and pathos is the … Continue reading →

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Five Basic Stories

Posted on July 19, 2010 by

There’s something about a story that grabs our attention. And getting people to pay attention is something that every writer wants, right? Ergo, writers who learn how to use stories become better writers. Over at Forbes.com, Nick Morgan tells us … Continue reading →

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Simple structures for short messages

Posted on May 20, 2010 by

If you’re ever stuck for a way to organize some short content—an email message or a letter, for example—you can always steal borrow some ideas from public speakers: PREP, PEP, and Divide and Conquer.

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James Geary on metaphor

Posted on March 24, 2010 by

Here’s author and aphorist James Geary explaining the ubiquity and power of metaphor:

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Savory similes

Posted on September 11, 2009 by

Most people know what a simile is—a direct comparison between two unlike things—and we use them all the time. In fact, we use them so freely that many of them have become clichés. For example, “stiff as a board,” “white … Continue reading →

Posted in Growing as a writer, Rhetorical devices | 7 Comments

Surprise me!

Posted on January 20, 2009 by

As soon as I came to, I knew it was going to be a long day. My head was throbbing like I had had one too many boilermakers down at Geno’s, a seedy bar on 5th Avenue frequented by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Rhetorical devices | 1 Comment

Clichés aren’t just words

Posted on September 23, 2008 by

It’s no surprise that a writing blog would say “avoid clichés.” But we need to remember that clichés Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; … Continue reading →

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Using visual metaphors

Posted on April 4, 2008 by

Metaphors are powerful tools that can help you clarify abstract ideas for your audience (as I pointed out in “Dealing with abstractions? Try metaphors.”). Just remember that you don’t have to limit yourself to words when you’re creating a metaphor. … Continue reading →

Posted in Growing as a writer, Rhetorical devices, Writer's toolbox | 1 Comment