The Rhetorical Triangle

Making Your Writing Credible, Appealing, and Logical

Does your heart sink a little when you are asked to prepare a written document or present information to an audience? If so, you're not alone! Many people struggle with putting their ideas and thoughts on paper and delivering a message. It's a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. And unless you're fresh out of school, your writing skills, in particular, may be a little rusty.

Yet with the increase of email and working with people in remote places, delivering clear and persuasive communication is becoming more and more important. The trend is away from direct, one-on-one communication because people do not have to be face-to-face any more when they work together.

Perhaps the biggest problem with this is that when you write, you often don't get a second chance to make your point in a different way. You get one shot, and if you lose your reader, it is difficult to get them back. This is why you need to pick and choose your words carefully, and present your points in a style, manner and sequence that best suits the message you are sending.

The Rhetorical Triangle is a useful way of formulating your thoughts and presenting your position. Here we look at how you can use it to improve your writing.

Understanding the Tool: Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the ancient art of using language to persuade. If you use it well, your audience will easily understand what you're saying, and will be influenced by your message.

By taking the time to understand how rhetorical arguments are structured and presented, you can vastly improve your own writing, and make your points clearly, efficiently and effectively.

The term "rhetoric" in modern language has been used to refer to arguments that are designed to obscure the truth. The word has therefore taken on a negative connotation ("All that politician does is spew rhetoric.") This is not the sense that we're using here when we talk about the Rhetorical Triangle.

Applying the principles of rhetoric helps you structure an argument so the truth becomes immediately apparent to your audience. With the Rhetorical Triangle approach, we focus on the three things that have the greatest impact on an argument:

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