While prepping for the weekly post at my blog on Church Solutions, I was struck by the word "rhetoric." In our society today it generally has a negative connotation - just think back to the recently concluded election campaign for examples. Originally, though, rhetoric was a good word, one of the three branches of discourse developed by Aristotle (the other two were logic and dialectic). At its heart, rhetoric is all about persuading people to your cause. Church leaders should know about, and practice, rhetoric in their writing and speaking.
Here are a few resources that will help:
Rhetoric - Aristotle
Words that Work - Frank Luntz
You've Got to be Believed to Be Heard - Bert Decker
Little Green Book of Getting Your Way - Jeffrey Gitomer
For real world examples of rhetoric in action, check these out:
White House Ghosts - Robert Schlesinger
Jacked Up: The Inside Story of How Jack Welch Talked GE into Becoming the World's Greatest Company - Bill Lane
Compelling rhetoric makes for compelling leaders. Leaders want their words to win hearts and change minds.
How will you learn to use rhetoric in 2009 to effectively persuade people?
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