Thinking and Acting Rhetorically

To think and act rhetorically is to use your voice effectively. Thinking rhetorically is when you carefully listen to others, considering their thoughts, processing, and using new information to further your own opinions. To act rhetorically, you have to know what you're talking about, and be well informed in not only your own points, but your opposing side's point of view. Knowing what others think of your topic gives you more insight on how to explain your stance. Acting rhetorically is when you use your voice to make an impact, and your ideas to make a difference. Using rhetoric means you are using all the information available to you to make your words thoughtful, persuasive, and concise. Besides just knowing your material, it is also important to know your audience. What type of language will get your point across the best? How is your audience going to respond to your idea? Trying to convince your group of friends of where you should go out to dinner would sound vastly different than convincing a group of peers what you think is the best way to plan out a presentation. Another consideration is your personal feelings about your topic, what is the purpose behind your writing? What are your personal feelings about your topic? Writing will always be more powerful when you're explaining something you care about. There are many elements required to use rhetoric to its full potential, but with a little practice, anyone can use it.