I went to see Merchant of Venice last night. While there my phone went crazy with msgs saying, 'Have you seen the Arnie speech!' I have now. Wow! Amazing.
- Ethos/pathos galore
- tons of rhetorical devices
But, in particular, it's a great eg of
MY STORY/OUR STORY/WHAT NEXT.

https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1504426844199669762

Arnie starts with a story of going backstage at the world weightlifting championship to meet his Russian hero, Yuri Petrovich, to discover he was a good man. Then he metaphorically takes the Russian people backstage at the theatre of war to reveal their hero, Putin is a bad man.

Much of my time as a speechwriter is spent helping leaders open up and talk about what matters most to them, no matter how personal/painful, because when they do, their words have such power. Amazing article by Meghan Markle which will speak to so many. nytimes.com/2020/11/25/opi… It’s striking how many rhetorical devices are used in this article. These give an extra sense that you are hearing Meghan’s voice...

Wow! That was a sublime speech by Joe Biden. Half way through, he says ‘No rhetoric is needed’ but he actually uses a heap of rhetorical devices throughout. In my 2016 Speak Like A Leader TEDx, I set out the six most powerful rhetorical devices... cnn.com/2020/08/20/pol… They were

1. 3 breathless sentences
2. 3 repetitive sentences
3. 3 contrasts
4. Metaphor
5. Exaggeration
6. Rhyme

See how Biden uses these devices throughout his speech...

Phenomenal speech by Barack Obama at the DNC. Amusingly, whilst he begins the speech promising to speak ‘as plainly as [he] can’, his speech is actually packed to the brim with the classical rhetorical techniques which are his hallmark.
pbs.org/newshour/polit… So, firstly, the speech follows an off the shelf structure which comes straight from classical rhetoric. It’s one I recommended in my book for political speeches. There are six steps to the structure...

The idea that all people are born equal is written into the code of pretty much every religion, constitution and corporate code on the planet. To say you disagree with this notion is socially unacceptable, so people convey their prejudices another way, through metaphor... Everyday the same few metaphors are repeated over and over again, in pop music, movies and the press. Poor are scum. Immigrants are vermin. Sick are vegetables. The elderly are a burden. Black people are animals. Conversely, entertainers are stars and business people are titans.