Alexander England

What are people trying to say? Do they say it directly or indirectly? I believe that communication, whatever the method, is simply a puzzle. Some people will say honestly what they mean and how they mean it, however, this is a rare case when some forms of communication are at play. Let’s take a text message for example. There are many subliminal things that are said or rather not said in a text. Determining the purpose of the communication made is key. Because when someone says “how are you” some might actually care how you are doing or they are being polite with small talk to get down to business. Maybe they need to ask a question or a favor whatever the case may be. This is the kind of communication that one must root out the purpose. 

So how does someone find the purpose of another’s communication? Finding the rhetoric is key to understanding the meaning. This means are the messages Pathos, Logos, or Ethos related. Learning about different rhetorical strategies has opened my eyes to the analysis of communication. Understanding how someone is trying to convince you of something helps one better understand what they are trying to convince you of, because as stated before that is not always obvious in communication. One could break it down by the three pillars of persuasion Pathos Logos and Ethos. Are they trying to be credible in their messages, or are they stating fact and figure to win you over, or are they trying to tug on your heartstrings and build an emotional rapport to get their point across? These strategies will help you better understand communication as a whole not just writing in itself.