Unspoken Rhetoric

This was definitely an interesting assignment for sure. I originally had a topic idea of analyzing in-depth the role of ethos, pathos, and logos in previously elected US President’s. The more I looked into the topic, the more bored I started to feel. I knew that if I were boring myself, I would probably bore all of you as well. So last minute, I decided to change my topic to something I found much more interesting – body language as rhetoric. 

*Disclaimer* I'm sorry for any strange formatting... blogger didn't really like my word document.

 

Unspoken Rhetoric: A Look into Body Language

Something that I’ve heard for a long time throughout life in is that actions speak louder than words. The older I get, the more and more I am beginning to agree with this statement. A smile can completely change the mood of someone’s day and a turn of the body in spite of a remark can completely change an onlooker’s viewpoint. There is rhetoric that can be found and seen in our actions. Sometimes it can be faint and other times it can be as visually loud as an atom bomb. Either way, body language and the look of a person can be viewed as rhetoric. I also see this being acknowledged in this current election season.

I decided to look at the majority of this analysis through the lens of Aristotle’s version of ethos. Ethos is all about the look of a character – the trustworthiness or credibility of the speaker. The goal of ethos is to display trustworthiness, convey a good impression, and establish social authority. In the current Presidential election, these are all desirable characteristics. Each candidate seriously needs to appeal to his audience in a way that will make them respond in a positive way. This is where ethos steps in and where body language becomes a driving force.   

To start off, I decided to look at the candidates and see what it means to look Presidential. Here’s what I found with a quick Google search:

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/2012/01/the-presidential-look-mitt-romney/

This quick posting details the physical appearance of Mitt Romney and why that is going to win him the Presidency, in the authors’ opinion. A face-reading expert, Mac Fulfer, analyzes Romneys' face. He goes through Romneys’ picture and analyzes his chin, eyes, ears, and lips. Fuller says that, in the presidential election, U.S. citizens are looking for a candidate with “warrior traits” someone to “fight for us.” Although this analytical approach can be considered a little sketchy, it is kind of interesting to read how people can read the look of another person.

Next, just as a little experiment, I decided to ask a couple of my friends to email me a picture off of Google of a person who looked presidential, but was not currently engaged in politics. Here’s what they sent to me - George Clooney and Michael Douglas. 

  I couldn’t help but note the similarities between these two men: both have grey hair, suit and tie, are at least 50 years old, and are kind of large and in charge being that George Clooney and Michael Douglas are two of the most well known and highly paid actors in Hollywood. Their looks portray the message of boss-tastic. They want to be recognized and are given that recognition due to their status. The same could be said of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama as well.

There’s the same sort of look for these two men – suit and tie, grey hair. Their look inspires ethos, whether they plan for it to or not. Their grey hair helps show their age and wisdom. It also gives us as the voter’s reassurance because they look similar to the men who have come before them in the US presidency. 

Linguistic manipulation is incredibly important in political rhetoric. They have to be able to persuade people. If a person cannot do that then well, they should not be running for an elected public office. The same can be said of body language and look as rhetoric. If the person does not sound, look, or appear to match the part, they won’t be elected.

It’s interesting how people’s body language, such as the two men mentioned above can be translated into rhetoric. According to the Definitive Book of Body Language (Random House 2007), a person’s eyes and posture have a lot to do with rhetoric.

Eyes can either tell or withhold information. Eye contact is a human need and is necessary for bonding. This is one reason why we are told to make eye with our audiences contact when giving speeches. It helps to convey a message, not only with your words, but the look you convey through your eyes.

Posture is another form of rhetoric that the book addresses. One can acquire a sense of interest or disinterest in a person by observing the way a person stands or sits. The position of a person’s shoulders, back, arm placement, and foot direction are all cues as to what a person is feeling in the moment with what they are saying or hearing. Examples of this can be feelings of insecurity, annoyance, pride, and many others.

After learning the very basics of body language analysis, I decided to put my newly acquired skills to the test and see how President Obama fared in his body language rhetoric. I chose President Obama to analyze simply because there are more videos of him. This video addresses the rhetorical devices of story telling and repetition used by President Obama in his speeches.

Throughout this video and his famous “Yes We Can” speech in 2008, you also see the rhetorical devices of metaphor and personification. You also see him with very large hand gestures that display his desire for openness.

There’s so much more to body rhetoric than what I’ve mentioned in here. I feel like I’ve just skimmed the surface. It is an important tool of rhetoric, especially in the Presidential debates that many people tend to overlook in general because most of it is read through our brain subconsciously. A lot of communication goes unsaid – this is where the art of the rhetoric of body language becomes vital. Body language conveys an unspoken message that we all pick up on, whether we realize it or not.