Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion

The tools of rhetoric not only help persuaders change reality but recover from mistakes and make their ethos shine. There are five steps that can help do this—the first being to set new goals for oneself after a mistake.

The second step is to “be first with the news,” also known as kairos (251). A persuader can control the narrative around their mistake should they be the first to shares it with an audience.

The third step is to acknowledge one’s mistake and then “switch immediately to the future” (251). When a persuader focuses on what they can do to fix their mistake, they avoid being stuck in the past with their audience’s blame.

The fourth step is to avoid belittling or lashing out at others. If a persuader lashes out at their audience, they will likely retaliate and demand an apology. Many try to deliver apologies in ways that avoid belittling themselves, like stating “I’m really sorry that you feel that way” (266-67). These apologies only serve to make the audience feel belittled.

The fifth and final step is to focus on standards over apologies.