Techniques of Persuasion #3 - Name-Calling
Monday, December 11, 2006
Cores 5, 1, 2 continue to work on the Uses of the Internet activity and prompt. These are important classwork grades.
Name-calling is, as it it suggests, a straightforward rhetorical technique. Key to its use are the following:
1. Clear identification of “the opposition”
2. Labeling of the opposition with an effective, short, easily remembered, colorful name or phrase
3. Consistent and repetitive use of derogatory adjectives and nouns along with the name.
Examples (these are historical, in some cases, and not OK to use in any other context):
Labels: Evil Empire, Reds, Commie, Flip-flopper, Racist/Bigot, Child-hater, Man-hater, Weak-hearts
Adjectives & nouns: treacherous, treachery, slippery, un-American, uninformed, misguided, deliberately opaque
When used with other techniques, name-calling creates, for the audience, a clear picture of an “enemy” whose negative qualities are to be fought against by supporting the speaker or the speaker’s cause. It is common for this image to used visually (posters, advertisements, flyers) as well.
