Book III

The first sentence of chapter I of the Index to Chapter III is a comment about style that I try to remind myself of every day. "It is not enough to know what to say; we must also say it in the right way." In my job, I deal with customers and my staff daily. I may have to find the right words to say to a customer when he is upset about a fee or there may be an occasion when I will need to coach an employee. In these circumstances, I not only need to say the right words, but also pay attention to the tone I use. As stated in chapter 7, the words I use must be appropriate for the situation. I am appealing to the emotion of the customer or employee and his character, the topic or subject must be understood, and I should be tactful with the situation. In this type of setting, I am trying to persuade the customer that the fee is reasonable or with an employee, that this is procedure we must use and by doing it correctly, it will affect our customers positively.

It is always important to speak clearly, using correct pronunciation, understandable words, and a pleasing volume. Correctness of language is the foundation of good style which includes: the proper use of connecting words, calling things by their special names, avoiding ambiguities, using correct nouns, and using the correct wording for plurality. A written composition must be easy to read and easy to deliver.

Using descriptions and representative words adds to the impressiveness of language. When trying to engage an audience, add liveliness to help your hearers see things by using expressions that represent things as in a state of activity.

Speeches have only two necessary parts - the statement of the case and the argument. At most, it can consist of an Introduction, Statement, Argument, and Epilogue. The introduction and epilogue are used to introduce the subject and to draw it to a conclusion. When stating the case, use plain facts, indicate a moral purpose, use emotions, and guarantee the truth. The duty of the arguments is to attempt demonstrative proof. Make your conclusion distinct.

Some of the comments in both Chapters I and III are hard to understand until I think of how long ago Aristotle captured his thoughts. Even though some of thoughts are kind of obscure, so much of what he says is relevant to today's world of speech.