The message of a rhetorical piece is the What—the actual content of the piece. As in what the words say, and what they’re about.
Students often confuse the Message with the Purpose. Just remember that MESSAGE = WHAT. The Purpose has to do with the Why—the opinion rhetor wants to audience to have, or the action she wants it to take. Put it this way: PURPOSE = WHY.
A place to practice argument and persuasion - based on the bestselling Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs.
In any story—the narration part of a speech, or a fictional tale, or the proofs in an essay—you want to put the scene right before the audience’s very eyes. Ancient rhetoricians called this quality enargeia. While the word literally translates as “visibility,” I prefer “before their very eyes.”
The orators in ancient Greece and Rome recognized the magic of rhythm. They noticed that the cadence of an expression could have a huge influence on an audience[. Cicero was especially fond of one of the more powerful rhythms, the paean. We think of the paean today as a song or poem that praises, gives thanks, or celebrates a triumph. But it first meant words that heal.