ABSTRACT
Making connections is the critical concept that unites persuasion science with rhetorical theory and the real-life practice of persuasion. Connections are critical because most things in life are ambiguous: what people read, hear, and see is open to interpretation. Many of the commonplace strategies and techniques used by today's legal advocates derive from Aristotle's Rhetoric. Pathos suggests arguments based on building common ground between listener and speaker, or listener and third-party actor. Logos suggests arguments based on the syllogism or the syllogistic form, including arguments based on enthymemes and analogous cases. Kairos suggests that the advocate constructing arguments take into account the appropriateness of timing and setting. Although the extent to which an audience may be open to persuasion depends on the surrounding context, including how much the audience member cares about the issue, there are a number of offsetting considerations.
