Today is rung 1 of 12 on this topic
Rhetoric — how persuasion actually works
Can do: Identifies appeals to credibility, emotion and logic, and judges whether the argument survives without the rhetoric.
Why it matters
Once a child can see the technique, they can decide whether to be persuaded rather than simply being persuaded.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Finds a speech moving without noticing a single technique that made it so.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Play a famous speech or an advert. "What made that work? Would the argument survive without it?"
Solid looks like: Two techniques named, and a separate judgement about the underlying argument.
The full activity for this topic · 25 minutes
Speech Autopsy
- 1Watch it once and note the emotional effect honestly.
- 2Read the transcript and mark appeals to credibility, emotion and logic in three colours.
- 3Find the repetition, the three-part lists, the contrasts.
- 4Strip it to a plain summary of the argument. Is the argument still good?
- 5Rewrite one paragraph plainly and compare the effect.
If it's too hard
Analyse a 30-second advert instead.
If it's too easy
Compare two speeches on the same issue and judge which argument is stronger, separately from which is more moving.
Say this
"That moved you — good. Now separately: is what they actually claimed true?"