In the movie ‘The Jerk’ Steve Martin says that he found his special purpose, well I just found my specific purpose for speech 4. I am trying to learn how to use alliterations (via special purpose and specific purpose). Two experienced Toastmasters Tom Myslinski and Darrel Thurman helped me realize that it is hard to find rhetorical devices for a speech until you know what you am going to talk about.

I decided to make my speech about the four rhetorical devices in the speech manual (similes, metaphors, alliterations and triads). This will interest my Toastmaster audience and also educate me by researching it. (Is killing two birds with one stone a rhetorical device?) The general purpose of the speech will be to persuade. The specific purpose will be to get people to use rhetorical devices in their speeches. The title will be something like “Tips to Making Your Speech Memorable”

I am looking for some examples of famous rhetorical devices to illustrate the point. An example that I plan to use for triads is: (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). If you have any ideas please add them to my lists at Ken’s Rhetorical Device Lists or leave me a comment. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Scotty Burch of the Austin Toastmasters Club wrote a great article Rhetoric and More Rhetoric . I really liked the way he explained the difference between the common use of the words ‘rhetorically speaking’ and the not so common use of the words ‘rhetorical devices’. It has greatly increased my understanding of rhetorical devices.