Another way to build communication strategy based on classical rhetoric is by leveraging logic. And in this case, we are appealing to our audience's intellectual convictions that we leverage logic by using things like examples, data points, statistics, things that will help us build and strengthen our argument. Now a key aspect of leveraging logic involves the use of what's called the rhetorical syllogism. Now the syllogism is actually a very powerful and useful building block for developing communication strategy. The syllogism is a series of statements that are structured as follows. If A is true, and B is true, then C must be true.

Here a is the statement called the major premise, B is the minor premise and C is the conclusion. Now the most famous example of a rhetorical syllogism goes as follows. All men are mortal. That being the major premise, Socrates is a man. That being the minor premise, and Socrates is mortal. That being the conclusion, in other words is if A is true, and B is true, then C must be true.

And to apply the syllogism, we have to identify the major premise, which is a certain fact pertaining to our situation, the minor premise, which is our selling point, or the issue that we're taking on a particular topic. And lastly, a conclusion that is persuasive and helps us drive home our point and move others to action. Here's an example of a syllogism a salesperson might use first the major premise salesman would say based on our discussion, you say your best IT solution would be one that integrates quickly and seamlessly with your existing network. Now this would be a truth in this situation. In other words, the prospect company Need salesperson will then state the minor premise his or her sales point. The IT solution my company offers allows the fastest implementation and integration of any competing product on the market we have extensive experience in implementing these types of systems.

The third would be the conclusion where the sales person's product is deemed to be the company's best IT solution. The prospect company said we need it fast. The selling company said no one can do it faster. The conclusion being our company's offering our company solution is the best one for the job at hand. syllogism is actually a very practical tool. And it's one that I use every day whether whether I'm writing an individual piece or I'm developing an entire advertising or PR campaign strategy.

Wherever possible, it's important to use logic in building our overall communication strategy. But Aristotle emphasized that logic alone is generally not enough to persuade. And that's why it's important to use logic in concert with other rhetorical strategies that we're talking about in this course. Leveraging logic is an essential way of developing communication strategy by applying classical rhetoric. When leveraging logic it's important to use statistics, data points and other facts, we have to explore messaging based on the rhetorical syllogism. And lastly, we must always combine logic with other types of rhetorical messaging strategies.

Now in the next lesson, we'll look at another powerful way to build communication strategy. And that is evoking emotion.