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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/29/in-praise-of-rhetoric

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In praise of … rhetoric In praise of … rhetoric
(4 months later)
Great public speakers – Barack Obama comes to mind – invariably rely on rhetorical devices that would have been familiar to Cicero or Quintilian, even when they are making off-the-cuff remarks. Effective communicators can use classical techniques in as little as a half sentence. Take the Boris Johnson doorstep on Wednesday morning, when he was challenged about the assertion from David Cameron's ex-press secretary Andy Coulson that the London mayor was waiting for the prime minister to "fail miserably" before launching his own bid for power. "I am absolutely increasingly confident… " said Mr Johnson, "that [David Cameron] is going to win." This is a version of the affirmative denial, done here very simply by adding adverb to adverb. First the affirmation: the strongly positive "absolutely". Then the hedging afterthought: "increasingly." Put the two together and – as the rhetorical trick intends – it is the denial that's heard.Great public speakers – Barack Obama comes to mind – invariably rely on rhetorical devices that would have been familiar to Cicero or Quintilian, even when they are making off-the-cuff remarks. Effective communicators can use classical techniques in as little as a half sentence. Take the Boris Johnson doorstep on Wednesday morning, when he was challenged about the assertion from David Cameron's ex-press secretary Andy Coulson that the London mayor was waiting for the prime minister to "fail miserably" before launching his own bid for power. "I am absolutely increasingly confident… " said Mr Johnson, "that [David Cameron] is going to win." This is a version of the affirmative denial, done here very simply by adding adverb to adverb. First the affirmation: the strongly positive "absolutely". Then the hedging afterthought: "increasingly." Put the two together and – as the rhetorical trick intends – it is the denial that's heard.
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