Aristotle’s Rhetoric - How It Plays into Effect between Managers and Consultants at a University Speaking Center

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

This paper examines how Aristotle’s Rhetoric influences interpersonal communication and conflict management between managers and communication consultants in a university speaking center. It describes two observed shift conditions—Shift A and Shift B—each with distinct leadership approaches, along with how these approaches shaped consultants’ responsiveness during task delegation and downtime coverage. The analysis links manager use of ethos, pathos, and logos to authority maintenance, task completion efficiency, and the need for assertive, well-explained delivery in training.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

Observations

Shift A and Shift B

Analysis

Conclusion

References

Aristotle’s Rhetoric: How it Plays into Effect between Managers and Consultants at a University Speaking Center Kara Stomp The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Introduction This paper looks at a mid-size state university’s speaking center. At this speaking center, managing peers oversee consultants for hour-long shifts, and those who work together during these hour-long shifts are referred to as shift families. These families remain the same for the entire semester, and so effective personal communication between them is essential for making sure the center runs smoothly. While there are benefits to having shift families within a speaking center setting, there can be some conflicts and miscommunications between managing consultants (hereafter managers) and communication consultants (hereafter consultants) . Changing shift families, the different managerial styles of each consultant on shift, as well as the different interpersonal communication styles every consultant has, can lead to these miscommunications and conflicts on shifts. To navigate the complexities of shift work, effective managers often incorporate a variety of persuasive strategies. Richard M. Perloff (2010) states that persuasion is,“just about anything that involves molding or shaping attitudes”(p. 4) . In simplified terms this means that persuasion is changing someone’s ideas to align with yours. But how does one persuade? This research paper will look at the use of Aristotle’s Rhetoric between managers and consultants within the speaking center. This research paper will look at an overview of Aristotle’s Rhetoric between managers and consultants on shift. I will analyze the way Aristotle’s Rhetoric influenced consultants’ responses to managers’ requests based on interactions in the speaking center during the fall 2018 semester. It will focus on the importance of rhetoric in better understanding interpersonal communication and conflict management within a speaking center setting, as well as the need for more focus tobe put on the use of rhetoric within peer power dynamics. Literature Review Aristotle’s Rhetoric belongs to the rhetorical tradition of interpersonal communication studies. According to Aryanitis and Karampatzos (2011),“Aristotle’s Rhetoric focuses on the persuasiveness of statements toward broader classes of people, rather than a single individual”(p. 849) . This means that Aristotle’s Rhetoric is targeting groups of individuals together over the actual individuals themselves. When one attempts to persuade using Aristotle’s Rhetoric, one tailors their arguments to the entire room, which makes it an ideal framework for this study. Observations There are two primary shifts that were observed for this research paper. Shift A had one manager and four consultants on shift. Shift B had one manager and three consultants on shift. Both managers have been in this leadership role for over a year and have been working at the speaking center for over two years. All of the managers and consultants that were observed identified as female and were of ages varying from nineteen to twenty-three. The manager on shift A would hold meetings at the beginning of every shift to talk about what needed to be done during down time (time when there were no clients in the center for consultations). During these meetings she would delegate tasks, first by asking who wanted to do what, but assigning tasks if the consultants were not responsive. She used her ethos by telling consultants under her about her history and time put in at the center during their first few shifts together. She would also reiterate her credibility as a manager whenever the consultants under her began to get off task or ignore her. She would also utilize logos by providing thorough explanations for each of the tasks that she assigned. Unlike the manager on Shift A, the manager on Shift B opted to rely almost solely on her pathos. When this manager assigned tas

FAQs

What is the main focus of this research paper?

The paper focuses on how Aristotle’s Rhetoric affects interactions between managers and consultants in a university speaking center setting.

How do Shift A and Shift B managers differ in their leadership strategies?

The Shift A manager delegates with thorough explanations and uses ethos to establish credibility, while the Shift B manager relies almost solely on pathos and provides less explanation for task assignments.

Which rhetorical tools were found to be most important for effective management?

The paper concludes that managers should use ethos, pathos, and logos in a balanced and informed way to maintain authority and improve consultants’ willingness to complete tasks.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore