Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion

This chapter focuses on decorum, an ethos tool with which a persuader’s appearance, tone, and manners match an audience’s expectations. Heinrichs illustrates this tool with “one of the greatest decorum scenes in movie history” (47): the final rap battle in Eminem’s semi-biographical film 8 mile. In this scene, Eminem competes against another rapper, Papa Doc. Eminem and Papa Doc both dress and rap in a manner that meets their audience’s expectations—the difference between the two being their racial/ethnic identity. Eminem wins the rap battle by revealing that Papa Doc attended prep school, the revelation causing the audience to change their view of him. They no longer trust Papa Doc, viewing him as “phony” (47). As such, they choose Eminem as the winner.

With this scene in mind, Heinrichs provides several tips on how to be decorous. In order to change an audience’s opinion, they must first feel comfortable with the persuader. Decorum that works for one persuader might not work for another, even if the audience is the same. Persuaders should ask themselves what their audience expects and lean into this expectation. Persuaders should not assume a character that is too different from their own as audiences can and will pick up on this and find the performance “phony.