Embedded Files
Performed Rhetoric
Performed Rhetoric
(Embodied Persuasion in Ritual Performance)
Performed Rhetoric is persuasion that works through performance, meaning staged delivery. It focuses on how voice, timing, gesture, ritual form, setting, persona, and audience interaction make an interpretation feel credible and compelling. In this sense, performed rhetoric explains how knowledge, authority, & belief are constructed through performed rhetoric: knowledge is produced as “what seems to fit” through responsive framing, authority is established through the reader’s practiced persona and control of the scene, and belief is stabilized through participation cues that invite recognition, agreement, and commitment. The following rhetorical genres are examples of performed rhetoric:
Divination practices (tarot reading, astrology consultation, palm reading)
Courtroom argument and trial advocacy
Political stump speech and campaign rally
Religious sermon, prayer, and healing service
Protest chant, march, and rally speech
Sales pitch, product demo, and keynote launch
Customer service scripting and call-center interaction
Stand-up comedy and late-night monologue
Guided meditation and mindfulness facilitation
Ghost hunting & tours, museum tours, and historical reenactments
Corrida de Toros (Spanish Bullfight)
Each genre of performed rhetoric has its own rhetorical strategies, objectives, and criteria for success. What counts as effective performance depends on the genre’s situation and audience: a courtroom argument prizes controlled demeanor, evidentiary narration, and credibility under pressure, while a sermon may prioritize moral authority, ritual cadence, and communal affirmation. A tarot reading leans on atmosphere, responsive interpretation, and interaction cues that make meanings feel personal and timely, whereas stand-up comedy depends on timing, escalation, and audience feedback to generate shared recognition. Because genres organize expectations about who may speak, how they should sound and appear, what kinds of “proof” matter, and what outcomes are desirable, the same performance move can read as powerful in one genre and inappropriate in another. In short, performed rhetoric is always evaluated against genre-specific norms for persuasion, legitimacy, and impact.
Magic, Ritual, & Religion
Magic, Ritual, & Religion
(Knowledge, Authority, and Belief through Charima, Sacred Texts, & Invisible Ividence )
“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time--when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.
The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”
Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995)
Divination
Divination
(Tarot Cards, Prophecy, Mediumship, Dowsing Rods, Mentalism )
Felicity Conditions
Felicity Conditions
(What Makes Performatives "Take"?)
Six conditions for successful performatives:
A conventional procedure must exist
Tarot: established spreads (Celtic Cross, Three-Card)
Séances: circle formation, invocations, spirit communication protocols
I Ching: coin-tossing or yarrow-stalk ritual
Circumstances and persons must be appropriate
Oracle of Delphi: must be at Delphi, spoken by the Pythia (priestess)
Medium: must be in trance state, proper setting
Tarot reader: must have "the gift" or training
Procedure must be executed correctly
Cards shuffled properly, spread laid precisely
Séance circle unbroken, candles lit
Dowsing rods held at correct angle
Procedure must be executed completely
Full reading given, not interrupted
All spirits addressed and dismissed
Complete hexagram cast and interpreted
Performer must have requisite thoughts/feelings (sincerity)
Medium must "truly channel" spirits
Reader must "connect with" the cards
Dowser must "feel" the pull
Performer must conduct themselves accordingly afterward
Medium maintains mysterious persona
Reader offers guidance based on cards
Prophet issues warnings about revealed futures
When these conditions fail:
Misfires: Wrong person, wrong place (e.g., random person trying to be Oracle)
Abuses: Insincere performer (e.g., exposed fraud medium)
Infelicities: Broken procedure (e.g., interrupted séance)
Authority Construction Through Performance
Authority Construction Through Performance
The diviner's authority comes from:
Mastery of conventional procedure (knowing the ritual)
Appropriate role/context (being the authorized interpreter)
Community uptake (audience accepts the performance)
Example - Tarot Reading:
Reader doesn't just flip cards randomly
They invoke tradition ("the ancient art of tarot")
They perform expertise (card meanings, spreads, symbolism)
They authorize themselves through ritual precision
How Divination Constructs Authority
How Divination Constructs Authority
Common Rhetorical Strategies Across All Divination
Common Rhetorical Strategies Across All Divination
1. Procedural Authority
Complex rituals signal expertise
Precision in performance = legitimacy
"I know the ancient ways"
2. Interpretive Monopoly
Only diviner can read signs
Unreviewable claims (spirits, cards, rods)
Audience depends on translator
3. Productive Ambiguity
Vague enough to fit multiple situations
Specific enough to seem meaningful
Querent co-creates meaning
4. Unfalsifiability (Never admit error!)
Wrong predictions: "misinterpreted" or "timeline shifted"
Failed dowsing: "interference" or "moved location"
Missing spirits: "not ready to communicate"
5. Confirmation Bias Exploitation
Hits celebrated, misses forgotten
Success stories circulate widely
Authority compounds over time
Felicity Conditions as Analytical Tool
Felicity Conditions as Analytical Tool
All successful divination requires:
✓ Conventional procedure (ritual form)
✓ Appropriate person/context (authorized role)
✓ Correct execution (precise performance)
✓ Complete procedure (no interruptions)
✓ Sincerity performance (believable persona)
✓ Consistent follow-through (maintain authority)
When these are met, the performance "works"—regardless of accuracy and other factors.
Barnum Effect
Barnum Effect
Definition: The Barnum Effect or Forer Effect is a cognitive bias where individuals believe generic, vague personality descriptions apply specifically to them. Named after P.T. Barnum and psychologist Bertram Forer (1948), this phenomenon explains why people trust horoscopes, personality tests, and psychic readings, as they often accept high-sounding, broad statements as unique insights.
Origin: Psychologist Bertram Forer (1948) demonstrated this by giving students a fake personality test, delivering the same, vague, universal profile to everyone, and finding they rated it as highly accurate (average score 4.26/5).
Why It Works:
Need for Validation: People often want to believe in the accuracy of the description.
Authority Bias: Believing in the authority of the person providing the assessment (e.g., a "professional" astrologer or test).
Positive Tailoring: The tendency to accept positive, general comments more easily.
Examples: Horoscopes, astrology, tarot card readings, online personality tests (e.g., BuzzFeed), and graphology (handwriting analysis).
Example Description: "You have a great need for other people to like and admire you," or "You are independent in your thinking and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof."
Understanding this effect helps in critical thinking, as it encourages questioning whether a description is truly unique or just a broad, applicable generalization.
Page updated
Report abuse