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

Commonplace is the heart of deductive logic and one of two basic logos tools: It is a shared viewpoint between persuader and audience. Jay Heinrichs argues that the commonplace “of your audience is square one—the beginning point of your argument” (111). Any value, belief, or cliche can serve as a commonplace. Different audiences have different commonplaces that determine shared identity. By playing into an audience’s shared assumptions about people and things, a persuader cuts “to the topical chase and brings us closer as a group” (113).

Finding commonplace words with emotional weight can help persuaders reframe arguments in their favor. There are several ways to spot a commonplace: an audience’s repetition of a word or idea; rejection of an argument by a commonplace word or idea; and commonplace label, the application of a label to a piece of legislation, proposal, or idea as part of a definition strategy.

Heinrichs describes concession as the most powerful logos tool, “rhetorical jujitsu that uses your opponent’s moves to your advantage” (3). One example is the argument between Heinrichs and his son in Chapter 1: Heinrichs convinces George to get him a toothpaste tube by pretending the latter won their argument.