Mastering Rhetoric #5 - Exaggeration

It was this big!

The fifth essential Rhetorical device for speakers to master is Exaggeration.  If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times – this stuff matters. 

Hyperbole, which comes from the Greek meaning to ‘overshoot the mark’ is a popular rhetorical device among politicians and other motivational speakers.  Donald Trump uses it all the time – well quite often at least.

For example, in his inauguration speech, Trump said:

Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge.

Exaggeration makes a point, but it needs to be used wisely else it can cause the audience to treat the hyperbole as an untruth (which it is, actually) and so it leaves the unpleasant taste of dishonesty or the aroma of BS and undermines the whole speech.

Aristotle, in his book On Rhetoric, did not have much to say about hyperbole other than to suggest it was the tool of young men not sophisticated speakers.

When deployed in the right way, exaggeration can inject excitement and humour – and the use of humour lets the speaker and the audience agree with each other that the hyperbole is good natured exuberance not an attempt to mislead.  

We often use exaggeration in everyday speech and so using it in your talk helps the whole thing sound more conversational.

For example, you might say:  ensuring our customers are happy is my number one priority.

Clearly that is not true.  Your number one priority is almost certainly breathing, followed by food then perhaps family and shelter.  What you mean is: happy customers is definitely near the top of my priority list – well, it’s in the top half for sure.

When you say: thank you for this award, it is the greatest day of my life – the audience knows you mean it’s one of the best days, and you are not insulting your spouse or children!

Exaggeration is the best way to get people’s attention, the easiest way to turn off the audience (when you over-use it) and definitely the most popular rhetorical device is use today.

Probably.

Learn how to use exaggeration the right way and the other keys of Rhetoric, the language of leadership on our signature course: How to be a motivational speaker.