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Have you ever wanted to be more persuasive or found yourself wondering how someone convinced you to buy something or agree with their point of view?
Whether intentional or not, odds are we’re all tapping into the idea of rhetoric.
Rhetoric is an ancient system of persuasion that’s used in speeches, talks and written work and it’s got a bad rep because people often associate it with manipulation.
Continue reading “Ciceronian Language Tactics For Upping Your Copywriting”
Creating a big piece of thought leadership content like a white paper is a great opportunity for a business to connect with customers, develop leads and build authority.
It makes me reflect that there are many examples of books or texts throughout history that carried the same purpose as a white paper.
Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince is a strong example. Machiavelli wrote about what an effective ruler or prince should do in the ends justify the means approach.
Continue reading “Avoid This Machiavellian Mistake When Creating Thought Leadership Content”
Dear Lucilius,
You ask me what should be easily avoided? I say crowds. Because no one can trust themselves among the crowd with safety.
I’ll admit a weakness of mine; I never bring back home the same character I left with.
Something that I’ve taught is to be calm within me is disturbed; some of the foes that I’ve removed within return again.
Continue reading “What An Ancient Roman Philosopher Has To Teach Us About Email Writing”
Great to chat Ben and to see all the work you’re doing with philosophy. What were your earliest experiences with philosophy and has your perspective changed over time?
It’s changed a lot throughout my life. I studied philosophy at school, starting back when it was called theology and philosophy for GCSE, and then at A level and what captured me was the philosophical aspect.
So we ran through things such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus. The big hitters of the time. It was very much Western philosophy and that interest then flowed naturally into my university degree.
The real reason why I ended up doing it at uni was because, at that time, I didn’t know what to study. My background was military, so my intention was to join the Royal Marines. But I wanted to get a degree and enjoy university at the same time.
My perspective was that philosophy, because there are no right or wrong answers, would be perfect. I thought: “I basically can’t get it wrong! I just have to argue really well”. That was my illogical teenage reasoning for choosing philosophy. Thankfully, I got really into it as I realised how well it teaches you to think.
Continue reading “Ethical Leadership & Philosophical Training At Work With Ben Wilberforce-Ritchie”
