Rhetorical Analysis of a Discourse Model in the Business World: 'Elevator Pitch'

Abstract

This paper proposes an analytical model for entrepreneurial pitches based on the five canons of rhetoric (i.e. invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery), through the de-construction of the text from the discursive act itself (as conceived in the invention phase) to its actual production (i.e. delivery). The questions this methodology attempts to answer are why the pitch may be persuasive and how that persuasion is achieved by analyzing its discursive and linguistic characteristics; what ethical, rational or emotional arguments are appealed to; who the potential audience is, and what other multimodal resources are used to support the persuasive force of the text. In order to answer these questions, two pitches in Spanish are deconstructed and conclusions regarding their efficacy are drawn.