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Sarah Concagh

Professor Ferrara

Rhetoric and Composition

8 April 2024

Power of Stories and Rhetoric

What is the best story you have ever heard? Did it have you on the edge of your seat? Did

it leave you wanting more? Now, thinking back to that story was it truly the content that made it

engaging, or was it the way the person was telling it? Ironically, Debra Borg shows this concept

while talking about storytelling, by ultimately proving her point through her engaging delivery.

In her TedTalk “The Power of Stories,” Debra Borg effectively uses rhetoric to engage her

audience and convince them of her claim about the power of stories.

Debra Borg quickly makes it known to the audience that identifies as a storyteller and

describes how she has lived in a world of stories her whole life. It is these same stories

throughout Borg’s life that have always been a guiding source teaching her new things and

shaping the way she looks at life. Through this talk, Debrah Borg argues and explains how the

power of stories shapes how we view the world. I believe that many people in that crowd are

those who are interested in the power of education and literature. They could possibly be current

or future educators. This is especially seen when she mentions repeatedly how “children soak up

stories like a dry sponge soaks up water” which is an important concept to understand for those

who play a role in educating children to understand (Borg 8:30). However, her audience goes

beyond her immediate crowd. Since this video is posted online, I believe she hopes those who

may have never realized or may have forgotten the power of a story are listening to her talk.

Specifically, Borg speaks to her broader audience as she says “To be a storyteller, you do not
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need to speak” but instead, “you simply need to be a leading example to others” (Borg 9:22). In

our current society and culture, her message is of the utmost importance. We need to understand

how important storytelling is in a culture that no longer emphasizes that in daily life. Kids are

moving further away from learning from stories as they rely more on technology and social

media. Borg demonstrates appropriate genre awareness throughout her talk as she challenges the

audience's traditional beliefs and poses new questions; a trait that is almost customary to a

Tedtalk. She uses her stage presence well and delivers her message powerfully like any good

public speaker.

Debra Borg effectively argues her message of the power of stories through the content of

her speech and the rhetorical tactics she uses. Borg uses a series of different rhetorical appeals

that appropriately fit each situation and ultimately make her argument more effective. Utilizing

ethos, Debra Borg at the very start of her speech announces her name and gives herself

credibility by stating that “[she] is a storyteller” making the audience more likely to trust her

opinion when it comes to this topic since she has a qualified background (Borg 0:20).

Additionally, Borg describes how “her own parents were great storytellers” which lets the

audience know that she has real lived experience with this topic and allows her to seem more

trustworthy, yet also relatable (Borg 1:20). It is also highly evident throughout her speech that

she cares deeply about this topic as she mentions personal anecdotes and authentic stories. All of

the ethos Borg uses makes her appear more credible and makes her audience more susceptible to

her argument.

Invoking an emotional response, Borg utilizes pathos from the second her speech starts.

Immediately implementing humor, she crouches in a funny pose and says “It was a dark and

stormy night. There was a storyteller” poking fun at the traditional ghost story (Borg 0:08). This
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humor can immediately disarm her audience of hostility and make them more susceptible to what

she has to say. This humor is not inappropriate and fits the tone because it relates to the topic of

her talk. Borg continues by describing how stories throughout time like those of the Native

Americans can “give us hope and encouragement” while other stories “comfort the grieving and

allow us to make good choices” (Borg 1:00). Describing the strong emotions often associated

with storytelling, Borg can hope to emulate the same emotional response in her audience. Borg

mentions the importance of storytelling when it comes to children's learning. This message will

most likely resonate with her audience as it appeals to the common value of educating the youth

which many care about. This emotional tactic of pathos makes the audience more willing to

listen to her argument.

Also at the beginning of her speech, Borg uses logos by giving a brief history of

storytelling throughout time. This makes her argument more credible because she has provided

evidence to her audience that supports the overall claim of her speech. Telling a powerful story

of children watching the events of 9/11 and detailing their reactions, Borg provides evidence for

her claim of how a story can affect the way we see the world, especially with children. Her

effective use of logos provides evidence and real-life facts that make her argument much more

convincing as it appeals to her audience’s senses of logic and reason.

Looking at her style and tone, Borg puts heavy emphasis on the words that are important

or that are inspiring. Every once in a while she will use a shorter phrase to really draw the

audience's attention in. She effectively wields tone as she makes some sections of her speech feel

lighthearted and relaxed while other parts seem serious and important. Phrases like “I fell to my

knees in the middle of the living room and time stopped” reveal her heavier tone that draws the

listener in while other phrases are more cheerful and easygoing (Borg 5:30). Her style and tone
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feel fitting to her subject matter, storytelling, which utilizes a lot of these same techniques.

Ultimately the mode she is using to deliver her speech is proving she is a credible source and is

knowledgeable about the conventions of storytelling. She uses language and diction that is

professional yet easy to comprehend. This is helpful because by avoiding complicated jargon the

listener can follow her message without being confused. A rhetorical mode that is particularly

powerful in her talk is the cause-and-effect mode as she describes how spreading stories of hate

ultimately led to the atrocity that was the Holocaust. Drawing from this example, she also

implements some further pathos as she draws on the heavy emotions associated with this event.

She employs good organization as she filters different anecdotes throughout her speech to break

up and support her different claims.

Throughout her talk, Debra Borg has shown me why rhetoric is so important. Although

her claim about the power of stories stands on its own, the way that she wields different appeals

and adds different anecdotes in her speech only furthers the strength of her argument. One

important element that I now realize about rhetoric because of Borg is the importance of an

electric approach. For example, her excellent use of pathos to draw on the audience’s emotions is

very impressive on its own, but when coupled with her effective use of logos and ethos I not only

feel emotions alongside her but trust her as a speaker as well. By considering all elements of her

rhetoric including those that concern both the context and content, Borg masterfully

demonstrates how to create a well-rounded argument and delivers an outstanding speech.

Work Cited:

Borg, D. (n.d.). The power of Stories. Debra Borg: The Power of Stories | TED Talk.

https://www.ted.com/talks/debra_borg_the_power_of_stories