In this captivating history of language and power, speechwriter Guy Doza sets out how dictators have seized and maintained control of states through their mastery of oratory.

He shows how, despite their fearsome reputation, strongmen such as Julius Caesar, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were surprisingly subtle and skillful in their speeches. Less notorious female tyrants (have you heard of Ranavalona I, the ‘Mad Queen of Madagascar’ who killed half of her subjects, or Chairman Mao’s murderous wife Jiang Qing?) were differently but equally manipulative.

As well as revealing the wordplay of each of 18 despots, Doza analyses the rhetorical techniques they shared. How Attila the Hun and Napoleon Bonaparte showered flattery on their troops and deliberately aggrandised their enemies. And how two violent 20th Century leaders, Zaire’s President Mobuto and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, portrayed themselves as the father of their respective nations to nurture their ethos.

For, irrespective of time, geography and language, dictators and their allies consistently reuse the same methods of persuasion. In a ‘post-truth’ age where simplified messages overpower sophisticated ones, The Language of Evil equips readers to spot the same tricks and techniques being used today by tomorrow’s would-be dictators.

Reviews

‘The handbook that humanity needs right now – not simply to understand the dangerous rhetoric of demagogues, but how to resist it.’ – Terry Szuplat, former policy speechwriter for President Barack Obama and author of Say It Well.

‘Whatever happens in the street, the populist mobs have to be fired up first. That’s where words come in. Guy Doza’s Language of Evil is a fascinating analysis of the speechifying that empowers tyranny through the malign careers of eighteen dictators, from Julius Caesar to Saddam Hussein.

‘Gun, clubs, camps and torture chambers come next, but without words to set things going, these despots and their current successors would be nowhere.’

‘Sticks and stones?says the old rhyme. Don’t believe a word of it.’ – Jonathon Green, Lexicographer

When Winston Churchill spoke in Parliament, he convinced an empire to go to war. When Martin Luther King spoke in Washington, he convinced millions to open their hearts to change. When Oprah Winfrey said: ‘Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do,’ she also used rhetoric. As we have here, by deploying the rule of three to stress a point.  

Rhetoric – the art of persuasive speaking and writing – often gets a bad rap.  In this dazzling, fast-paced guide, speechwriter Guy Doza rescues rhetoric from the shadows and showcases its immense power to change lives, for good and bad.

Highlighting punchy sayings from Ancient Rome to modern marketing, he shows how leaders, businesses and even our own friends use rhetorical techniques every day to make convincing arguments.

What’s more, this guide to rhetoric will show you how to learn to use this persuasive language in your own life:

• How to convince an investor to back your venture
• What to say to a potential lover in a bar
• And, the six rules of apology you should use if you ever accidentally run over the next-door neighbour’s cat…  

How to Apologise for Killing a Cat is a quick read, humorous and highly practicable. It decodes the tricks and techniques of rhetoric for everyday readers.

It’s the  only book you need to make a convincing marketing  pitch.

It’s the only book you need to give a rousing speech.

It’s the  only book you need to write persuasively.

It’s the best book to explain the technique we’ve just used here. After reading this book, you will start to see the trick of rhetoric used everywhere.

After reading this book, you will never see the world  the same way again!

About the author

Guy Doza is a speechwriter and trainer. He has a Master’s degree in Rhetoric from the University of London and uses rhetoric in the speeches he writes for senior politicians and business leaders.

Extract

Have you ever had that unpleasant anxiety of taking your car  to the mechanic and feeling like you’re being swindled? Most  of you will probably know exactly what I am talking about.  We don’t know how cars work, we don’t know what the parts  are called and we don’t know how to fix them ourselves. This  lack of knowledge makes us vulnerable and susceptible to  exploitation, and we know it. So does the mechanic.

Now, most mechanics are honest individuals, not rogues,  but can we say the same of people who run countries and  big companies? When it comes to ordinary life away from  the car engine or central heating boiler, most of us don’t  even realise just how vulnerable we are. People can use  persuasive language to swindle us, cheat us, and exploit us  to the hilt. And the worst part is that we are not even aware  that it is happening.

Welcome to rhetoric, the art of persuasion. Rhetoric is a  superpower. It can alter the way we think, the way we behave  and sometimes even the way we live our lives. And its most explosive charge lies in its subtlety. We need to be aware of  how such persuasive language is used, not only so that we  can be more persuasive ourselves, but  defend ourselves against the rhetorical advances of those  who would seek to exploit us.

For too long, rhetoric has been a dark and ancient art  confined to the secretive circles of politics and academia.  This mystery and misunderstanding has often led to  the public to consider it to be the tool of crooks, spin  doctors and villains. But no more! The time has come to  bring rhetoric out of the darkness and show it for what it  is: a mighty linguistic tool. Whether it is a conversation  between friends in a café, a pathetic attempt to flirt  at a bar, or a meaningful conversation with a world renowned  philosopher, rhetoric is everywhere.

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