Rhyming really rocks! Rhetorically speaking.

There is something about the rhythm and symmetry of rhyming statements that pleases the mind and so inclines the listener to believe the statement is more true – or at least make it more memorable.

This was famously used in the trial of OJ Simpson where the defence lawyer made a big thing of a glove which was allegedly part of the crime and whether it was too small for OJ Simpson to have used.  His lawyer said: If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit. 

Rhyming implies a sense of cause and effect, that may or may not be really there.  And so rhyming should be used sparingly and not abused. 

We’re all familiar with the phrase – ‘you must speculate to accumulate’ which was used to justify all kinds of reckless behaviour by bankers in the run up to the economic meltdown.  As speechwriter Simon Lancaster says: what if the rhyme had been: if you speculate, you liquidate – we might be living in a very different world today.

Rhyming can be effective where it is almost expected by the audience – in a motivational speech (Your attitude defines your altitude) or political rally (we must raise standards and close the schools who produce fools).   However, remember it generally injects a more light hearted feel to the proceedings so can jar and not work well where the topic is more serious (at an oncology conference for example).

A well placed rhyme can be an ear worm that ensures your key ideas stays with the audience for days and weeks to come.

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