the contextual circumstances that do not allow an issue to be settled with complete certainty. Context. The circumstances surrounding an issue that should be considered during its discussion. Conversio. Repetition of a word at the end of a sentence. Conversation model. The model, in critique of traditional rhetoric by Sally Gearhart, that maintains the goal of rhetoric is to persuade others to accept your own personal view as correct. Cookery. Plato believed rhetoric was to truth as cookery was to medicine. Cookery disguises itself as medicine and appears to be more pleasing, when in actuality it has no real benefit. Critical theory. Systematically analyzing any means of communication for hidden assumptions and connotations. Concession. Acknowledgment of objections to a proposal. D Data. Stephen Toulmin. Initial evidence supporting a claim. Deconstruction. Analyzing communication artifacts by scrutinizing their meaning and related assumptions, with the goal of determining the social and systemic connotations behind their structure. Deduction. Moving from an overall hypothesis to infer something specific about that hypothesis. Delectare. To delight; viewed by Cicero as one of the three goals of rhetoric. Delivery. Canon #5 in Cicero's list of rhetorical canons; traditionally linked to oral rhetoric, refers to how a speech is given (including tone of voice and nonverbal gestures, among others). Demos. The ruling body of free citizens in ancient Athens and other city states, considered as a political entity; population; the common people. A root of the word democracy. Descriptio (energia, diatyposis): Clear, lucid, and vivid description (especially of the potential consequences of some action) Dialectic. A rhetorical term that has been defined differently by Aristotle and Ramus, among others; generally, it means using verbal communication to come to an agreement on a topic. Diallage. Establishing a single point with the use of several arguments. Dictamen. The art of writing letters. Diminutio (related to meiosis, litotes): a form of understatement, and implication of more than the words say Dispositio. In the classical theory of the production of speech, pronuntiatio dispositio refers to the stage of planning the structure and sequence of ideas. Often referred to as arrangement, the second of Cicero's five rhetorical canons. Dissoi logoi. Contradictory arguments. Distribution. Dividing a whole subject into its various parts. Divisio. (prosapodosis): Distinguishing the alternatives of a question, and resolving each, by subjoining a reason Docere. To teach; viewed by Cicero as one of the three goals of rhetoric. Dramatistic. Way to look