The new rhetoric focuses on principles of equality, immanent value, and self-determination, which the authors argue are feminist principles. Equality seeks to eliminate dominance, immanent value suggests “that every being is a unique and necessary part of the pattern of the universe and thus had value,” and self determination “involves the recognition that audience members are the authorities on their own lives and accords respect to others’ capacity and right to constitute their worlds as they choose” (4). The rhetoric that supports these principles is invitational rhetoric:
Invitational rhetoric constitutes an invitation to the audience to enter the rhetor’s world and to see it as the rhetor does…Ideally, audience members accept the invitation offered by the rhetor by listening to and trying to understand the rhetor’s perspective and then presenting their own. When this happens, rhetor and audience alike contribute to the thinking about an issue so that everyone involved gains a greater understanding of the issue in its subtlety, richness, and complexity. Ultimately, though, the result of invitational rhetoric is not just an understanding of the issue…[but also] an understanding of the participants themselves occurs. (5)
This rhetoric uses two rhetorical forms: “One is offering perspectives, a mode by which rhetors put forward for consideration their perspectives; the second is the creation of external conditions that allow others to present their perspectives in an atmosphere of respect and equality” (7). These external conditions are safety, value, and freedom.
The authors emphasize the invitational rhetoric does not replace traditional rhetoric. It is simply a different option to be used in different situations.