Students in Dr. Nicole Pfannenstiel’s summer 2025 writing seminar crafted blog posts exploring Rhetoric & Composition. Over the next several weeks, we will share their work in this space to bring visibility to their posts and offer a variety of perspectives on pertinent topics within Rhetoric & Composition. These posts are written by graduate students currently in the MA and M.Ed. English programs.
The Importance of Rhetorical Listening in Digital Rhetoric
By: Sara Ritter
I would define digital rhetoric as “the choices made regarding the type, style, location, and circulation of content in digital spaces, as well as the methods of interaction with that content.” As the definition implies, there are a lot of individual components that come under the umbrella of digital rhetoric, and understanding each one helps to make sense of the larger concept. One of the most important, in my opinion, is rhetorical listening.
LeCourt (2024) describes two criteria for digital public spheres: “altered social relations (some engagement
with difference and opposing views) and material outcomes (even when that outcome is the social relation
itself)” (p. 120). Her definition of these spaces therefore relies heavily on the willingness of both content
creators and content consumers to put themselves into contact with others who do not share their views, which can be an uncomfortable or unfamiliar position. But to affect any kind of societal change, people must be able to truly hear others’ ideas and consider changing their own based on what they hear. Central to that ability is the concept of rhetorical listening, making it one of the most important components of digital rhetoric.
Ratcliffe defines rhetorical listening is “a stance of openness that a person may choose to assume in relation to any person, text, or culture; its purpose is to cultivate conscious identifications in ways that promote productive communication” (as cited in LeCourt, 2024, p. 134). In other words, a person practicing rhetorical listening is not centering themselves but rather taking in the message of another person without judging it or attempting to understand it in their own terms. While it might seem counterintuitive, LeCourt (2024) points out that true rhetorical listening helps us to take in others’ views but also to develop “a greater awareness of one’s own subject positions…[and] can also serve as a prompt to alter those positions in a new social relation” (p. 134). By truly listening to difference, we can come to fully understand our own stance, enabling us to compare the two and see how our position might be altered in light of new information.
In order to truly participate in a meaningful way in digital public spheres as LeCourt (2024) describes them, we need to understand and put into practice rhetorical listening. Our increasingly politically polarized society is in desperate need of spaces where people of differing opinions can be introduced to and given practice with
rhetorical listening. It may be one way that we can bridge the divides that are widening with every day that we spend in our own echo chambers.
Works Cited
De Clerck, A., & Rutten, K. (2024). Rhetorical listening as a pedagogical tool in higher education: Exploring the
Black Pete debate in Flanders. International Journal of Listening, 38(3), 216–230.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2024.2311939
Digirhet.org (2006). Teaching digital rhetoric: Community, critical engagement, and application.
Pedagogy, 6(2), 231-259. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/4/article/197069
Gerald, A.S. (2007). Rhetorical listening: Identification, gender, whiteness. Composition Studies, 35(1),
142–145. https://research.ebsco.com/c/n5ur3d/viewer/pdf/r4c2o4dzlr
Herring, K. D. (2021). Rhetorical Listening: Operationalizing a Rhetorical Field Method. Listening: Journal of
Communication Ethics, Religion & Culture, 56(2), 108–115. https://doi.org/10.5840/listening202156217
LeCourt, D. (2024). Social mediations: Writing for digital public spheres. University of Pittsburgh Press.