Mission impossible

It is easier to come up with a remarkable rebuttal than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

Adynatons are a powerful tool to refute an argument and reframe a debate. Although the technical term is for rhetorical nerds, you have certainly come across hyperbolic ways to emphasise that something is impossible. Anglophones use the expression “when hell freezes over”; Turks call it “when fish climb trees”; and Francophones refer to other animals saying that “when hens grow teeth”. You can translate adynatons or invent new ones.

How to come up with an adynaton

• Choose an item common in the sector or one that your audience can relate to.

• List possible counterarguments of people opposing your view.

• Focus on the weakest argument or a possible scenario with extreme consequences.

• Rebut or silence critics with your adynaton.

Exercise

Go to this website, scroll down and click on one of the Sustainable Development Goals. After looking at the chart, use an adynaton to explain why business as usual will not accomplish our mission.

Learn the techniques. Boost your confidence. Make your point.
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