| Direct selling has its ancient tradition that originated in people's need to exchange goods and to communicate. This kind of selling evolves and thrives through centuries in different countries. The home party in the 1950s became a new dimension to the direct selling with the form of customers gathering at the home of hostesses to see product demonstrations and socializing with friends. This is the most widely used way by direct selling enterprises in China, such as Amway, Mary Kay, Avon etc. Salespeople sell not only products but ideas with the purpose of recruiting more people. Not mentioning the legality, this way of selling is highly effective in persuading people. The home party together with its variations has absorbed millions of Chinese citizens, and is continuing to broaden the influence. People, regardless of the social status, profession, or education background, take part in this business. The language used and the discourse organization involved play a great function in persuading people.This thesis analyzes the persuasiveness in direct selling from rhetorical approach. The data used in this paper are drawn from Amway product demonstration meetings given by three diamond speakers. The speeches by nature are a kind of persuasion with the purpose of recruiting new people. The reason for selecting the data is its wide influence and strong effects. One-to-one selling is also effective in persuading but too personal and hard to control. Product demonstrations in nature are a one-to-all selling model which is a most popular way to reach more people within limited time. Amway provides a very mature and well-organized demonstration system. Its influence is so strong that it can be taken as the biggest direct selling company in China today. This effectiveness and typicality make the data more reasonable and supportive.Aristotle's three appeals and traditional rhetorical organization of persuasive discourse compose the theoretical framework of this study. Some linguistic strategies are used under each appeal. Three speeches also follow a common organization, which includes the beginning, the body and the ending. In each part, the speakers integrate three appeals to make the speech forceful and persuasive.This thesis paper explores the persuasive strategies and the structure organization of persuasive discourse in direct selling through rhetorical approach. It is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 clarifies some terms, presents the research questions and shows the significance of this study. Chapter 2 provides the reviews of some influential researches relevant to this study, both domestic and abroad. The theoretical framework is introduced in chapter 3. This chapter shows us why rhetoric is an effective way of studying direct selling, and also introduces the application of the classical rhetorical approach which is the basis of the further development in this thesis paper. The way of collecting data and further analysis are illustrated in chapter 4. Chapter 5 gives detailed analysis of persuasive strategies in direct selling. There are different strategies used under Pathos, Logos and Ethos, and within each major strategy, there are some sub-strategies for further illustration. Chapter 6 presents us the organization of persuasive discourse. It is a simplified structure of classical organization of persuasive discourse. Chapter 7 summarizes the findings, states the limitations, and shows the possible improvement and direction of further study.This paper is not only applicable to these three speeches, but the theories mentioned can also be applied to other persuasive discourses. It will be helpful in defending some forced persuasion and make the customers better equipped when being dragged to listen to some product demonstration meetings. When customers are well informed and fully prepared, they can make wise decision in buying products or joining organizations.
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