When the off-season hits, that’s when the action picks up in dynasty leagues. You have the end of year statistics to look over, prep to do for the upcoming rookie draft, and most importantly, trade packages to put together. All of this is to put you in the best possible position heading into the next season. For most, trades can be best summed up by a process one of my league mates once explained, “You’ll make an outrageous offer. Then I’ll make an outrageous offer. Eventually, we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”
What if trades didn’t have to be like this though? Sure, every league has that manager that’s going to explain to you why he’s doing you a favor and how he’s losing the trade. He’s just doing a lazy version of what I’m proposing to you in this article. What if we paid attention to our language and used rhetoric, like how we were taught to write persuasive papers in high school, to build trade offers?
What is Rhetoric?
While in recent years, the term “rhetoric” has come to mean something along the lines of “hollow language”, that hasn’t always been the case. Rhetoric refers to the specific words and techniques used to persuade or convince an audience. It goes back to Ancient Greece, where philosophers and politicians would gather to debate what was morally right and how the government should run. During this period, Aristotle, you may have heard of him, came up with what is now known as “Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle”.
This might not mean much to you, as it is based around three Greek words: ethos, pathos, and logos. While there are more characteristics of rhetoric, these three are widely seen as the most important in argument construction.
First Thing’s First
Before we begin, you need to figure out exactly who your audience is and what your purpose is. Audience refers to who your argument will be directed at. Obviously, it’s your would-be trade partner, but thinking about “audience” means you have to go deeper. What are their needs? Have you done trades with them in the past? What do they seem to value? Look over their roster and see who or what they have to offer beyond what you’re immediately wanting. If you’re in a league with people you know well, you may not have to think very hard to find these answers. Knowing your audience is step one. Each trade offer, and the ensuing discussion, should be unique to each manager.
Next figure out your purpose. Why are you trading? It may be to fill an immediate need on your roster. It could be to build depth at a position. The “why” is very important, as it’s going to shape what an acceptable outcome can be. Maybe you don’t get the player you’re looking for, but you acquire a player a tier lower and a third-round pick. Would you still be happy with that? Knowing what you’re trying to achieve and setting a range of outcomes will make it much easier when it comes time for negotiations.
It’s All Greek to Me
Like explained earlier, every argument can be boiled down to three main parts: ethos, pathos, and logos. Knowing random Greek words is great and all, but what do they mean?
Ethos translates to “character”. It refers to the speaker’s ability to establish themselves as someone with credibility that has something of value to contribute. We see this every day in commercials with companies hiring celebrity spokespeople or Trident telling you that it is recommended by “four out of five dentists”. You’ll use this in trade talks to build relationships with your league mates and to show you’ve done your research beforehand.
Pathos translates to “emotion”. This is where you get to pull on the heartstrings of your league mates. Have a manager in your league that loves the Packers? Every league has one. Get them to overpay for Robert Tonyan because he wears the green and gold. You can use pathos in many ways to capitalize off of tilt and gain value from an overly emotional manager.
Logos translates to “reason”. To be successful in any trade talks, you will need facts to back up what you are saying. You need to be able to explain to the other manager why the move logically makes sense for both of you. Don’t be the person that says you’re losing the trade. You’re not or else why would you be doing it in the first place*. Being able to explain why a trade works for the other manager, without exaggerating, is something that can become an invaluable skill.
*Sometimes it is beneficial to do trades that you take a bit of a loss in to help open lines of communication and build a rapport with other managers.
So What Can I Do With This?
Figuring out what part of the rhetorical triangle works best on your league mates is up to you. Every trade talk will not be an equal balance of the three. Some managers are going to need the cold hard facts while others can be swayed by the hope of what could be if a free agent lands in the right situation. More important than all of this, is having open, frequent communication within your league. If you can do this, it establishes relationships and it becomes much easier to talk openly and honestly when it comes time to negotiate trades.
Using rhetoric isn’t a way to trick other managers. You’re not going to get people to massively overpay because of the way you construct an argument. You will, however, be more successful with your initial trade offers if you take all of this into consideration before negotiations begin.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully, this will give you an upper hand come trade time. If you have any questions or just want to reach out, follow me on Twitter @fantasyonefive.
