Au croisement du (tout) nouveau et du (très) ancien : storytelling et rhétorique

Storytelling is a creature of our times. This testimony of a recognizable socio-economic system has been associated with persuasion techniques, which have been used, over the last decades, by executives, politicians or communication gurus. However, it is self-evident that, in all ages, some stories have always been part of the foundation of polis. Storytelling appears then as a resurgence of Ancient myths or the action of griots as a form of social bonding (Salmon 2007). Is it possible to reconcile the historical specificity of storytelling and the permanency of narrative practice? Since the persuasive intention of storytelling can be considered rhetorical, we think Perelman’s system could help us to clarify this coexistence of the (brand) new and the (very) old. The reflection will be illustrated by an excerpt of Une ambition intime (2016), a TV program that prompts some French politicians to “deliver their story”.