Why Hormozi goes viral

Secrets of the perfect turn of phrase

Alex Hormozi’s goes viral because he uses a secret writing technique.

Read this sentence, then I'll tell you what he’s doing:

”If you think about the difference between winners and losers, winners define themselves by what they made happen, and losers define themselves by what happened to them.”

This is what’s called an Antithesis, which is an obvious observation, followed by a non-obvious observation.

• Obvious: Losers blame their circumstances

• Non-Obvious: Winners create them

Writers have been using this mechanism since the days of Shakespeare.

Here’s a different one:

“Sadness is a perceived lack of options. Anxiety is many options but no priorities.”

Play the clip.

Hormozi calls this “unbundling” or “operationalizing language,” but it’s actually a mechanism in rhetoric that has been around for 1,000 years called a Merism. It’s when you name all the parts of a whole instead of just saying a word that represents the whole.

Examples:

• Young and old instead of everyone.

• Night and day instead of all the time.

• Blood, sweat, and tears instead of hard work.

This is what makes Hormozi such a compelling speaker.

He speaks almost exclusively in timeless rhetoric.

These mechanisms are what keep people engaged and keep them hooked.

They’re pithy.

And that's why they stick in your brain.

If you want to want write as concisely as Hormozi or Shakespeare, the Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth is filled turns of phrase you can immediately action in your writing.

Here are 40 ways to add a fresh “Turn Of Phrase” into your writing:

I’ve organized them into 10 different categories for you.

1. Make Your Writing Sing

• Alliteration Sound creates memory. When words share their first letters, they stick in the mind like burrs on wool. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" isn't just child's play—it's linguistic architecture. The repeated sounds build bridges between ideas, making your message unforgettable when forgettable is the enemy of influence.

• Assonance Vowel sounds create music in prose. "Hear the mellow wedding bells" works because the repeated sounds create harmony. When you match vowel sounds across words, you add a musical quality that makes language more pleasurable to read. Sound supports sense.

• Anaphora Starting successive phrases with the same word creates rhythm and power. "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields" builds momentum through repetition. When you begin phrases identically, you create incantation that moves beyond mere statement.

• Epistrophe Endings echo when they repeat. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people" drives home its central concept through repetition that doesn't feel repetitive. When you end successive phrases with the same word, you create rhythm that makes ideas stick. The echo becomes the message.

• Epizeuxis Immediate repetition shows raw emotion. "Never, never, never give up" doesn't just emphasize—it reveals the speaker's intensity. When you repeat a word without interruption, you strip away sophistication to reveal genuine feeling. Sometimes the most powerful rhetoric is the most primal.

• Diacope Repetition with interruption creates rhythm and recognition. "Bond, James Bond" works because the pause between identical words creates space for impact. When you repeat a word with others in between, you don't just emphasize—you create a signature sound that readers remember.

• Tricolon Three is the magic number for completeness. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" works because three items feel complete where two feel incomplete and four feels excessive. When you group ideas in threes, you tap into pattern recognition that satisfies the human need for order.

• Isocolon Equal length creates equal weight. "Easy come, easy go" satisfies because both halves balance perfectly. When phrases match in length, they match in importance. The symmetry suggests that the relationship between ideas is as balanced as their presentation.

2. Surprise Your Reader By Playing With Words

• Polyptoton The same word, twisted into new shapes, gains power through repetition and variation. "The judge judged the judgment" isn't redundant—it's reinforcement. When you circle back to your central concept using different forms, you don't just repeat yourself. You drill deeper into meaning until the idea becomes inescapable.

• Syllepsis One word serving two masters creates delightful confusion. "He stole my heart and my wallet" works because "stole" means different things for each object. When you make one word do double duty in different senses, you create wordplay that makes readers pause and smile. Cleverness rewards attention.

• Zeugma One verb governing two objects in different senses creates surprise and delight. "He broke his vow and his mother's heart" works because "broke" means different things for each object. When you force one word to serve two meanings, you create efficiency that rewards close reading.

• Hendiadys Two words connected by "and" can be stronger than one modifying the other. "Sound and fury" creates equality between concepts that "furious sound" would make hierarchical. When you use two nouns instead of noun plus adjective, you give equal weight to both ideas. Democracy of language creates impact.

• Catachresis Misusing words deliberately creates striking images. "I'll murder a beer" works because the impossible combination creates humor and memorability. When you apply words to contexts where they don't belong, you force readers to see familiar things in new ways. Misuse becomes illumination.

• Enallage Wrong grammar can be right for emphasis. "We was robbed!" communicates emotion and character that "We were robbed" would dilute. When you deliberately break grammatical rules, you create voice that sounds human rather than edited. Sometimes imperfection is more perfect than perfection.

3. Bring Color And Clarity To Your Nouns And Verbs

• Metonymy and Synecdoche Substituting related words creates variety and depth. "The Crown" for royalty, "All hands on deck" for sailors—these replacements add texture to language. When you use parts for wholes or related concepts for direct ones, you create layers of meaning that reward close attention.

• Transferred Epithets Moving descriptive words to unexpected nouns creates fresh imagery. "A sleepless night" works because we understand that the person, not the night, can't sleep. When you transfer qualities to surprising recipients, you make familiar descriptions feel new again. Displacement creates discovery.

• Personification Giving human qualities to non-human things makes abstract concepts relatable. "The wind whispered through the trees" transforms weather into character. When you humanize the inhuman, you create emotional connections that pure description cannot. Personality makes everything more engaging.

• Merism Why name everything when you can name the edges? "I searched high and low" captures every direction without listing them all. When you mention the extremes, the middle fills itself in. This isn't lazy writing—it's efficient thinking that lets readers complete the picture themselves.

4. Exaggerate To Elicit Emotion

• Hyperbole Exaggeration creates emphasis through impossibility. "I've told you a million times" works because the obvious exaggeration communicates frustration better than literal accuracy would. When you deliberately overstate, you make feelings more vivid than facts. Emotion trumps precision.

• Adynaton Impossible exaggeration emphasizes impossibility itself. "When hell freezes over" works because the impossibility is the point. When you reference things that can never happen, you communicate absolute certainty about things that will never change. Impossibility becomes emphasis.

• Litotes Understatement creates emphasis through restraint. "Not bad" meaning "very good" works because the modest phrasing makes the praise feel more genuine. When you say less than you mean, you often communicate more than direct statement would. Subtlety rewards intelligence.

• Pleonasm More words than necessary can add emphasis and completeness. "I saw it with my own eyes" redundantly specifies whose eyes, but the extra words create conviction. When you deliberately over-explain, you can strengthen belief rather than weaken it. Excess serves emphasis.

5. Mix Up Your Sentence For Emphasis

• Hyperbaton Normal word order is the enemy of emphasis. "This I must see" hits harder than "I must see this" because it breaks expectations. When you rearrange the predictable, you create surprise. And surprise creates attention, which is the most valuable currency in communication.

• Periodic Sentences Suspense isn't just for novels. "After years of training, countless hours of practice, and overcoming many obstacles, she finally won." The payoff hits harder when you make people wait for it. When you delay the main point, you build tension that makes the resolution more satisfying.

• Hypotaxis and Parataxis Complexity and simplicity serve different masters. "I came, I saw, I conquered" drives forward with brutal efficiency. But "When I arrived and assessed the situation, I was able to achieve victory" unfolds with deliberate care. Short sentences create urgency. Long sentences create depth. Use both.

• Anadiplosis The end becomes the beginning, and the beginning becomes inevitable. "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate"—each link strengthens the chain. When you connect sentences by repeating their final words, you create momentum that pulls readers forward. The technique builds bridges between thoughts.

• Epanalepsis Beginning and ending with the same word creates circular emphasis. "Blood hath bought blood" completes a thought by returning to where it started. When you bookend phrases with identical words, you create closure that feels both satisfying and inevitable. Circles satisfy the mind.

6. Build Tension With Contrast

• Antithesis Opposites don't just attract—they illuminate. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" works because contrast creates clarity. When you place opposing ideas side by side, you force your reader to see both sides of the coin. The tension between extremes reveals truth that lives in the middle.

• Paradox Contradictions that reveal truth make people think harder. "Less is more" shouldn't make sense but does because it captures how simplicity creates impact. When you present seemingly impossible statements, you force readers to work through the logic. The effort makes the insight more valuable.

• Chiasmus Reversed word order creates memorable balance. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" works because the reversal creates symmetry and emphasis. When you mirror and invert structure, you create phrases that stick in memory like songs.

7. Involve Your Reader

• Rhetorical Questions Questions without answers create engagement without effort. "Isn't it obvious that we need to change?" forces readers to agree before they realize they're agreeing. When you ask questions you don't expect answers to, you guide thinking instead of demanding it. The mind fills blanks automatically.

• Aposiopesis Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all. "If you don't stop that, I'll... never mind." The broken sentence carries more weight than any threat could. When you leave thoughts unfinished, you force readers to complete them—and their imagination is always more vivid than your words.

• Prolepsis Anticipating objections strengthens arguments before they're challenged. "You might say this is expensive, but consider the long-term savings" addresses doubt before it forms. When you answer unasked questions, you demonstrate understanding of your audience's concerns. Anticipation builds trust.

8. “Say More About That”

• Congeries Piling up similar words creates overwhelming effect. "He was tired, exhausted, weary, and completely drained" works because the accumulation mirrors the feeling it describes. When you heap synonyms together, you create emotional weight that single words cannot carry. Excess becomes expression.

• Scesis Onomaton Emphasizing through synonyms reinforces meaning through variety. "The end, the finish, the conclusion" works because each word adds slightly different shade to the same concept. When you repeat ideas in different words, you strengthen the message while avoiding monotony. Variation reinforces unity.

• The Blazon Inventory becomes poetry when you catalog with purpose. "Her eyes sparkled, her lips curved, her hair flowed"—each detail builds toward a complete image. The blazon transforms observation into obsession, turning a simple description into a lover's inventory. List the parts, and the whole becomes more than their sum.

9. Deepen The Reader’s Experience

• Synaesthesia Senses shouldn't stay in their lanes. "The music tasted sweet" breaks the rules of perception to create new understanding. When you mix sight with sound, touch with taste, you mirror how the brain actually works. Reality is messier than categories suggest, and great writing reflects that beautiful confusion.

• A Divagation Concerning Versification Poetry's rules aren't restrictions—they're opportunities. Meter and rhyme create constraints that force creativity. When you understand how verse works, you understand how language can be shaped into music. The technical becomes transcendent when mastered.

10. Finish With A Powerful Ending

• Peroration Great conclusions leave lasting impressions. "In closing, remember that our future depends on the choices we make today" works because it synthesizes everything into a memorable final thought. When you end powerfully, you determine what readers remember. The last word often becomes the lasting word.

• The Fourteenth Rule Rules exist to be understood, then transcended. Whatever the specific guideline, it serves clarity until it doesn't. When you master a rule completely, you earn the right to break it strategically. Expertise is knowing when to follow principles and when to abandon them.

Master these techniques, and you'll write like the great persuaders throughout history.

Here's how to practice:

Put The “Elements of Eloquence” Into Action With These 3 AI Prompts

Prompt 1: Practice With A Turn Of Phrase Tutor