Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Aristotle defined Rhetoric as the art of finding all the available means of persuasion.
Rhetoric refers to the art of changing an audience from one position on a topic to another. This is achieved through public speaking.
When we refer to it as an art we are acknowledging that there are basic techniques that can be mastered and that individual speakers can use those techniques in their own way, thus developing a style which can be very powerful as well as great to listen to.
Aristotle identified Ethos (the credibility of the Speaker), Pathos (the emotional response to the message), and Logos (the logical argument) as the three means of persuasion.
Your goal for your speech is always to change the audience.
You do this by what you say and do before, during and after the speech and it is important to understand the basic techniques that allow you to build ethos, pathos and logos and influence the audience. Keep in mind that you cannot not communicate.
You are always communicating with others even when you do not intend to do so.
How you stand or sit, the expression on your face, even what you choose to wear all communicate to a person looking at you something about how you are feeling and what you might be thinking.
In the same way all messages are persuasive.
Every speech has an impact on the audience, which changes them forever.
A speaker always wants to change the audience in some way.
The speaker's goal may be overtly persuasive, such as wanting the audience to sign up for a credit card or purchase the cookware that they are demonstrating, or it may be more subtle such as wanting the audience to join them in celebrating the contributions to the company of a person who is retiring. Even when a speaker is conveying information to an audience, they are always wanting to make a change such as ensuring that the audience understands something they did not understand before or knows something that they did not know. Often the change is one of sentiment. The speaker wants the audience to know more about something that is important to them so they are persuading the audience that the topic matters.
If a speaker demonstrates how something works they want the audience to be more aware and knowledgeable about the topic because they believe that knowledge is important.
Ethos
Ethos is determined by the audience.
They either believe the speaker or not.
They either trust the speaker or not.
They decide if the speaker is credible.
Three things influence the willingness of the audience to believe the speaker:
The audience evaluates the speaker's knowledge, reputation, and character and responds by trusting or not trusting the speaker.
Ethos begins before the speaker starts to speak.
The way the speaker dresses, walks, stands, and whether the speaker begins by making eye contact with the audience all create a first impression about whether the speaker is knowledgeable and trustworthy.
Often, the audience is there because of the reputation or knowledge of the speaker so the speaker already begins with some level of ethos.
The speaker's reputation and educational background will help build ethos.
When a guest speaker is introduced, one responsibility of the person doing the introduction is to establish the credentials of the speaker and discuss what makes them an expert on the topic including their education, knowledge, and experience with the topic.
If you do not have anyone introducing you to the audience then this information needs to be included in your introduction.
How the speaker communicates with the audience throughout the entire speech influences ethos.
The following video offers 5 strategies for feeling confident and creating ethos.
A speaker conveys confidence and engenders trust by:
- Making eye contact with the audience,
- Standing straight and not leaning, slouching, or fiddling
- Speaking from memory and not reading or looking down at notes excessively
- Speaking in a clear and audible tone, projecting their voice to the entire audience .
In addition to how the speaker communicates, he or she can enhance their credibility by what they say such as:
- Using reliable evidence to support each point
- Identifying the sources of the evidence when it is being presented
- Using quotes from other experts
- Using examples that demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the topic
- Using statistics and other factual information to make points more cogent
Research has shown that we are more likely to trust people who we perceive as similar to us and with whom we have things in common.
Accurate and thorough audience analysis goes a long way with providing the speaker with the information he/she will need to figure out what needs to be done to build ethos with each particular audience.
Pathos
Pathos derives from two sources--the speaker's emotional response to what he/she is saying and the emotional response of the audience.
The word pathos is related to the words pathetic, sympathy and empathy which refer to emotion in some way.
When the audience is moved by feelings such as love, fear, patriotism, guilt, joy, sadness, etc. towards the speaker's points they are responding to pathos.
Appeals to pathos may move the audience to listen to the logical argument or go further and compel the audience to take the action that the speaker is advocating.
Speakers can use both what is said and how it is said as ways to appeal to the emotions of the audience.
Vocal variety and speaking emotionally will help to trigger emotion in the audience.
Speeding up or raising the level of the voice or the pitch can trigger emotions along with the strategic use of pause.
Of course making eye contact with the audience is critical to creating an emotional response.
Speaking with enthusiasm also conveys to the audience the importance of the topic to the speaker and helps create an emotional response.
Using vivid descriptions, compelling examples, and relating the points directly to the audience help generate emotions.
From listening to speeches with strong emotional content such as Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech and other powerful speeches it is clear that figures of speech such as repetition of words or phrases, balance in which two contrasting ideas are parallel, and allusions to famous words or phrases or emotional materials are powerful tools in evoking emotion.
Logos
Logos refers to an appeal to reason.
Aristotle believed that all arguments should be won or lost based on the strength of their logical arguments and that logos was what the speaker should focus on the most when preparing the speech.
Logos refers to how the speech is constructed logically.
There are two forms of logic--formal and informal.
Informal reasoning can be very effective and powerful.
It is achieved by the speaker finding powerful reasons and evidence that support the speaker's points.
Using a logical pattern to organize your ideas such as chronological, problem-solution, or spatial will help to develop logic in your speech.
Making sure that each main point is balanced and that you offer information that provides a clear connection to the idea that you are proposing will help build logos.
If your audience is confused by your speech and can't follow your reasoning, then you have not succeeded in developing logos.
The most basic forms of formal logical arguments are deductive and inductive reasoning.
In order for arguments to be sound there are two conditions that must be met: the argument must be valid and all of the premises must be true.
That means that a speaker must start with accurate statements and demonstrate to the audience that they are true, then draw a conclusion about the nature of a particular event or situation.
Deductive reasoning begins with general statements about the topic and leads the audience to a conclusion which "must be true" if all the premises are true.
Inductive reasoning is the process of making a series of observations and extrapolating from what is observed in the specific instances to a general conclusion.
The use of formal logic may provide speakers with a tool for making their speeches logical but the most important thing to keep in mind is that it is not whether the argument follows the rules of formal logic that is important but whether your audience can follow your argument and whether you are being honest with them.
