Rhetorical Triangle (Overview)

The Rhetorical Triangle is an equilateral triangle depicting the importance of balance among ethos, pathos, and logos in persuasion.

Rhetorical Triangle Prezi

Social Context: The interrelatedness of the message, the writer/speaker, and the audience are suggested by the above diagram.  Effective communications consider all three of the points on the rhetorical triangle, not separately, but as they relate to each other. As a communicator changes one point of the triangle, he or she must often alter the other points.  For example, if the audience changes from a group that is mildly interested in the message to one that is in hostile opposition, the tone of the message will probably change, and the self that the communicator presents within the message will change.

Persuasive appeals: Each point on the rhetorical triangle also corresponds to one of the three elements of effective persuasion that ancient rhetoricians named ethos, pathos, and logos.