Hey, let's talk about ethos, logos, and pathos.
Don't be intimidated by these terms just because a guy back in Ancient Greece named Aristotle
named them.
They really aren't hard to understand.
Let me break it down for you.
First, I'll explain ethos.
Ethos is credibility.
Imagine your dad is trying to convince you about something having to do with rap music
and you know perfectly well that he hasn't listened to any rap after Tupac died in 1990s.
You'll listen to what he has to say, because he's your dad, but in the back of your mind,
you're thinking, "dad doesn't know what the heck he's talking about."
He is not an authority and you know it.
So whether he's right or wrong, his ethos is weak.
Strong ethos doesn't necessarily mean a person is right; and weak ethos doesn't mean a person
is wrong; it just means that person is going to be less persuasive.
The best way to have strong ethos is to be an authority on your topic.
And it's good if you have first-hand knowledge.
When X Gonzalez, better known as Emma Gonzalez, talks about gun violence, you know they know
what they're talking about because, unlike most of us, they have
personally experienced it.
They were at school when the killer showed up with his AR-15.
They hid in the back of the school auditorium.
They heard the shots.
Their friends were killed.
On top of that, their now-famous "We call BS" speech was full of well-researched information
from trustworthy sources.
When X talks, they're persuasive, partly because their ethos is rock solid.
Ways to strengthen your ethos if you aren't an authority on a subject: first, use language
that is appropriate to your audience.
So, you don't want to use youth slang if you're talking to an older, more formal audience.
Also, use sources that sound credible.
When I was in 7th grade, I didn't know that almost everything in the National Enquirer,
a tabloid folks buy in the grocery store checkout line, was made up those stories are sensationalist
hogwash and I used an article from it for extra credit assignment with a science teacher.
I didn't know any better.
That teacher very gently suggested that the Enquirer wasn't the best source of information.
From then on, I used things like encyclopedias and articles from local newspapers.
Using a weak source doesn't help your ethos.
Quoting experts and trustworthy sources shows that even if you aren't an expert yourself,
you're getting your information from experts.
That's stronger ethos.
Using clear and easy-to-understand visual aids helps your audience understand your argument.
And if they understand it, they're more likely to go along with you.
That's ethos too.
Another very effective way, although this might seem kind of superficial, is to get
your audience to like you.
Make them laugh.
Show that you have things in common with them.
Be humble.
Be friendly.
Make them want to trust you.
Now, logos is easier to explain.
"Logos" sounds like "logic," right?
Logos is using intellectual reasoning to persuade your audience.
Numbers and statistics are good.
Showing cause-and-effect is good.
If this obvious fact is true, then it proves that your premise is true.
That's logos.
For example, if you can show that pit bulls aren't any more likely to bite people than
other dogs, then your audience will agree with your premise, your thesis, or opinion,
that banning pit bulls is not going to improve public safety.
And if you can give real-life examples of pit bull bans being ineffective, that's logos
too, because logic would dictate that if that's true, then banning pit bulls is not a good
idea.
Pathos is easy too.
Pathos is an appeal to your audience's emotions.
The word pathos comes from the Greek word for "suffering."
There are all kinds of emotions: pity, sorrow, guilt, anger, outrage.
But not all emotions are negative: hopefulness, generosity, moral righteousness, and awe are
powerful emotions too.
So, if logos is an appeal to the mind, then pathos is an appeal to the heart.
So if agreeing with you makes the audience feel good about themselves, you used pathos
effectively.
When X Gonzalez makes us cry and share their outrage, that's a potent use of pathos.
When they say the people in government we voted into office are lying to us, you know
their audience shares that anger.
That's a powerful use of pathos.
So, if you're doing an assignment and are expected to use these three modes of persuasion,
make sure your audience has good reason to trust you and make sure you appeal to both
their heads and their hearts.
That's it.
OK, good luck with your assignment.
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