- So the question is what is logos?
And specifically how can I use this term
to improve my public speaking?
Those are the questions we're going to answer,
so let's get into the details.
(electronic tones)
Hello there and welcome back, I'm Alex Lyon,
and this channel is called Communication Coach,
and we are all about helping emerging leaders
probably like you with your professional development.
Today we're talking about logos.
We're doing a three part series on ethos, pathos and logos,
all of which are pervasive appeals,
or ways that we can persuade our audiences,
and be more convincing,
so these are not just academic concepts.
They are ways for us to get better at public speaking.
I also want to suggest that you stick around
to the end of the video.
I have a couple of resources that I want to recommend
that'll help you with your public speaking.
So in terms of logos I have a lot to say about this,
but the first thing I want to say
is logos does not mean logic, not really.
The word logic originates from logos,
but there's a lot more to it,
and if we only use that idea about what logos means,
we're really selling ourselves short
on the persuasive aspects of this term.
So let's talk about what it means
in a little more detail than that.
First of all, logos is a rhetorical appeal.
So ethos and pathos are also rhetorical appeals,
and to draw a comparison pathos is where you appeal
to your audience's emotions.
Logos is where you appeal
to your audience's sense of rationale and logic.
So yes, logic is involved,
but it's where you're appealing to your audience's need
and desire for a good argument,
facts, figures and support and evidence
that support that argument.
So there's a lot going on here
that deserves to be unpacked,
so I'm gonna talk about three ways
that you can maximize the logos in your presentations,
and we're gonna do that by starting
with building a sound argument.
So as a speaker, when you're preparing your presentations,
you have to build a thesis statement or essential claim
that you're going to push through your entire presentation.
That's really the first step
if you want to appeal to people's minds.
Pathos appeals to their heart.
Logos appeals to their mind.
Keep that in mind.
And by building a sound argument,
we mean a couple of things.
The first thing that we mean
is you have to build your argument
on reasonable premises and statements about reality
and the topic that your audience already agrees with,
that your listeners believe are true.
In other words, you have to make reasonable statements
that move your audience from one step to the next.
You can't jump way out in front of them
in some irrational way.
They just won't follow you along.
So let's pretend I am speaking to a group of people
who I want to persuade about some investments to make.
Here's an example of a bad way to make a statement
that does not resonate with people's sense of reality.
If I say quote everybody knows
gold is the best investment you can make, unquote,
that would be a very bad statement logically and rationally
because not many people are gonna agree
that gold is automatically the best.
There's a huge jump there.
What I have to do is pull that statement
back down to reality and ground it
in a premise that people will agree with.
So here's how I would back that off.
I would say quote some people believe
gold is the best investment you can make, but is that true?
Let's take a look, unquote.
So once you have a statement, a thesis statement
that's built on premises and truth
that people will agree with,
you have to then develop that argument
throughout your presentation.
This is where you break your argument
into main points from A to B to C
and walk your listeners through this
as you do your presentation.
So number one, build a sound argument
and then break it down into its parts.
The second way to maximize logos is to support your argument
with good evidence.
And by evidence I mean facts, figures, information
and other kinds of data
that support the claim that you're making.
And you have to use high-quality information.
If I want a statistic,
I'm not just going to cite somebody's blog
or make something up.
I have to dig down to a good original source
for that statistic and then share that
and cite that appropriately.
I often, for example, talk about the workplace,
and I frequently look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
for information.
So here's a statistic I found, for example,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates
that 15% employee turnover is an average rate
in the United States.
That means that approximately 15% of employees
voluntarily quit any given workplace in the average year.
That's normal.
So that's a good statistic
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
which is a high-quality source.
You wanna use good information, good facts and figures.
So the third way to build logos, to maximize logos
is to make reasonable connections
between your evidence and your claim.
So you have your claim, you have good evidence,
now you have to have a tight fit
between your claim and your evidence.
You don't wanna stretch the point.
You don't wanna give one little statistic
and then make some big claim about that statistic.
You're gonna lose people there.
There's a break in rationale and logic there.
So here's the bad example of doing this,
that is not a good fit here,
quote employee turnover in customer service call centers
averages about 40%.
This shows that call centers are the worst places to work.
Now, that's unquote, so you may agree with this.
Maybe you've worked in a call center and you hated it.
But there's a problem with this statement.
I'm saying 40% proves that call centers
are the worst places to work.
Well what's missing?
What's missing is context, and comparison,
and I didn't even cite my source that time.
So we're really detached from any kind of reality
that we can compare this to and evaluate it again.
So you have to make sure you build in a good fit
between your evidence and your claim.
So here's how I would fix that.
I would back off my claim,
and I would bring in a little more evidence for our context.
So here's how I would say it,
quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports
that the average annual employee turnover rate
in the U.S. is 15%.
However, customer service call centers
average 40% annual turnover.
That is an extremely high number
that signals that something needs to change.
So now I sound like a rational person
using facts and figures.
And it may not sound all that exciting
in terms of the actual numbers,
but I've brought in comparison, I've cited my sources,
and now there's a nice tight fit
between my claim and my evidence.
So you don't wanna stretch or exaggerate the point.
You wanna bring your evidence
and your claim nice and closely together.
So the three takeaways to maximize logos
in your presentations are first to build a sound argument,
second use good evidence,
and third make a reasonable connection
between your claim and your evidence.
And by doing these three, you will be appealing
to your listener's logical, rational side
and be much more persuasive.
So earlier I mentioned a couple of resources
I would like to suggest.
If you wanna work on your public speaking,
the first is a PDF download.
You put in your email address,
and I download you tips on how to become a more composed
and confident public speaker.
I believe there's five or six tips in that PDF download.
And the other resource is a full course
that I have built that is designed
to help you become a top 10% speaker
in your professional setting.
So there are about three hours' worth of videos and lessons,
and it takes you about a month
to go through one video per day,
and it's really comprehensive.
It's called Present Like a Pro.
So I will put links to both of those resources
in the description below this video.
And question of the day in terms of logos,
what are your thoughts on this topic?
What are the best ways to build a presentation
that appeals to your listener's rational side?
I would love to hear your feedback on that question
in that section below the video.
I look forward to reading those comments.
So thanks, God bless, and I will see you later.