- The question is, what is ethos?
And what application does it have
for our public speaking skills?
We're going to answer those questions
in this video.
(intense music)
Hello there friends and welcome back.
If this is our first time meeting,
I'm Alex Lyon and this channel
is called Communication Coach.
We help emerging leaders
with their communication skills.
And we're doing a three part series
on ethos, pathos and logos.
So, watch out for those other videos.
In this video, we're tackling the concept
of ethos and how you can use it
to help become a more persuasive and
influential public speaker.
It's not just an academic concept.
It has practical applications.
And be sure to stick around to the end of the video,
I want to recommend a couple of resources
for you if you want to improve your public speaking.
So, first of all, I want to say
about this term, ethos,
that it does not really mean ethics.
It looks like it.
It sounds like it.
But the word ethics is an oversimplified
definition of what the word ethos means.
It means a whole lot more than that.
Ethos is one way, we persuade listeners.
Ethos is about whether or not we are
appealing to listener's sense of trust.
Their desire to listen to a credible speaker.
Ethos describes then whether or not
a speaker is inspiring an audience
to trust and believe in him or her.
So, really ethos is about the credibility,
the perceived credibility of the speaker
and whether or not the listener's believe that speaker.
And it has to do with a whole lot more
than just ethics.
In fact, we are more likely to be persuaded
by a speaker if we find them credible.
So, really this is an appeal,
a persuasive appeal to your listeners.
It's not simply about whether or not
you're an honest person.
Although that is part of it, as we will see.
So, in terms of breaking this down,
I am going to follow James McCroskey's lead.
He worked for a long time,
for decades on the concept of ethos and credibility.
I think credibility, if you boil it down
is really the best way to define this,
whether or not you find the speaker believable.
And McCroskey talked about three key dimensions
of credibility, that will impact.
As you'll see, you can use these
as a speaker right away.
The first dimension of credibility
is called competence.
The audience is asking themselves,
is the speaker knowledgeable?
And do they have the right background and expertise
on the topic they are speaking about?
Can I believe the speaker on this topic?
That's part of credibility.
And you can establish your competence
in a number of ways, but you make sure,
the first way is to make sure you're talking
about a topic that you know about,
that you are experienced with,
that you have education and a background on.
That's the number one way.
So, stick to topics, that you know about
when you're speaking.
For example, if, tell me
if you would have a problem with this,
if you were married and you went to
marriage class and you find out there is a speaker,
has never been married,
there would be a credibility gap there.
So, you have to speak as a speaker
about what you know.
That's one of the best ways you can do that.
Now, in terms of how to do this
during a presentation,
there are a number of ways that you can show
that you have competence. One of the ways you can do it is
in how you introduce yourself.
You are telling your audience
a little bit about your background,
probably in your introduction and you want
to mention relevant aspects of your
education, experience and background
that relate to that particular topic
and that connect to that particular audience.
How often, we'll have someone introduce me,
let's say, I am going to do a workshop
or speak somewhere.
And they give them a card with some bullet points
on it, so when they introduce me,
they hit on some of the topics
that will answer the question of competence.
Some people talk about the way you dress
and the way you come across visually
and I think that has an impact
on whether or not you come across as competent.
I don't think it's going to make a key difference
but if you dress well,
then people won't be distracted by it.
And if you dress really sloppy, they will.
So, you want to make sure your
dress is appropriate for the situations,
so that you look the part, so to speak.
The next dimension of credibility is character.
The audience does want to know if you are trustworthy.
Can I trust what this person is saying?
Do they have good character?
And the way you establish that is by being honest
and by sharing good information that's true.
Another way is by not stretching the truth
about any of your information or statistics.
And you also want to be transparent
about who you are.
And so, I think, in your presentations,
one of the tips, that you can do
is to practice,
is share a little bit about who you are
and what your background is
that's a little on the personal side
like what are you all about?
Be open, in other words about who you are.
That will let them in to trust you a little bit more,
that transparency.
You never want to come across
as if you have some weird, hidden agenda
something that is off to the side
and you're not really telling people
exactly what's going on.
I actually had an issue once with my trustworthiness.
It was quite an embarrassing moment.
In fact, there is a statistic,
that I have shared in many presentations
over the years, but on this particular day,
I forgot to cite my source.
And I guess the way that I threw it out there
seemed too casual.
So, when I looked at the evaluations later,
someone marked me down for that and said,
"The speaker just shouldn't throw statistics out there.
You know, we're never going to believe that."
It was really a learning experience for me
that I have to be open and transparent
in a lot of ways, so I come across as trustworthy.
And one of the ways is to
really cite my sources accurately and fully.
And I have done that ever since then, by the way.
So, make sure that you demonstrate trustworthiness.
The third dimension of credibility
according to McCroskey is caring.
You have to demonstrate goodwill toward your audience.
So, they want to know if you care about people.
If you're going to treat people well,
in a friendly and respectful way.
If you're condescending in contrast,
if you talk down to your listeners,
they're going to be put off by that.
They're not going to want to hear
what you have to say if you're not treating people well.
And this also goes for how you're treating
the people around the presentations.
Sometimes there might be a helper,
like an administrative person who's helping
or someone who's helping with the equipment.
And your listener's are going to watch
how you interact with those people, as well,
and see and determine if you're a caring person,
if you have goodwill toward people.
And I saw a movie scene in Iron Man 2,
where there's a guy who's speaking.
His name is Justin Hammer and he is a bad character
in this movie.
He's not a good guy.
But when he's presenting,
he's all smiles and he's all show,
but then as some people are helping him move
the podium, he says under his breath to them,
"Get that thing out of here."
And it's like this moment where you realize,
oh he's not credible.
He's has bad ethos.
He treats people poorly, even though
he is faking that he is a good guy.
So, if you can demonstrate competence
and character and caring,
then you will come across as someone
with good credibility, good ethos.
Those are really the key components
of how to come across with good ethos.
And how to convince people
that you are a trustworthy source and
they don't have questions about it.
So, the key takeaways are one,
speak about what you know and
stick to that area of expertise.
Number two, be open about who you are,
so that people can see your character.
And third, treat people well,
so they can see your goodwill.
Now, before we go, I wanted to tell you
about a couple of resources that I believe
will help you improve your public speaking.
The first one is a download of
instant tips to help you become a
more confident and composed public speaker.
So, you plug in your email address
and I send you that download,
that's a PDF.
And the second is a full course
that I created called Present Like a Pro.
And it's designed to help you become a
top 10 percent speaker in your professional setting.
I will also put a link to that in the description below.
So, check out those resources and see
if they might help move you forward.
So, question of the day,
What are your ways to establish good ethos
in a presentation?
How do you come across
as a credible speaker?
What practices do you recommend doing?
I look forward to seeing your comments
in that section below the video.
So, thanks, God bless and I will see you
in the next video on pathos.