The Three Persuasive Appeals: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos

NARRATOR: The three persuasive appeals:

logos, ethos, and pathos.

Twenty-three hundred years ago,

famous philosopher Aristotle argued that there were three ways to persuade someone.

These three persuasion appeals are the same modes of

persuasion used today by politicians,

advertisements, and public speakers alike.

The first persuasive appeal is logos or logical appeal.

Logos is persuading by appealing to

one's logical side through reason, often through facts,

statistics, charts, and graphs.

The second persuasive appeal is ethos or credibility appeal.

Ethos is persuading by establishing that the persuader is trustworthy,

often through showing where one's information came

from or by using an expert or testimonial.

The last persuasive appeal and often the most effective is pathos or emotional appeal.

Pathos is persuading by appealing to one's emotions and by

creating an emotional response, such as sadness or happiness.

It's also important to note that good persuaders keep in mind

the target audience when using logos, ethos, and pathos.

This is called audience awareness.

After all, it wouldn't make sense to show a toy commercial during a late-night talk show.

In the end, it's important to use a balance of all three persuasive appeals.

This will keep your audience engaged while keeping their trust in you.

Next time you're aiming to persuade someone,

use all three persuasive appeals.

Then you can tell everyone

you're cool like Aristotle.