Episode 45: Real Talking Tips – Power of Persuasion: Let’s Hear Your
Real Talking Tips 45 completes the 4-part Power of Persuasion series. In episodes 42-44, we constructed the 3 pillars of persuasion: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.
Now we’re going to dig a little deeper into Aristotle’s Treatise on Rhetoric where he defined the available means of persuasion into three additional categories: Judicial, Demonstrative, and Deliberate.
Because it’s about the FUTURE, we’re going to focus on Deliberative Rhetoric, where:
• Logos: Provides information for your audience to think.
• Pathos: Encourages your audience to feel.
• Ethos: Establishes why your audience should trust you.
Then, I’m going to give you the Elaine Clark Real Talking Tips guide to using rhetoric as a powerful persuasive speaking tool.
Practice along with the Real Talking Tips video, audio podcast, this blog, my Elaine Clark apps – Adding Melody To Your Voice and Activate Your Voice plus my best selling Elaine A. Clark books, There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is and Voice-Overs for Podcasting.
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45: The 3 Pillars of Persuasion.
Here ye, here ye. I now present to you the TREATISE ON RHETORIC… the available means of persuasion as defined by Aristotle. These include three new bits of information not discussed in previous Real Talking Tips episodes. However, rather than using the Greek terminology, I present this Treatise on Rhetoric to you in easier to understand modern terms.
1. JUDICIAL – Facts and Judgments based on the PAST.
2. DEMONSTRATIVE – Proclamations and Announcements made in the PRESENT.
3. DELIBERATIVE – Using imagination and speculation to change the FUTURE. Depending on the speaker, that includes bad things to avoid or the dream of achieving good things.
Because it’s about the FUTURE, we’re going to focus on Deliberative Rhetoric.
• Logos: Provides information for your audience to think.
• Pathos: Encourages your audience to feel.
• Ethos: Establishes why your audience should trust you.
These three appeals are the pillars of rhetorical persuasion.
#4 Power of Persuasion: Incorporating ETHOS, LOGOS, and PATHOS in Speech.
Rhetoric is used to Inform, Persuade, and Motivate.
• It can be used to Suggest an action rather than Demand it.
• The message and messenger should be Credible and Convincing.
• The story should be imaginative and have an emotional impact.
That’s a pretty tall order for any speaker or writer.
Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals are the cornerstones of the communication triangle. These include:
1. ETHOS – Personal moral and ethical character and credibility. Ethos provides an opportunity for the speaker to show interest or disinterest in personal gain.
2. LOGOS – Logical reasons for a person to take action. Logos uses analogies, examples, research, and statistics to convince the audience. Speakers can also use false information to convince their audience to believe unsubstantiated, incorrect, or misleading information as the truth.
3. PATHOS – Express feelings that move people emotionally. Pathos engages personal emotions that are neither right nor wrong or good or bad. Pathos can be unpredictable or irrational. It can emotionally fire people up or calm people down.
Aristotle in all his wisdom said:
“It is the mark of an educated mind
to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
It’s our job as a speaker to present to the audience the most appealing and accepted plea.
ETHOS, LOGOS, and PATHOS are all required to form that powerful Persuasion Triangle.
The Art of Persuasion Incorporates Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.
Here’s the Elaine Clark Real Talking Tips guide to using rhetoric as a powerful persuasive speaking tool.
ETHOS
If you’re an expert on the topic you’re talking about, you don’t have to work hard to achieve your authority. It’s in your bones and how you breathe, think, and act. But if you’re required to speak with authority on something you’re not versed in, that requires a major mental, physical, and emotional adjustment. Rather than pull back and sound neutral (because neutral equals bad) use a substitution from a specific time, place, and event in your personal history that brings your natural authority and confidence back to life. And remember, that authorities trust their knowledge and are often understated.
LOGOS
Train yourself to recognize and deliver logical information that is factual and not emotional. Listed items, numbers, functions, and facts are all important. If that information weren’t important, it wouldn’t be included as talking points. Use your body movements and gestures to add emphasis and focus to each logical item. Trusting each item you present without pushing adds credence to your authority and ethos.
PATHOS
Resist the need to rewrite or reject scripts that don’t seem logical. Accept that challenge as an emotional appeal. Define the emotions you need to convey and warm them up before speaking. If the script is highly logical, find the connecting word or two that can connect emotionally with the audience.
ASSIGNMENT:
- Embrace the rhetorical triangle.
- Include all three elements: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.
- Know that the balance of information in that power of persuasion will vary based on the script, message, purpose, and presentation. If it doesn’t sound right to you, it’s because the performance is out of balance. Find the problem and make the correction.
Remember that your job is to make people feel and take action as you convey trust and ease as the authority.
Congratulations on completing this 4-part Real Talking Tips Power of Persuasion mini-series. Join me in Episode 46 as we start a new 4-part series on how to personalize and clarify your message.
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