What does a man born in 384 BCE have to teach the modern writer? A lot. When I teach persuasive writing, participants are often amazed to learn that Aristotle, the Greek philosopher who taught the world about everything from chemistry to metaphysics, also contributed mightily to the study of rhetoric. Rhetoric is using language effectively and persuasively. And in this, Aristotle's philosophy is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.
Aristotle taught his students the art of persuasion. Today's business people use persuasion daily. Managers must persuade employees to follow through on projects, entrepreneurs convince investors to fund their start-ups and sales professionals persuade prospects to buy. In short, the ability to persuade is a core element of business success.
Aristotle identified three possible approaches to persuasive arguments:
- Ethos: The credibility of the speaker or author.
- Pathos: The power of feelings and stories.
- Logos: The power of logic and reason.
Each approach has strengths. When choosing which one to emphasize, analyzing your audience is key. Which approach is most likely to motivate your particular reader or readers in your specific situation?
Here's a summary of Aristotle's categories with suggestions for using them.
Ethos
Ethos is an appeal to the authority of the speaker. When you use ethos to persuade, your readers feel they can trust you. You can rely on ethos if you have outstanding professional credentials or hold advanced degrees. You can also use ethos if you have extensive experience in your field.
To build your ethos appeal, make yourself look and sound professional and unbiased. Use vocabulary that suits your station (not using overly informal language in a high-stakes business setting, for example). Introduce your expertise or experience. And please, use correct grammar and punctuation. Grammatical errors undermine your authority.
For example, if you want to sell data protection services to a prospect, you can choose which mode to emphasize. For an ethos appeal to the person who believes in buying a strong brand or industry leader, you could write:
"Our company has been in business for 25 years and has won numerous awards. Our team members come from the top universities in the world and are carefully selected for their technical acumen and integrity."
That might work.
However, switch your approach to pathos if you want to make your readers' hearts thump.
Pathos
Appealing to pathos means appealing to the heart. Every decision contains an element of emotion, so touch on your reader's feelings with all your arguments.
To highlight your pathos appeal, make sure your tone matches your persuasive goal. You may be upbeat or depressing, depending on your circumstances. In addition, tell stories of emotional events – happy or sad. Your stories should match the way you want your readers to feel. Finally, paint a picture of the future with descriptive action words and vivid images.
If you know your prospect has recently had a close call with a data breach or if you have spoken to them and they have expressed anxiety about security, you might emphasize pathos like this:
"Data breaches cause devastating losses that may be impossible to repair. Your customers trust you with their personal data, and your reputation will suffer if a bad actor gains access to your network. We can help you avoid the specter of widespread data loss."
While it's true that people rely partially on pathos for persuasion, the argument must, in the end, make sense. Hence, logos.
Logos
Logos is an appeal to reason or logic. Business decisions must be rational; that's why all business communications contain a dose of logos. Logos uses cold arguments facts, statistics, data, common sense; to convince people rather than trying to appeal to their emotions.
If you want to score points on a logos argument, cite facts and statistics. Construct clear, logical arguments. Use sophisticated language, but never obfuscate. Stay concise and to the point. In the right circumstances, you can apply analogies.
For a logos argument to sell your data protection service, you might write:
"Nearly 60 percent of businesses suffered a data breach during the past three years. According to research by IBM, the average cost of a data breach is $9.44 million. Our firm has prevented 359 data breaches over the past three years. We can help you protect your data."
You can see that the three-part persuasive model is still relevant today. Any of Aristotle's persuasive approaches might work, depending on the audience. That's why analyzing your reader is the first job of the persuasive writer.
Whether you choose to apply ethos, pathos or logos, think about your greatest persuasive strengths before you write. Perhaps your personal authority is the magic charm. Or maybe the knockout story of how your company saved the day for another client.
And sometimes, your reader will want just the facts. Do your homework so you know enough about your reader to determine which approach is likely to succeed.
By identifying your mode of persuasion in advance, you strengthen your arguments and ultimately persuade your readers more forcefully.
Inc
