Improve Your Presentations with Logos Ethos Pathos – Three Persuasive Appeals

As a leader, every talk or presentation you give is an exercise in persuasion. That means you need to understand Logos Ethos Pathos – the three persuasive appeals.

Two thousand years ago Aristotle wrote The Rhetoric – a study of the art of persuasion. Today it is still seen as the definitive text on the subject. In book 2, he outlines the three means of persuasion: logos, ethos and pathos – roughly translated as logic, credibility and emotion. He shows how you need to use elements of all three persuasive appeals to be persuasive when speaking.

3 Persuasive Appeals: Communicate with chocolates and flowers

For some reason, most inexperienced presenters feel uncomfortable using emotion and feelings in their talks. They are more comfortable with logic. But as we know, using logic alone is not enough to be persuasive.

As an example: it’s my wife’s birthday next month. What should I buy her? I have a budget of £50. I know she likes chocolates and she likes flowers. I could spend all the money on a huge bunch of flowers, or split it between a smaller bunch of flowers and some of her favourite salted caramel dark chocolates. I may even have a bit left over to buy her a card.

Or I could put my pure logical hat on and give her £50 cash so she can choose for herself – what a logical economist would define as offering maximum utility. As you can imagine, the logical approach is unlikely to work.

It’s the same with talks and presentations. You need to use logos ethos pathos and turn the information you want to get across into the equivalent of chocolates and flowers – something that people will smile at when you deliver it, something that people feel good about receiving and something that people remember.

By the time you finish talking, you want your audience to agree, feel differently, or take action. You also need to persuade people to pay attention while you’re speaking. After all, you can’t communicate effectively unless they are listening.

Leaders need to communicate their vision persuasively with Logos Ethos Pathos

Your persuasive communication skills are especially important for those who lead. Having a vision is just one part of a leader’s role. Communicating it in way that makes people want to act is the other part. And getting action is harder than setting vision. Remember: successful leaders persuade people.

Leaders persuade people to change, to work together and to strive for ambitious goals. You do this by using three persuasive appeals: credibility, reasoning and emotion. These appeals transcend time and geography – they originate from the work of Greek philosopher Aristotle, who named them Logos, Ethos and Pathos. By using the each of these three appeals, you can become much more persuasive communicator and a better leader.

Three persuasive appeals 1: Credibility – Ethos

Is your audience familiar with your credentials? If not, your first goal is to establish why they should listen to you. Are you:

  • Trustworthy?
  • An appropriate expert?
  • Aligned with your audience’s interests?

Only if your audience sees you as credible and see that you have shared interests will they listen to your arguments. Credibility forms the four wheels upon which the body and engine of your argument sit. Without establishing trust and rapport, the following two appeals lose their power to move your audience.

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Three persuasive appeals 2: Reasoning – Logos

Make your points in a sequence so they form logical stepping stones to the riverbank of your conclusion. Each step should feel reasonable and necessary in order to reach the other side. If your audience bounds across those steps and comes to the conclusion slightly before you, that is great. Their anticipation will make your final words feel satisfying and inevitable. Each step should be founded on evidence. This could be through data, a case study or a testimonial: bait your hook with whatever will resonate most with the audience in front of you.

Three persuasive appeals 3: Emotion – Pathos

The last but most powerful appeal is stirring the emotions of your audience. You see emotion used in charitable marketing communications everywhere, because they work. Emotional appeals provoke action by aiming for the heart. As poet Maya Angelou once said, “…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

What can you say to make your audience care about your topic in an emotional way?

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Logos Ethos Pathos in action

One of our clients, John*, was the MD of a large utility company. He approached us to help him improve his public speaking. John had avoided speaking in public, but now he had to deliver a presentation on health and safety to hundreds of staff. That’s a dull topic at the best of times and, to make matters worse, his presentation had been prepared for him by the HR team. It was pretty dry. John knew how to communicate well and so he binned the HR presentation. Instead, he started his piece with a story. He said,

“I once managed building sites. In my first two weeks of a new job, we had a crane collapse on site.

“That night, I had to knock on the door of a house and tell a woman that her husband was dead because of an accident on my site.

“I never want any of you to have to go through what I went through that day. And that’s why I’m talking about health and safety today.”

John combined his credibility (previous experience of health and safety issues) with emotion (the image of John telling a woman that her husband had died) and reasoning (I’m talking about health and safety to stop you ever having to go through something similar) in a short, powerful story.

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Harness the three persuasive appeals in your presentations

If you want your presentations and talks to be as powerful and persuasive as possible, talk to us. We can work with you on all aspects of your talk: your messages, your structure through to your delivery and body language.

Our team has coached thousands of CEOs and senior executives to deliver impressive talks and presentations. We can transform your presentation skills in as little as half a day.

We come to your office and work 1:1 or in small groups. Call Louise on 020 7018 0922 or email louise@benjaminball.com to find out more.

Start your journey to world-class public speaking skills now

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About Benjamin Ball Associates

Benjamin Ball Associates  Presentation skills coaching team

At Benjamin Ball Associates, we help our clients to communicate better. You get presentation coaching for executives.

Over 15+ years the award-winning BBA team has coached thousands of senior executives globally to present powerfully. You get access to a transformational toolbox of presentation skills & techniques to help you become a clear, confident communicator.

We’ll help you create a powerful first impression that hooks and engages your audience immediately, and we’ll transform you to deliver clearly, confidently and with impact.

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email louise@benjaminball.com to find out more and discuss transforming your speeches, pitches and presentations.

Contact us for a free consultation on your coaching needs

Contact us for a chat about how we can help you with your presenting.

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Contact us for a chat about how we can help you with your presenting.

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