Speak with Grace

There are three main types of rhetorical appeals: the appeal to ethos, the appeal to logos, and the appeal to pathos.

Ethos establishes the character of the speaker, and tries to convince the audience that he is of good moral character, good sense, and good will. It helps the audience to believe that the idea is in their best interest. Diction and explicitly stating credentials or noting moral or social concerns are the main ways that ethos is developed

Logos is the establishment of the logic of the argument. It is intended to convince the audience that the ideas are useful or truthful. This is based purely on logic, reasoning, and evidence.

Pathos is the appeal to emotions, desire, and repugnance. It is intended to motivate the audience to act, and is often created through stories and anecdotes, imagery, or connotations of the vocabulary used.

Of these strategies, one may assume that logos would be the most effective; however, they would be mistaken. Despite the common sense that it is the best support of the truth, people are least likely to be persuaded by logos. Pathos is what really gets people going. When an audience hears a pathos-driven argument, they feel emotionally involved, and are more driven to act.

Look at the presidential arguments. I occasionally, at best, hear a bit of logos from the candidates sprinkled in through the piles of pathos and ethos that come out of their mouths. They want us to feel for their cause, not understand it, and they want us to like them as a person, not their policies. Well it works. They all do it, and they have us eating out of their hands. Although it may not be as thrilling to hear, I’m craving a little mores logos.