The Persuasive Power of Words (Week 1)

1. The Persuasive Power of Words (Week 1) Colin Neville

2. Persuasion The persuasive power of words was discussed by Aristotle around 350 BC. He presented an analysis of rhetorical strategies, which included three elements: logos, pathos and ethos.

4. Three elements of persuasive communication. Effective writing usually contains all three elements.

5. Logos Logos are appeals to reason and an attempt to persuade the audience (or reader) through sound reasoning. This will be done by the presentation of reliable evidence, usually in the form of facts, definitions, statistics and other data that appeals to the logic and intelligence of the audience.

6. Pathos Pathos is concerned with an appeal to the emotions of the reader or audience. The speaker or writer will attempt to engage with the emotions (beyond indifference) of the audience (or reader). These can include anger, understanding, sympathy, amusement, or tolerance; it will tap into the sentiment, memories, or feelings of the audience or readership, or work on them to produce the desired response.

7. Ethos Ethos is the appeal of the speaker or writer to the audience or readership, in terms of his or her credibility, good sense, and experience. The writer or speaker will present, directly or indirectly, a profile that sets a stamp of authority on the words used to persuade.

8. Aristotle Updated Aristotle’s ideas are still relevant today and are regarded as a foundation for the contemporary study of persuasion. For example, the principles and practice of NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) are built on Aristotle’s idea.

9. (Logos) Logical Appeals Logical appeals, both in spoken or written forms, can occur when: • The writer presents a clear point or purpose in the text; • There is a clear structure and organisation to the text; • Convincing evidence is presented.

10. Generally persuasive: When it is written with a particular readership in mind. The writer respects the intelligence, knowledge, and ability levels of the target readers. It uses real life examples to illustrate ideas. Persuasive in a business context: When the language is personal and addresses directly the needs of the customer or client. When the writing sounds natural (formal or informal speech). (Pathos) Emotional Appeals

11. (Ethos) Credibility The writer’s credibility is established when: • The writer is perceived as trustworthy, an expert, or, at least, believable in the subject area; • The writer shows respect for other points of view, whilst maintaining his/her own clear position or point of view; • When there are no spelling or grammatical errors in the text; • Sources of evidence presented are referenced (in academic assignments).

14. Welcome Welcome to your new home. We have no wish to disturb you as you settle in but we would like to invite you to our shop, Baxendale (Butchers and Grocery), with a special offer. Our store has been established for over 30 years and is situated at the junction of Cottingley Road with Wilsden Road and we invite you to visit us to see for yourself the wide range of fresh, organic meat, fruit and vegetables we have on offer. It is all locally produced. As a special attraction to newcomers into the area we are offering a voucher worth £2 for every £10 spent in the store over the next four weeks. This voucher is printed on the reverse of this card. The four weeks is from the date shown overleaf. We look forward to welcoming you to our store and sincerely hope that you enjoy living in your new home. George Baxendale Emotional (Pathos) & Logical (Logos) Credibility (Ethos) Logical (Logos) Emotional (Pathos)

15. Extract A This particular writer is trying to say that it can be difficult to explain the nature of ‘reality’, as it depends who is talking about it, how they perceive it, and the words they use to explain its meaning. But one wonders why the author did not simply say that. Why do you think the author wrote in this way? Extract B This writer is commenting on the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation, and the challenges posed to individuals and to the societies they live in.