The Philosopher Aristotle

The great philosopher Aristotle over two thousand years ago explored making arguments to persuade. His philosophy is still strongly ingrained in our culture today.

Aristotle believed there were three ways to address an argument. They are appealing to ethos, pathos and logos. These appeals are prevalent in almost all arguments.

Ethos appeals to the character of the person writing or speaking. Pathos appeals to the emotions of others. Logos appeals to the reason of others.

In order to persuade, a person needs to have a good character. An individual is more easily persuaded by someone who he or she trusts.

Next, appealing to one's emotions is important for a person to take action.

Finally, giving good reason appeals to the logical side of a person.

When we have a positive perception of a person it can usually be traced to a good character (Ethos), touching our emotions (Pathos), and/or appealing to our logic (Logos).

The same is true for us. Knowing how to persuade effectively is a key to managing our credibility and believability.

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