modes of persuasion
kelly ludwig, assistant professor
kcai graphic design department
I also call it “modes of appeal”
ethos
pathos
modes of appeal
logos
Back in 350 b.c.e. Aristotle developed his ideas about the modes of persuasion, the potential for a speaker’s appeal to an audience. He organized his thoughts
into three distinct categories
“Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the
spoken word, there are three kinds…”
to summarize, a brief quote about his ideas:
Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. [...]
ethos
“Persuasion is achieved by the speaker’s personal character when the speech is so
spoken as to make us think him credible.”
Ethos (credibility / character), or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the author. We tend to believe people whom we respect. One of the central
problems of argumentation is to project an impression to the reader that you are someone worth listening to, in other words making yourself as author into an
authority on the subject of the paper, as well as someone who is likable and worthy of respect.
pathos
“Secondly, persuasion may come through the hearers, when the speech stirs their
emotions.”
Pathos is the Greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” The words empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos. In design it means persuading by
appealing to the reader's emotions.
We can look at texts ranging from classic essays to contemporary advertisements to see how pathos, emotional appeals, are used to persuade.
Language choice affects the audience's emotional response, and emotional appeal can effectively be used to enhance an argument.
logos
“Thirdly, persuasion is effected through the speech itself when we have proved a
truth or an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments suitable to the case
in question.”
– Aristotle
Logos (Logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning. This will be the most important technique we will study, and Aristotle's favorite. We'll look at deductive
and inductive reasoning, and discuss what makes an effective, persuasive reason to back up your claims.
Giving reasons is the heart of argumentation, and cannot be emphasized enough. We'll study the types of support you can use to substantiate your thesis, and
look at some of the common logical fallacies, in order to avoid them in your writing.
ethos defined
greek for “character”
•
credibility
•
respectability, reputation
•
like-ability
•
message quality
•
ex: testimonials, endorsements, seals of
approval
More simply put, we will be briefly examining ethos: an ethical appeal
Ethos is the greek word for “character”, so it is persuading by the character of the author. It includes factors like
•
credibility
•
respectability
•
likability
The author’s reputation is independent of the message [are they an accepted authority on the subject?]
Within the message, attention is paid to grammar, spelling, citing sources, etc.
Refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker.
-appealing to ethics, moral, and character
ethos within graphic design
"Ethos" is used to describe the audience's perception of the rhetor's credibility or authority. The audience asks themselves, "What does this person know about
this topic?" and "Why should I trust this person?"
An author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is a credible source and is worth listening to. Ethos is the Greek word for “character.” The word
“ethic” is derived from ethos.
Your audience will judge your propositions as being more true and acceptable if you succeed to establish your credibility. Aristotle argued that three things must
be communicated in order to appear trustworthy:
•
Practical intelligence
•
A virtuous character
•
Good will
main techniques:
•
personal branding
•
confidence in delivery
•
cites credible resources
ethos
ics
Ethos / Appealing to the audience through the credibility of the author or a spokesperson.
How can you remember this?
extrinsic ethos
There are two kinds of ethos: extrinsic (outside what you have to say) and intrinsic (inside what you have to say).
Extrinsic ethos is the reputation or character of the author that precedes them. It is based on prior knowledge and/or assumptions we make about the
author.
A good test of extrinsic ethos is to ask yourself, “Based on what I’ve already seen or heard about this person, product, experience, or thing, how credible does it
seem?
Institutions, public roles and publications also project an ethos or credibility. We assume, for example, that The New York Times is a more credible source than the
Weekly World News or the National Inquirer.
Examples of extrinsic ethos would be this: If you are a successful professional basketball player talking about basketball to other pro athletes, then your ethos is
strong with your audience even before you open your mouth. Your audience assumes you are knowledgable about your subject because of your experience.
If you are a baseball player talking about basketball, instead, then your extrinsic ethos is not as strong because you haven't been played pro basketball, but
you're still a professional athlete and know something about that kind of life.
If you were a college professor of graphic design, then your extrinsic ethos is likely to be pretty weak, since your knowledge of professional basketball and you’re
not that tall.
http://w.web.umkc.edu/williamsgh/dialogues/225.rhetorical.appeals.html
Think of testimonials, the reputation of the author / spokesperson is previously established
think of testimonials
And we usually assume that a person selected for a position of responsibility or honor is more credible than someone without official sanction.
The use of celebrity spokespeople constitutes an ethical appeal. they are borrowing an authority or expert on the subject, someone whose reputation precedes
them, to speak on the topic. Many times in advertising, the “expert” status of the spokesperson is questionable, at best, and the relationship is a stretch.
Oh yeah, there is the “danger” of investing in someone’s character.
This particular example is noteworthy on multiple levels. First, Lance Armstrong, as a cancer survivor, is certainly a credible spokesperson on the topic of cancer,
and his status as a seven time Tour de France winner establishes his authority as someone who “lives strong”.
However, Armstrong’s doping accusations and subsequent removal from the record books as the tour winner demonstrate how credibility can change over time,
affecting the credibility of the companies or products with which they are associated.
intrinsic ethos
Intrinsic ethos is the impression created by the text itself when you encounter it.
In this situation, ask yourself, “What was the quality or reliability of the product or experience once you encountered it?”
Let’s go back to that basketball analogy. Let's say you're that professional basketball player mentioned before, and you start to address your audience and
suddenly you stutter and mumble, you get all the rules of basketball wrong ("there's a three-point line?"), and you mispronounce other players' names, and you
reveal your ignorance of the history of basketball by mentioning teams that never existed.
Suddenly your overall ethos takes a nose-dive with your audience, and you become less persuasive.
At the other extreme, let's say you're that college design professor, and you speak with confidence and reveal that you know a great deal not only about the
intricacies of basketball, but also about individual players' records, and the history and origins of the sport.
Your overall ethos, which was weak to begin with because the audience was skeptical of what an design professor would know about their sport, suddenly gets
stronger. It gets stronger because your intrinsic ethos goes up in the eyes of your audience.
So, these marks are considered to be intrinsic ethos. Quality is realized through experience.
The good housekeeping seal of approval is a sought-after mark of quality for many home-related products that display a level of acceptance by a kind of
“accrediting body”. Displaying this seal on your product implies that it is a cut above the competition. An interesting note about the design of this logo is that the
large black and white mark is actually the newest version and the blue and red mark is the previous version. Even the seal of approval needs to maintain a look of
authority by reverting to an old-fashioned look, and asserting how long they have been around.
So, these marks are considered to be intrinsic ethos. Quality is realized through experience.
what details do you see on this patch that seek to establish the sense of authority or strong reputation of this company?
notice how many claims are made here:
original, quality, trade mark, the patent and the date it was patented.
this patch is loaded with references to the credibility of the company and the product.
pathos defined
greek for “suffering” or “experience”
•
emotional use of language
•
generates sympathy
•
conjures one’s imagination
•
uses sensory details
•
ex: puppies, “poster children,” sex sells
Pathos is often associated with emotional appeal. It is persuasion by appealing to our emotions. This is done through
•
the use of strong, clever, vivid, emotional use of language
•
generating a sense of sympathy with the subject
•
conjuring one’s imagination
•
using sensory details like showing detailed visuals, describing smells or using sound to create a sense of place
pathos within graphic design
Does the message connect with me emotionally?
Emotions have the power to modify our judgments, appealing to emotions can help burst positive arguments or dampen negative arguments.
Designer use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what what the author wants them to feel. A common use of pathos
would be to draw pity from an audience.
Another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience; perhaps in order to prompt action.
main techniques:
•
stories
•
inspirational quotes
•
vivid language
sym
empathy
os
How can you remember this? In this sense, pathos evokes a meaning implicit in the verb 'to suffer'--to feel pain imaginatively … . Think of the words “empathy”
and sympathy”
Pathos / Engaging the audience through emotion. This may utilize one’s senses or one’s imagination
logos defined
greek for “word”
•
makes a clear statement
•
logical reasons, factual evidence
•
ex: diagrams, facts, scholarly
documents, how-tos
Logos (Greek for 'word') refers to the consistency of the message--the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting
evidence. The impact of logos on an audience is sometimes called the argument's logical appeal.
is the message based in facts, reason or logic?
logos within graphic design
You appeal to logos when you have a sound argument that in itself will demonstrate that something is the case. This is most often done by using facts and
statistics, quotations from experts, or informed opinions.
Main techniques:
•
references to studies, statistics, case studies
•
comparisons, analogies, metaphors
logos
ic
How can you remember this?
Logos: Persuasion through the use of reasoning and logic. The word “logic” is derived from logos. Logos can be developed by using advanced, theoretical or
abstract language, citing facts (very important), using historical and literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.
detail from taxonomy of logos
within the publishing industry
by nicholas felton
[feltron]
This is a detail from “taxonomy of logos within the publishing industry” by Nicholas Felton
It is simply recording and organizing data gathered from his research. Just statements of fact here.
book cover by bibliotheque
This book cover, designed by the British firm bibliotheque, simply puts the facts of the contents on the cover.
data from the feltron annual
report
by nicholas felton
Another example from Nicholas Felton, from his Feltron annual report, documents the date, time, and number of photos taken through the course of one year.
Text below the chart details a range of significant facts about the photos taken.
guerrilla girls
You will find that many examples of graphic design employ multiple modes of persuasion, to great impact, as with this classic activist example from the guerilla
girls. It not only displays an outlandish image to make a point about sexism in the art world, but backs it up with a hard fact.
modes of persuasion
ethos
pathos
greek for “character”
greek for “suffering”
greek for “word”
an appeal based on an
emotional appeal
an appeal based on an
emotional appeal
an appeal based on logic or reason
evokes an emotional
sympathetic response
demonstrates author’s reliability & competence
evokes a cognitive,
rational response
examples: testimonials, endorsements, seals of approval
examples: puppies, “poster child”,
sex sells
examples: diagrams, facts, scholarly documents,
how-tos
logical
emotional
logos
creditable
Let’s recap
Ethos: messages with ethos are positioned through good will, impartial judgement and aim to gain the audience’s trust. The source has credibility. The author is
trustworthy and has authority.
Pathos: messages with pathos consider what the audience needs, desires, fears and is presented in accordance with those values.
Logos: messages with logos present the argument in a reasonable and sound manner in order to confidently demonstrate the author’s knowledge of the issues.
Clarity of the claim can be made through: literal and historical statistics, factual data and statistics, effectiveness of supporting evidence.
your turn …
identify the following modes of appeal
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
intrinsic ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
how about all 3?
pathos (emotional response to seeing one leg)
ethos (BMW logo, credibility)
logos (a factual statement)
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
And we usually assume that a person selected for a position of responsibility or honor is more credible than someone without official sanction.
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
pathos aka emotional: persuading others by playing with emotions
ethos aka credibility: believe those that we respect, make yourself likable and be an authority
logos aka logical: use reasoning to persuade. Induction + deduction, facts, statistics
rhetoric act of speaking or writing effectively
don’t forget your audience
Always, always, always think about your audience. When thinking about how best to persuade your audience, ask yourself these kinds of questions:
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What are their values?
•
What do they believe in already?
•
What is their existing opinion of my topic?
•
What are they likely to find persuasive?
What might work for one audience might not work for another.
The main takeaway from this lecture is that there are multiple ways to visually appeal to your audience, each has its own unique qualities and is therefore effective
in its own way.
Graphic designers can capitalize on this longstanding knowledge from the realm of public speaking and adapt it to communicate with audiences in a range of
ways, foregrounding particular approaches to make the strongest connection.
Title Text
sources
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Baldwin, Jonathan and
Lucienne Roberts. Visual
Communication: From
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Crow, David. Visible Signs.
AVA Publishing: New
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Fasilla, Teale. The Treason
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Understanding of the
Work of Rene Magritte
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Galloway, Tyler. semiotics
basics for graphic design:
lecture 2, https://
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Qsn8QbEoyWg
Galloway, Tyler, Modes of
Persuasion lecture
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•
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s12theoryandpractice.blog
spot.com
http://www.aber.ac.uk/
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sem-gloss.html#P
http://en.wikipedia.org/
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http://en.wikipedia.org/
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http://en.wikipedia.org/
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http://en.wikipedia.org/
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•
•
•
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http://
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http://en.wikipedia.org/
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Modes_of_persuasion
http://
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l
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Some text drawn verbatim
from Ramage, John D.
and John C. Bean. Writing
Arguments. 4th Edition.
Needham Heights, MA:
Allyn & Bacon, 1998,
81-82. http://
www.u.arizona.edu/ic/
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ENGL_102-78/
EthosPathosLogos