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  • How do you persuade someone to see things

  • YOUR way?

  • The Greek philosopher Aristotle had

  • some good ideas on how to persuade people.

  • Among his most powerful techniques

  • were what he called the three appeals

  • designed to ask an audience to believe his argument.

  • Aristotle called these three appeals

  • Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

  • Ethos appeals to the audience by asking them

  • to trust the person making the argument.

  • Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions,

  • asking them to believe because they care.

  • Logos appeals to the audience's

  • sense of logic and rationality, asking them to believe

  • because the argument makes sense.

  • Using the appeals can make your writing

  • or speaking more persuasive.

  • And if you can spot them when they are being used

  • or misusedby others,

  • you can also protect yourself against manipulation.

  • Let's examine the three appeals more closely.

  • First up: Ethos

  • One way to win over a skeptical audience is

  • to convince them that you're trustworthy,

  • knowledgeable, and well meaning.

  • You can build ethos by referencing relevant experience

  • by explaining your credentials,

  • or even by using good sources

  • to show that you know your subject.

  • When presenting, dressing and speaking professionally

  • will boost your audience's confidence in you.

  • When writing, making sure your documents

  • have a professional tone

  • and are error-free can also enhance your ethos.

  • Next, we'll address Pathos: the appeal to emotion.

  • Many popular movies, books,

  • and songs appeal to emotion.

  • These appeals often engage positive emotions

  • like joy or hope,

  • but other times . . .

  • No,

  • no please

  • Pathos can engage negative emotions as well;

  • however, in academic writing, a simple tug on the

  • heartstrings won't suffice.

  • To use pathos effectively,

  • incorporate vivid imagery and intentionally emotional

  • and impactful adjectives and verbs.

  • Academics can support their

  • arguments most effectively with Logos

  • an appeal to logic and rationality

  • by building an argument with

  • facts, figures, and well-thought out reasoning

  • By appealing to the audience with logic,

  • you draw your conclusions as rational,

  • rendering the opposition less persuasive,

  • sometimes even asirrational.”

  • Not all conclusions are easy to prove, though,

  • and the responsibility falls on you

  • to make the case and convince the audience.

  • While many arguments rely on

  • one or two of these methods,

  • some of the most effective

  • use a combination of all three.

  • The most important aspect of persuasive writing

  • is to create a credible line of thought for

  • your message that audiences will follow;

  • if you do it carefully, they very well might

  • arrive at the same conclusion.

  • For more information on persuasive

  • writing and speaking,

  • visit our website at

  • writingcenter.tamu.edu.

How do you persuade someone to see things

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