Modes of Persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos

The Marvel Universe has various types of superheroes: Spider-Man, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel. These are all different kinds of people with different abilities, but do you know any that have persuasion as a superpower? What would the characteristics be of a superhero called “Captain Persuasion?” Would they be able to use different kinds of persuasion tactics? Can they use their eyes as a weapon to convince people? Would they be able to use their voice to inspire others to take action? All answers to these questions will be given not in the next Marvel movie, but in this article about three different methods you can use to persuade people!

Ethos, pathos, and logos. These are not three characters from Greek mythology. These are called “modes of persuasion” – and they’re the superpowers of our new superhero, “Captain Persuasion!” Let’s take a look at each of them.

Ethos is the appeal to credibility. This means increasing persuasiveness through the character, experience, or authority of the speaker. For example, if you’re wondering what medication to buy, you’d trust a doctor more than a pianist! In advertisements, celebrities often endorse products, like the basketball player, LeBron James, endorsing Nike. This is another example of ethos in action. Having a good reputation, knowledge of a topic and confidence all increase the credibility of the speaker.

Second, pathos is the appeal to emotion. This means increasing persuasiveness by making the audience feel strong emotions, such as sadness, fear, anger, joy, desire, and sympathy. These emotions can drive actions. Seeing a homeless person on the street is a common example of pathos in action: although it is not rational to want to give away your money to a stranger, seeing the pain they’re in may cause you to feel sympathy for them and want to help. In a speech, examples, personal stories, and speaking styles are essential to maximizing the power of pathos.

Last but not least, logos is the appeal to logic. This means increasing persuasiveness by using reasoning or logic. Facts, figures, charts, and data all increase believability. We may often feel comforted knowing that there is evidence to back up our assumptions, or data to prove (or disprove) a theory. By using logos, a speaker increases their ethos as well, because it appears that the speaker is an expert, or at least familiar with, the topic.

Now, let’s see how you can use your new superpower. Using a combination of ethos, pathos and logos creates the ultimate persuasion! So, let’s say you need to prove that air pollution harms human health. Referring to the opinion of Michael Friedman, Doctor of Medicine from The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be a good example of employing ethos, since he is clearly an expert on this topic. Telling the story of a 12-year-old child who died from lung cancer in Mumbai, one of the most polluted cities in the world, will evoke much sadness, so it would be an effective employment of pathos. Stating that in 2001, switching to buses that ran on natural gas instead of diesel led to a 44% decrease in asthma attacks of children in Atlanta would be an excellent use of logos.

Another example of this superpower in action is Barack Obama, the former US president, giving a speech on Syria.

So far, you’ve learned about the three modes of persuasion: Ethos, the appeal to credibility, and authority. Pathos, is the appeal to emotion. Logos, is the appeal to logic.