CHAPTER REVIEW

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image Persuasive speakers are credible, logical, and emotionally affecting.image

Once you have selected a topic for your persuasive speech, analyzed your audience, and chosen an effective thesis, you need to develop a message that compels your listeners to accept your thesis—and your ultimate goal of changing or strengthening audience beliefs, attitudes, or actions. You can do this by combining ethos, logos, and pathos.

Through ethos, you establish your credibility as a speaker. The audience must perceive that you are competent and trustworthy, and that you have their best interests at heart. You can also avoid losing credibility by avoiding statements that raise doubts about your knowledge, honesty, or goodwill.

Through logos, you use credible evidence to support your claims. You also present sound reasoning to establish these claims through the use of examples, comparisons, signs, and cause-effect relationships. When reasoning, it is essential to avoid logical fallacies.

Through pathos, you further strengthen your persuasive power by evoking your audience members’ emotions—not to manipulate your listeners but to move them in an ethical and responsible manner to take the action you’re proposing or adopt the belief you’re advocating.

Together, ethos, logos, and pathos can help you win your listeners’ heads (their reason), hearts (their emotions), and hands (their commitment to action). Master these three tools, and you’ll greatly enhance your prowess as a persuasive speaker.