Ethos

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If audience members have little or no regard for the speaker, they will not respond positively to persuasive appeals; attitude change in your audience is related to the extent to which you, as the speaker, are perceived to be credible (McCroskey & Teven, 1999; Priester & Petty, 1995). Aristotle believed that speechmaking should emphasize the quality and impact of ideas, but he recognized that the speaker’s character and personality also play an important role in how well the audience listens to and accepts the message. He referred to this effect of the speaker as ethos, or moral character.

Exactly which elements of a persuasive appeal are based on ethos? The first element is credibility or the speaker’s knowledge and experience with the subject matter. You can evoke this quality by preparing the speech at all stages (from research to delivery), by demonstrating personal acquaintance with the topic, by revealing familiarity with the work of experts on your topic, and by ensuring that your speech is well organized.

Another element of an ethos-based appeal is the speaker’s character; the speaker’s own ethical standards are central to this element. Research suggests, for example, that a brief disclosure of personal moral standards relevant to the speech or the occasion made in the introduction of a speech will boost audience regard for the speaker (Stewart, 1994). Indeed, you should prepare and present every aspect of your speech with the utmost integrity so that your audience will regard you as trustworthy.

A third element of ethos is communicating goodwill, the degree to which an audience perceives that the speaker cares for them and has their best interests at heart (Teven & McCroskey, 1997). To show goodwill, you must ensure that you meet your responsibility to help your audience members make informed choices. By giving listeners all the information they need to make a decision, as well as addressing their needs and expectations relative to the speech, you show that you have their best interests at heart.

Research on the subject indicates there are additional ways a speaker can effectively create credibility. For example, audiences tend to be more easily persuaded by speakers whom they perceive as being similar to them in background, attitudes, interests, and goals, a concept known as homophily (Wrench, McCroskey, & Richmond, 2008); research also reveals that we trust (and are more easily persuaded by) speakers we like (Teven, 2008). However, if a speaker is similar to us and very likable but unprepared, uninformed, or disorganized, we probably won’t find him or her to be particularly credible. And, as Frymier and Nadler (2010) explain, when liking and credibility come into conflict (for example, when we like a source who has low credibility), credibility outweighs liking and we’re unlikely to be moved by the speaker’s message.