The Art of Persuasion

• According to some economists, persuasion accounts for around 25% of America's total national income
• The ability to persuade is a skill that gives people an edge in the knowledge economy

Ways Persuasion is Used

• Entrepreneurs persuade investors to back startups

• Job candidates persuade recruiters to hire them

• Politicians persuade people to vote for them

• Leaders persuade employees to take specific plans of action

• CEOs persuade analysts to write favorable reports about their companies

• Salespeople persuade customers to choose their product over a competitor's offering

• Persuasion is a fundamental skill to attract investors, sell products, build brands, inspire teams, and trigger movements.

• Billionaire Warren Buffett has a public-speaking certificate from a Dale Carnegie course hanging in his office.

• Words and ideas can help make you a star in your field providing you can persuade others to act on them

Aristotle's Rhetorical Devices for Persuasion

• These devices should be used in your next speech or presentation
• Ethos (Character)
• Logos (Reason)
• Pathos (Emotion)
• Metaphor
• Brevity

Ethos

• Ethos represents how an audience gains insight into a speaker's credibility
• Aristotle believed that if a speaker's actions didn't back their words, they would lose credibility, and ultimately, weaken their argument.
• Bryan Stevenson begins speaking about his time amongst prisoners and those on death row in a TED Talk to build ethos with the audience
• People are hardwired to search for reasons to trust another person

Logos

• Once ethos is established, it's time to make a logical appeal to reason
• An audience will care about an idea if it saves them money, and they will want to know how much and how it will be accomplished
• The same reasoning applies to making money
• Use data, evidence, and facts to form a rational argument

Pathos

• Persuasion cannot occur in the absence of emotion
• The best way to transfer emotion from one person to another is through storytelling
• Narratives trigger a rush of neurochemicals in the brain, notably oxytocin, the “moral molecule” that connects people on a deeper, emotional level.
• Stories made up 65% of the average speaker's talk, wheres 25% went to logos, and 10% went to ethos in popular TED talks
• Personal content is often the most relatable

Metaphor

• Metaphor gives language its verbal beauty
• Using a metaphor or analogy to compare a new idea to something familiar clarifies that idea by turning the abstract into something concrete
• Warren Buffett uses metaphors to make his points

Brevity

• There are fairly universal limits to the amount of information which any human can absorb and retain

• Brevity is a crucial element in making a persuasive speech

• An argument should be expressed as compactly and in as few words as possible

• The opening of a person's speech is the most important, so attention slackens everywhere else rather than at the beginning; start with your strongest point

• Aristotle believed that persuasion can be learned

• Rhetorical devices can change another's perspective, could unleash human potential and maximize happiness

• The tools to communicate ideas may have changed, the human brain has not changed and the same formula will work now as it did then

Modes of Persuasion

• According to Aristotle, there are three modes of persuasion - ethos, logos, and pathos

Ethos - More

• Ethos is all about demonstrating credibility
• Demonstrate that you're trustworthy, likeable, and competent
• People buy people, so be a person worth buying
• Prove your credibility with testimonials and endorsements

Pathos - More

• People make decisions with emotions, not reason
• Pathos is the ability to appeal to someone's emotions
• To start, understand the audience's current emotional state
• Develop arguments that appeal to their values and beliefs, and trigger positive emotions

Logos - More

• Logos is all about appealing to an audience's sense of reason
• Providing facts, data, and information supports arguments
• The key is to ensure arguments are logical and easily understood
• Avoid flaws in your arguments and ensure sources are reliable

Summary of Persuasion

• Prove and show credibility
• Focus on arguments built on pathos
• Appeal to their emotions
• Finally focus on logos
• Appeal to their sense of reason
• Provide irrefutable facts and data that support your argument

The Rhetorical Triangle

• Aristotle taught that a speaker's ability to persuade an audience is based on how well the speaker appeals to the audience in three different areas including: logos, ethos, and pathos
• These appeals form what later rhetoricians have called the rhetorical triangle
• Logos can also be thought of as the text of the argument, as well as how well a writer has argued their point
• Ethos can also be thought of as the role of the writer in the argument, and how credible they are
• Pathos appeals to the sympathetic imagination, as well as to beliefs and values, and can also be thought of as the role of the audience in the argument
• Logos, ethos, and pathos should be balanced within a text, though which aspect to favor depends on both the audience and the purpose of the writing