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The previous article of the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos series defined pathos and described why emotional connection is so important for your presentations.
In this article, we explore how to build strong pathos in your presentations through a variety of emotional pathways.
American psychologist William James wrote:
The emotions aren’t always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action.
Emotions — whether fear or love, pity or anger — are powerful motivators for your audience. An audience emotionally stimulated in the right way is more likely to accept your claims and act on your requests. By learning how to make emotional appeals, you greatly improve your effectiveness as a speaker.
In this article of the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos series, we turn our attention to pathos, and the role of emotion in persuasive public speaking.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die packs powerful wisdom that will help you express your message so that your audience remembers it and acts on it.
This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.
2300 years ago, Aristotle wrote down the secret to being a persuasive speaker, the secret which forms the basis for nearly every public speaking book written since then.
Do you know the secret?
If you don’t, you might be wondering what a 2300-year-old theory has to do with public speaking in the year 2010.
In a word — everything!
In this article, you’ll learn what ethos, pathos, and logos are (the secret!), and what every speaker needs to understand about these three pillars of public speaking.
Most speakers begin their careers gratefully clutching the sides of a lectern, happy to hide behind it for that little extra bit of security in a tense situation. But, by now you know that you should not stay behind the lectern. But why?
And as you get more advanced in your speaking, and comfortable with the stage, how should you move in relation to the audience?
Is it a good idea to move deep into the audience or not? What about those situations where it seems awkward to get to the audience at all, either because of the logistics of the room or the positioning of your listeners?
When you mask your emotions, you sever all connection with the audience. They might as well be reading your speech from a boring magazine.
Conversely, your connection to the audience is strongest when you effectively transfer your emotion to them.
Are you sharing your emotions? Or are you speaking as if a paper bag hung between you and your audience?
A strong speech opening is critical to grab the attention of your audience.
Suppose you were delivering a speech to raise awareness in your community about school security. How would you open your speech?
Both openings are direct, to-the-point, and boring! What if there was a better way?
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