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One of my all time favorite speaker whom I admire is my ex-boss, Joe (not his real name). I worked with him as his Executive Assistant for four years. During which time I came to admire the way he communicated with all levels of the organization. He definitely is one of the most powerful speakers I know.
According to Sarah Trenholm, “Aristotle believed that a speaker could sway an audience in three ways: through personal character, or ethos; through the ability to arouse emotions, or pathos; and through the wording and logic of the message, or logos” (Trenholm 2008, p. 4).
Additionally, Joe definitely uses ethos, pathos and logos in all presentations. Whenever, Joe, the Divisional Vice-President of R&D was asked to speak at a meeting, he would always inquire about his audience. He then customized his presentations to meet the caliber of his audience. In addition, he knew exactly how to capture his audience with his choice of words as well as his interjection of some kind of humor whenever he felt compelled.
On another note, I believe my personal qualities that allow me to persuade my audience is the use of pathos and logos. I used to belong to a Toastmasters Club. I once gave a speech about my trip on a cruise to Alaska. I won the “Best Speaker” award that day for my use of excellent descriptive words, humor and organization of my speech.
Finally, I think Aristotle’s classification scheme works even in our world today.
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Hi Paris--
ReplyDeleteI like that you speak from a personal point of view...I didn't think about actually incorporating my boss into my answer, but you bring up points that I wish I could go back and just add into my blog. Just like you, I think that pathos and logos are my two strong points when persuading an audience because of the emotional and message roads we are taking.
However, when speaking about your boss, my boss comes to mind and reminds me of how much I do not like listening to him speak. He rambles on and on about nonsense that doesn't even make sense half the time just to waste our time. He speaks with no emotion or message...I wonder if he ever took a public speak class??
Hi Goober,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment to my post.
I can understand your concern about your boss who just rambles on about nonsense and just wastes peoples time. It is too bad that people like that exist in our worlds.
Cheers,
Paris
Hi Paris,
ReplyDeleteI am also currently working as an executive position for a senior vice president of a major technology company but unfortunately he does not have the same communication skills that your boss does. My boss actually is good at communicating his needs but lacks the ability to captivate his listeners. I believe that a good speaker is a good listener and my boss it no where near being a good listener. I also believe that a good speaker is someone who can capture his audience with his diction. Your boss definitely has the ability to use the correct diction to portray his thoughts and ideas. Maybe all of the executive assistants can learn from a boss with excellent communication skills like your boss.
Signing out,
EventsDreamer
Hi Paris,
ReplyDeleteYou are very fortunate that you got to experience such a talented speaker through a first person point of view. When seeing a speaker like "Joe" in real life you have the opportunity to see up close how they use ethos, pathos or logos in other ways then one might see someone use through the TV.
Inquiring about his audience is a very intersting tactic. That shows that he really tries to find a way to connect with them.
Tailoring your message for your audience is very key to a good presentation, and it seems "Joe" captures that skill very well.
Great job on winning your award. That is very good accomplishment, because public speaking is a very tough skill. Congrats!
ImaginePeace