You will often hear ethos, pathos, and logos referred to as the three modes of persuasion. These modes of persuasion will probably come quite naturally to you, but having a strong awareness of how to be most convincing to your audience will help you as you write argumentative essays.

Aristotle, who founded the art of rhetoric, says that a persuasive message has three critical elements: ethos (the credibility of the speaker), logos (the strength of the argument) and pathos (the communicator’s ability to emotionally move an audience).

Pathos or the emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions. Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what the author wants them to feel.

Five persuasive techniques

• Establish trust and develop credibility.
• Understand the reader’s purpose and align your own.
• Pay attention to language.
• Consider tone.
• Use rhetoric and repetition.

The most effective persuasive messages are those that present two sides of an argument and refute the opposing side, followed by single argument messages, followed by messages that present counterarguments but do not refute them (Stiff & Mongeau, 2003).

Writers often exaggerate or overstate something to help persuade readers of their point of view….Writers often appeal to different emotions, including a reader’s sense of or desire for:

1. common sense.
2. fairness.
3. family values.
4. justice.
5. patriotism.
6. sympathy.

6 ways to persuade anyone of anything

1. Be confident. Your first step is to remain and project confidence throughout the entirety of your appeal.
2. Introduce a logical argument. People are easily persuaded by logic.
3. Make it seem beneficial to the other party.
4. Choose your words carefully.
5. Use flattery.
6. Be patient, but persistent.

The definition of persuasive is someone or something with the power to convince. An example of persuasive is an argument that changes someone’s mind. Able to persuade; convincing.

Central to understanding persuasion is the concept of neutrality. The Rules of Persuasion are neither good nor evil. They simply exist. Just as nuclear energy can be used to create electricity or an atomic bomb, persuasion can be used to create unity or to force compliance.

Five Persuasion Situations

• Reveal: To get them to tell you something.
• Do: To get them to do something for us.
• Desist: To get them to stop doing something.
• Learn: To help them to understand something.
• Believe: To change what they believe about something.

Persuasion skills are extremely important as it helps marketing professionals to change preconceived notions of their potential clients and make them believe in them. The first and foremost tip to convince a potential client is to look confident and also have adequate information of the product.

Reciprocity is one of the most powerful tools of persuasion. The principle is simple: give someone a gift before you attempt to persuade them and they’re much more likely to give you something back.

Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion are reciprocity, scarcity, authority, commitment and consistency, liking and consensus.

You are to:

1. Persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action.
2. Analyze your audience and appeal to their interests.
3. Use logic and emotion to support your position.
4. Organize your thoughts carefully and choose words that will add power to your message.