{"id":337,"date":"2020-07-21T18:37:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T18:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-publicspeaking\/?post_type=chapter&p=337"},"modified":"2022-07-26T16:22:20","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T16:22:20","slug":"persuasive-strategies-using-ethos","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-publicspeaking\/chapter\/persuasive-strategies-using-ethos\/","title":{"raw":"Persuasive Strategies Using Ethos","rendered":"Persuasive Strategies Using Ethos"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\nDefine persuasive strategies using ethos.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nEthos is the way a speaker establishes their credibility and conveys to the audience that they can be trusted.\r\n\r\nEthos is important in any kind of speech situation, but it is especially important when trying to persuade an audience. If your audience doesn\u2019t view you as credible and trustworthy, they likely aren\u2019t going to be persuaded by your argument. Therefore, it can be helpful to explain to your audience why you are a credible source they should give consideration to.\r\n\r\nThrough the course of delivering your arguments and sharing reliable, credible supporting evidence, you can demonstrate to your audience that you have taken the time to understand your topic and the evidence behind your argument.\r\n\r\nPurdue\u2019s Online Writing Lab provides writers concrete tips on being a credible author.\u00a0 Many of these tips also apply just as well to speakers, including:\r\n
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  1. Use only credible, reliable sources. Cite those sources properly.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Show you have an open mind about your topic by acknowledging beliefs and values on both sides of the argument in an accurate way.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Explain why you are interested in this topic. If you have personal experience, share it.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Organize your argument in a logical and easy-to-follow manner.\u00a0[footnote]https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/general_writing\/academic_writing\/establishing_arguments\/rhetorical_strategies.html[\/footnote]<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe last point is especially important in a speech because your audience won\u2019t have the option to re-read the parts of your speech they find hard to follow.\r\n
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    To Watch: ANna Maria Ch\u00e1vez, Girl Scouts National convention 2011<\/h3>\r\nWhen Anna Maria Ch\u00e1vez gave this speech in 2011, she had just been appointed CEO of\u00a0Girls Scouts of the USA. Her speech thus had a double function: to celebrate the convention and the organization, but also to introduce herself to the viewers\u2014both at the convention and around the world. The first part of her speech is a classic appeal to ethos, both establishing her credibility and demonstrating her commitment to the Girl Scouts.\u00a0Ch\u00e1vez does this by telling the story of how she became a girl scout and what she learned from Girl Scout camp (starting at 3:56):\r\n

    One day my best friend when I was ten years old came to school and said, \"I'm going to be a Girl Scout.\" And I said, \"Well, I want to be a Girl Scout too!\" And then I thought, \"What does that mean?\" So I ran home and I told my parents and my grandmother\u2014my Nana\u2014that I was going to Girl Scout camp. And my Nana, she said, \"Mi hija, no, no, no, we came from the migrant camp, we don\u2019t go back that way.\" But I wanted to go, and so I went!<\/p>\r\nShortly after attending Girl Scout camp,\u00a0Ch\u00e1vez says, she saw a situation she wanted to change. Her mother said, \"Well, Anna Maria, what do we do in these instances?\" Eventually, young Anna Maria realized that she needed to become a lawyer if she wanted to change things, and so, she says, \"As a Girl Scout, by then the age of 12, I was headed to law school.\"\r\n\r\nThe next part of her story demonstrates another facet of ethos: by telling the story of going to Yale, and then law school, and then becoming advisor to \"a U.S. president, a vice president, two cabinet secretaries, three federal administrators, two governors, and a husband,\" she establishes that she has the authority and credibility to lead a national organization. (The \"...and a husband\" joke demonstrates humor and relatability, which are as important as impressive credentials in appealing to ethos).\r\n\r\n