One of the first courses I took at Ashford University, while working toward my degree in Communication Studies, was COM321 - Communication Theory. This course examined Aristotle's three methods of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos. Students were asked to write about a speaker we admired and what made their speaking style memorable. The follow post includes my thoughts on President Ronald Reagan.
* * *
Methods of Persuasion
I grew up in the 1980s so Ronald Reagan was the first U.S. President that I paid attention to when he was speaking. He had a very easy way of presenting his message. He spoke very clearly and didn’t talk over people by using words that the average person may not understand. His messages could be understood by teenagers on up to older adults. His messages were clear and heartfelt.
He took his role as President of the United States seriously and was loved and respected by people on both sides of the political aisle.
He used pathos, his ability to arouse emotions, by building humor into his speeches and also talking about personal experiences that he and his wife, Nancy had gone through.
Reagan’s wording and logic (logos) were what kept the audience interested in what he was saying. His way of describing things in his speeches helped to paint a picture in your mind of the subject he was communicating about which also kept you intrigued.
An example of this is from his Berlin Wall speech which you can watch on YouTube. Here is an excerpt from that speech taken from the transcript on The History Place:
“Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe. From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall. But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same--still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state. Yet it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly; here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world. Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.”
Today's Communicators
In order for a communicator to be effective today, they need to understand their audience. For example, a CEO of a company needs to understand the employee base is made up of people from multiple age groups and generations. The message has to resonate with generations Y and X, the millennial generation, and even baby boomers.
Since the workforce has this wide range of people with varying education levels, they have to be able to communicate appropriately to all of them at the same time. If they format their communication to only one level of education or age group, their message will be lost on most of their employees.
They also need to use all three of Aristotle’s methods of persuasion in their communication showing credibility and trust (ethos), emotion and value (pathos), while using logic, reason, and proof (logos).
Reference:
The History Place. Great Speeches Collection. Ronald Reagan. Tear Down This Wall. nd. Web 5 Mar 2014. Retrieved from http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-tear-down.htm.
Trenholm, S. (2008) Thinking through communication: An introduction to the study of human communication (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
YouTube. “Berlin Wall” Speech – President Reagan’s Address at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MDFX-dNtsM.
No comments:
Post a Comment