3 Ingredients for Maximum Speech Impact – Public Speaking & Presentation Tips (Part 2)

In Part 1, we talked about how our Logos (appeal to logic) can augment the impact and influence of our speeches. In Part 2, we dive into the second aspect – Pathos.

Before we delve into what Pathos is and how it can be applied to your presentation, here’s a provoking thought – which of the 3 aspects has the greatest weightage? Or equally pivotal?

This model (Logos-Pathos-Ethos), if perceived in static, is beneficial in terms of analysing your speech quality – whether your speech performance is cogent, poignant and trustworthy INDEPENDENTLY. However, after trying it out for years, in both domains of interpersonal communication and public speaking, I discovered that NOT all three carry EQUAL heft or importance. It is dynamic, not static!

I can already visualize some of you berating me “All three are paramount! The trustworthiness! The flawless logic! The establishment of an emotional bridge! They all make or break your speech!”. It isn’t wrong to think that way as I had for a good half of my public speaking career. This is not to say we should give illogical speech messages or compromise credibility just to cheat our audience’s feelings.

Studies have shown that we human beings attribute greatest weightage to the “I believe” (Pathos/ Emotion), followed by “I trust” (Ethos/ Credibility) and lastly “I know” (Logos/ Logic). That is precisely why there are always people around us who espouses actions based on gut feeling, why there are people who are more skewed towards being ideological than pragmatism/ rationality. In other words, you can “play around” with the three components (knowing that the emotional aspect is king!) and the degree of them in your speech.

Part 2: Embracing Pathos – The Appeal to Emotions

The goal of pathos, also known as emotional appeal, is to elicit an emotional reaction from the viewer. Because it appeals to the emotions, values, and beliefs of the audience, this strategy is highly effective. An orator employing pathos establishes a rapport with the listeners that beyond mere data and statistics.

Consider a speaker on the subject of factory farming’s abuse of animals. They could tell a heartbreaking tale about a particular animal that suffered because of cruel circumstances in order to elicit empathy. They could state:

“Introducing Bella, a kind cow born into the brutality of factory farming. Bella’s life has been miserable since the day she was born. She was kept within a tiny, filthy prison and never knew the warmth of her mother’s love. Her short life was cruelly ended after she suffered unbearable anguish and her cry for aid went unanswered.”

The speaker, perhaps an animal rights activist, will be able to effectively arouse sympathy and indignation in the audience by presenting a clear image of Bella’s suffering and inspiring them to take action against animal abuse.

It is emotionally compelling for the audience to at least be receptive to the rest of the speaker’s speech since their heartstrings have been tugged at.

Here’s a speech where I applied emotional stories to drive home the point about how we can change our relationship with anger/ frustration – Watch on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7JOQKzVrgE

Stay tuned for Part 3 in which we share how Ethos can be used to improve your public speaking and presentation impact and effectiveness!