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Applications of Persuasion
[edit]The four modes of persuasion are present in many more ways than most might think. They can be seen in advertisements on social media, on television, in flyers, and even on billboards on the side of the road.[9] This type of persuasion can be seen in a simple conversation with family members or friends. Those might present at least one of the aspects of persuasion: logos, with numbers, pathos, emotional appeal, ethos, with the authority of an entity, and Kairos, in the right time or with some relation with them.[3][9] Another important application of persuasion can be seen in public speeches. Those can be through a process called framing and reframing.[10] This process gets its name because speakers need to use the correct words during a speech so their audience correctly understands their message. If a speaker wants to use a specific word, slang, or metaphor, he/she needs to do a lot of research on his/her audience’s background to understand the values and knowledge of their audience to persuade effectively.
LOGOS.
Jul 24, 2026
Aristotle’s rhetorical logos
Aristotle, 384–322 BC
Following one of the other meanings of the word, Aristotle gave logos a different technical definition in the Rhetoric, using it as meaning argument from reason, one of the three modes of persuasion. The other two modes are pathos (πᾰ́θος, páthos), which refers to persuasion by means of emotional appeal, “putting the hearer into a certain frame of mind”;[23] and ethos (ἦθος, êthos), persuasion through convincing listeners of one’s “moral character”.[23] According to Aristotle, logos relates to “the speech itself, in so far as it proves or seems to prove”.[23][24] In the words of Paul Rahe:
For Aristotle, logos is something more refined than the capacity to make private feelings public: it enables the human being to perform as no other animal can; it makes it possible for him to perceive and make clear to others through reasoned discourse the difference between what is advantageous and what is harmful, between what is just and what is unjust, and between what is good and what is evil.[8]
Logos, pathos, and ethos can all be appropriate at different times.[25] Arguments from reason (logical arguments) have some advantages, namely that data are (ostensibly) difficult to manipulate, so it is harder to argue against such an argument. On the other hand, trust in the speaker—built through ethos—enhances the appeal of arguments from reason.[citation needed]
Robert Wardy suggests that what Aristotle rejects in supporting the use of logos “is not emotional appeal per se, but rather emotional appeals that have no ‘bearing on the issue’, in that the pathē [πᾰ́θη, páthē] they stimulate lack, or at any rate are not shown to possess, any intrinsic connection with the point at issue—as if an advocate were to try to whip an antisemitic audience into a fury because the accused is Jewish; or as if another in drumming up support for a politician were to exploit his listeners’s reverential feelings for the politician’s ancestors”.[26]
Aristotle comments on the three modes by stating:
Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds.
The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker;
the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind;
the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.
— Aristotle, Rhetoric, 350 B.
PATHOS.
Aug 23, 2026
Methods
Emotional appeal can be accomplished in many ways, such as the following:
by a metaphor or storytelling, commonly known as a hook;
by passion in the delivery of the speech or writing, as determined by the audience;
by personal anecdote.
appealing to an ideal can also be handled in various ways, such as the following:
by understanding the reason for their position
avoiding attacks against a person or audience’s personally
use the attributes of the ideal to reinforce the message.
Pathos tends to use “loaded” words that will get some sort of reaction. Examples could include “victim,” in a number of different contexts. In certain situations, pathos may be described as a “guilt trip” based on the speaker trying to make someone in the audience or the entire audience feel guilty about something. An example would be “Well, you don’t have to visit me, but I just really miss you and haven’t seen you in so long.
KAIROS
Oct 14, 2026
Kairos (Greek for “right time,” “season” or “opportunity”)
Refers to the “timeliness” of an argument.
Modern rhetorical definition
Aaron Hess (2011)[14] submits a definition of kairos for the present day that bridges the two classical applications: Hess addresses Poulakos’ view that, “In short, kairos dictates that what is said, must be said at the right time.”[10] He also suggests that in addition to timeliness, kairos considers appropriateness. According to Hess, kairos can either be understood as, “the decorum or propriety of any given moment and speech act, implying a reliance on the given or known”, or as “the opportune, spontaneous, or timely.”[14] Although these two ideas of kairos might seem conflicting, Hess says that they offer a more extensive understanding of the term. Furthermore, they encourage creativity, which is necessary to adapt to unforeseen obstacles and opinions that can alter the opportune or appropriate moment, i.e. kairos. Being able to recognize the propriety of a situation while having the ability to adapt one’s rhetoric allows taking advantage of kairos to be successful. Hess’s updated definition of kairos concludes that along with taking advantage of the timeliness and appropriateness of a situation, the term also implies being knowledgeable of and involved in the environment where the situation is taking place in order to benefit fully from seizing the opportune moment..
ETHOS.
Dec 07, 2026
In rhetoric, ethos (credibility of the speaker) is one of the three artistic proofs (pistis, πίστις) or modes of persuasion (other principles being logos and pathos) discussed by Aristotle in ‘Rhetoric’ as a component of argument. Speakers must establish ethos from the start. This can involve “moral competence” only; Aristotle, however, broadens the concept to include expertise and knowledge.[8][9] Ethos is limited, in his view, by what the speaker says. Others, however, contend that a speaker’s ethos extends to and is shaped by the overall moral character and history of the speaker—that is, what people think of his or her character before the speech has even begun (cf Isocrates).
According to Aristotle, there are three categories of ethos:
phronesis – useful skills & practical wisdom
arete – virtue, goodwill
eunoia – goodwill towards the audience
