Thousands of years ago, a guy named Aristotle had lots of ideas about everything from religion and ethics to medicine and science.
He also happened to be a very persuasive speaker — so persuasive that his teachings still shape the way we think about the world today.
But what does this all have to do with marketing?
Aristotle developed an interesting theory about the art of persuasion. He believed that every persuasive argument relied on three pillars: ethos, pathos and logos. He believed that if you missed, or were deficient, in any one of these pillars no one would believe you or care about what you had to say.
His theory has been called “the most important single work on persuasion ever written.” Here’s what Aristotle had to teach modern marketers 2,300 years ago:
Ethos
Ethos is all about credibility. Aristotle believed that it doesn’t matter how well-reasoned or logical an argument is if the audience doesn’t trust the person who’s delivering the message.
This means that true persuasion starts before you even open your mouth. If you haven’t established yourself as an authority, you’ve lost before you’ve even begun.
Modern-day influencers like Seth Godin and Neil Patel have spent years regularly putting out valuable content to establish their authority. Major brands all over the world spend millions on public relations to ensure their credibility remains as intact as possible, otherwise all of the goodwill and trust they’ve carefully built over the years will be destroyed.
As Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
For marketers, that means taking a good, hard look at your brand and the authority you have in your industry. The easiest way for a brand to develop ethos is to find common ground with your audience and establish your empathy with their problems. Aristotle himself believed the first part of any argument should be confirming your authority.
Pathos
The second of Aristotle’s three pillars of persuasion is pathos, or the…
