The Application of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Modern Business

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, the three key elements of persuasive communication as defined by Aristotle, and their application in modern business. It defines each element: Ethos, which relies on the speaker's credibility; Pathos, which appeals to the audience's emotions; and Logos, which uses logic and evidence to persuade. The essay explores how businesses utilize these elements in marketing and communication strategies, providing examples such as celebrity endorsements (Ethos), emotional advertising (Pathos), and the use of data and statistics (Logos). It also highlights the interconnectedness of these elements and the importance of integrating them for effective communication, emphasizing their roles in building trust, increasing brand awareness, and connecting with consumers in the digital age. The essay references academic sources to support its arguments, illustrating how modern businesses strategically combine Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to achieve their communication goals and persuade target audiences.

ETHOS, PATHOS AND LOGOS IN MODERN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 1
ETHOS, PATHOS AND LOGOS IN MODERN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
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ETHOS, PATHOS AND LOGOS IN MODERN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 2
Ethos, Pathos and Logos in Modern Business Communications
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos are three kinds of Aristotle’s mode of persuasion furnished by the
vocal expression. Ethos solely relies on the individual characters of the specific speaker; the second kind
(Pathos) depends on positioning the people who are listening into a certain mind frame and the logos
hinge on the plain proof, provided by the statement of the speech itself. According to Aristotle,
persuasion is attained by the personal character of the speaker especially when the speaker is so
verbalized as to make people consider him trustworthy. In order to persuade the audiences, good ethos,
pathos and Logos is indispensable. This essay will describe their explanations and applications in modern
business communications with relevant examples.
In the present day, it is essential for the politicians, organization’s managers, and educators. It is
vital for every member of the society because nearly everybody will, in the future, have to persuade
other individuals. However, business communicators in the modern business have to apply ethos,
pathos, and logos for their substantial benefits. As per Zimmer (2016), ethos is an appeal founded on a
speaker’s credibility. A person speaking but is not alleged by the listeners as being plausible might have
a hard time convincing them. Pathos, on the other hand, is an appeal to the listeners based on passion
(Zimmer, 2016). Speakers can draw into the audiences’ emotions in visuals, storytelling, metaphors, and
call to action. Logos appeals to the logical part of an individual. When speakers depend on logos, they
use things like examples, data, statistics, and evidence to persuade. It follows that the listener/audience
then has the chance to handle this information and extract some assumptions (LaBracio & Langston,
2017).
Aristotle stated that all persuasive communications in any field are comprised of the
aforementioned elements. In the modern business, marketing appeals are communication strategies
that specialize in marketing use to attract the attention and win over people to purchase or take action
(Breakenridge, 2018). In order to appeal to people, business people apply these main appeals of
communication to become credible and impinge on their emotions. Advertising experts use appeals for
as long as advertising and marketing are concerned. For instance, we can consider public figure
endorsements as a major example of applying ethos or the backing/credibility appeal. If an individual
sees a picture with Aniston Jennifer grasping a bottle of ‘Smart Water,’ he or she will be appealed to by
Jennifer’s notoriety or credibility. Therefore, if the water is good enough for her, marketers hope people
will mull over and feel, then it is good for the customer who values and adores Jennifer.
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ETHOS, PATHOS AND LOGOS IN MODERN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 3
Modern business communicators use pathos with the aim of evoking an emotional response in
the customer (Garcia, 2012). At times, this response is a positive emotional feeling such as happiness.
For example, Pepsi Company puts a picture of people enjoying themselves sipping Pepsi drinks.
Marketers in the modern business use images portraying negative emotions like pain: an individual
having back pain after purchasing the wrong mattress. According to Stiff (2016), pathos can include
feelings such as guilt and anxiety such as pictures of a hungry child thus persuading consumers to buy a
certain product. Businesses use logos in the creation of a product recognition for a company or
organization since the fundamental roles of logos are to encourage trust, appreciation, and respect for a
product or business (Archuleta, 2016).
According to Archuleta (2016), many advertisements today depend on pathos to affect
consumers, particularly through the use of absurdity. Entertaining advertisements give people positive
emotions that can result in the positive feeling that can make people have positive sentiments regarding
the product that the business promoters wants them to purchase a product. Businesses exploit humor
and emotion to get the attention and convey a message to different people (Stiff, 2016).
Businesses mainly find themselves competing against customers’ abridged attention spans. For
this reason, modern businesses have turned their focus to developing innovative, more outstanding
logos for various reasons. Logos are used to exhibit the fundamental of the business as it describes a
business that is encouraging, proficient, stable and consistent. Logos also increases awareness of the
business and further allows the company to be noticeable from their competitors (McKay & Kate, 2010).
It presents the principles and operations of the business in a tremendous visual picture. Basically, when
a person sees the business logo, it should juggle up a suitable feeling regarding the business or its goods
and services (Roeloffs, 2015). For instance, when a consumer sees a logo for ADT Company, it should
make them consider or feel secure. Besides, Disney logos make people feel capricious and enjoyable.
According to Folk & Apostel (2013), pathos can be applied in digital business to connect with
users. An organization’s website does not matter when it comes to this element. As earlier mentioned,
pathos involves the association with the audience, developing a connection with users. A Nike Company,
for instance, networks with its consumers astonishingly well. The company has over 16 million followers
on Instagram and most of their photos have about 380,000 likes and over 2,500 comments. This is
definitely a positive way to connect with users (Roeloffs, 2015). Basically, users are more likely to
purchase Nike brands if they see the company’s newsfeed at all times. This indicates that the pathos is
implemented well by the company.
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ETHOS, PATHOS AND LOGOS IN MODERN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 4
The three Aristotle’s key elements of communication; pathos, ethos, and logos are
interconnected. Therefore, modern businesses must use all the three in order for the communication to
become truly successful. A business may rely heavily on logos to make a point and as a result, develop a
view of proficiency and power on a subject (ethos). And as all elements are vital to tremendous
communication, businesses should enhance their capability to do perform any of the elements in order
to become outstanding communicators. On the other hand, a business must ensure that their website
persuades the end consumer. Thus, taking control of persuading peoples requires effectively and
strategically combining pathos, ethos, and logos. These three elements, when implemented
appropriately, will run the business.
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List of References
Archuleta, N. (2016). The Three Pillars of Persuasion: Ethos, Logos, Pathos. [Online] Available from:
https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/three-pillars-ethos-logos-pathos [Accessed 14 May 2016]
Breakenridge, D. (2018). Answers for modern communicators a guide to effective business
communication. New York, Routledge.
Folk, M., & Apostel, S. (2013). Online credibility and digital ethos: evaluating computer-mediated
communication. Hershey, PA, Information Science Reference.
Garcia, H. F. (2012). The power of communication: skills to build trust, inspire loyalty, and lead
effectively. Upper Saddle River, N.J, FT Press.
LaBracio, L. & Langston, C.A. (2017). Rhetoric 101: The art of Persuasive Speech. [Online] Available at:
http://blog.ed.ted.com/2017/01/17/rhetoric-101-the-art-of-persuasive-speech/ [Accessed 17 January
2017]
McKay, K. & Kate. (2010). Classical Rhetoric 101: The Three Means of Persuasion. [Online] Available
from: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/classical-rhetoric-101-the-three-means-of-persuasion/
[Accessed 21 December 2010]
Roeloffs, G. (2015). Using Ethos, Pathos and Logos to Design Effective Websites. [Online] Available at
https://medium.com/@gaberoeloffs/using-pathos-ethos-and-logos-to-design-effective-websites-
4229ad29d6fa [Accessed 9 May 2015]
Stiff, J. B. (2016). Persuasive communication. Guilford Publications.
Zimmer, J. (2016). Ethos, Pathos, Logos- The Three Pillars of Rhetoric. [Online] Available from:
http://www.presentation-guru.com/ethos-pathos-logos-the-three-pillars-of-rhetoric/ [Accessed 23 May
2016]
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