Analyzing Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Appeals in Workplace Social Media

This paper examines the persuasive communication strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos and their application in modern business communication, particularly within the context of social media in the workplace. The introduction establishes the significance of persuasion in achieving organizational goals, highlighting the historical importance of these three appeals. The paper then defines each appeal: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic), providing practical examples of their use. The analysis extends to internal and external business communication, demonstrating how these appeals can be utilized to influence employees, customers, and stakeholders. The paper also addresses the increasing relevance of these appeals in digital business communication, emphasizing the expanded reach and impact of social media. Finally, it acknowledges ethical considerations and potential misuse, particularly regarding vulnerable audiences. The conclusion reiterates the importance of these appeals as tools for effective communication, while cautioning against their misuse to ensure legitimate and realistic advertising practices.

Ethos, Pathos and Logos Appeals
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Ethos, Pathos and Logos Appeals
Introduction
Persuasion is a very compelling aspect of communication in the contemporary world business
organizations. It enables organizations to achieve their target by engaging the relevant
audience and making them buy their thoughts for the sole aim of the business beneficiary.
Three major appeals have underpinning persuasive communication for years. These are ethos,
pathos, and logos. Once persuasive communication is set to be done, one ought to have in
mind the idea of these appeals to succeed in the persuasion speech. Organizations utilize
these appeals to have customers, as well as its stakeholders, buy their ideologies (Moqbel,
2015). These appeals are also critical when it comes to modern business communication. The
key purpose of this paper is to explain these appeals, give specific examples of how the
appeals can be used in modern business communication as well as show and explain the
extent at which the appeals can be applied to digital business communications.
Explanation of the concepts
Ethos
Ethos is an ethical appeal that aims at convincing the audience of the credibility or the
character of the author. Speakers use this appeal to prove to the audience that they are
credible sources and that the audience should see the worth of listening to them (Meraz,
2014). Ethos is a Greek word that means character and ethics is derived from the word. Ethos
is usually developed by choosing and using an appropriate and relevant language to your
audience which ranges from using the right vocabulary to the choice of words. It also
involves introducing one’s expertise filed, being unbiased as well as using the right syntax
and grammar.

Ethos, Pathos and Logos Appeals
Pathos
Pathos is an emotional appeal that makes achieves persuasion by appealing to the emotions of
the audience. Speakers and authors use this appeal to evoke sympathy from their audience to
be able to feel what the speaker wants to make them feel. This appeal is commonly used to
draw pity from the target audience (Leonardi, 2014). It would also be used to prompt action
by instilling anger into an audience. The word pathos means suffering and experience in
Greek and the words empathy and pathetic are derived from it. Pathos is usually achieved by
using emotional tone, language, examples that evoke emotions, implied meanings, and
emotional event stories.
Logos
This appeal involves convincing an audience using logic or reason. “Using logos would
involve citing facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and citing certain authorities
on a subject,” (Leftheriotis, 2015). To develop logos, one could use “advanced, theoretical, or
abstract language, citing facts, using historical and literal analogies and constructing logical
arguments.”
Practical application in modern business communications
Ethos, pathos, and logos are very imperative in business communication and have some
practical applications. When looking at business communication, it is vital to look at it in two
dimensions and perspectives, i.e., both internal and external perspective. Internal
communication involves communication within the business premises while external
communication involves reaching out to other people outside the business premises (Kim,
2017). Ethos involves convincing people by showing them your credibility, in internal

Ethos, Pathos and Logos Appeals
communication, can employ this criterion to communicate to junior employees effectively. In
external communication, a business can employ this appeal to convince people to buy their
products.
Pathos is also important in business communication. Within the business, it can be employed
in a behavioral change to ease management (Hudson, 2015). The business stakeholders can
be made to see the necessity of behaving in a particular manner to be able to achieve the
business objectives. Outside the business premises customers can be convinced to buy their
products by evoking their emotions, say, by showing that part of the profits made is used to
help the needy and helpless. Logos can be used within the business to convince the business
stakeholders to buy certain ideas using logic appeals (Heinrichs, 2016). Outside the
organization, the same has been widely employed in advertising especially where equipment
is involved. Advertisers have the tendency to show the importance of a commodity by
showing the public how it operates and the importance of having it.
The extent to which these appeals can be used to digital business communications
The above-discussed appeals are widely used in modern day businesses with the advent of
digital media and virtual connectivity. The extent at which they are used has greatly
improved since the beginning of modernization of businesses and acquisition of modern
business communications (Archer-Brown, 2014). These appeals can now be comfortably
used in advertisements which aim at persuading prospective buyers to buy some the
advertised products. While these appeals are freely used in advertisements to invite increased
purchases, it is also important to note that there are also extends past which they ought not to
be employed (Ngai, 2017). For instance, they are not to be used to appeal and market
products to children because children are not able to make informed decisions especially if it
involves pathos appeal (Faraj, 2015). Again, they are not to be used to convince people to do

Ethos, Pathos and Logos Appeals
things that are ethically wrong or those who would lead to negative impacts to the concerned.
That is because their use past some extents may lure the targeted individuals into making
choices that would adversely affect them, something that is morally wrong.
Conclusion
Ethos, pathos, and logos are very crucial tools for persuasive speaking. These appeals are
very vital tools for business communication as they affect the decision making of individuals
and help the business achieve its target and goals by having people buy their ideologies.
Businesses have benefited a lot as a result of these appeals in advertising. They have molded
their adverts in a way that they are convincing to enable customers to opt for their products.
These appeals have also helped business organizations to instill sense into their stakeholders
regarding how they should behave and operate to be able to achieve the business goals.
However these appeals are quite imperative in the modern day business communication, care
should be taken not to misuse them to misguide people or lure them into making uninformed
decisions. Therefore, advertisements should be legitimate, true and realistic.

Ethos, Pathos and Logos Appeals
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