Aristotle's Rhetoric

Over 2300 years ago, Aristotle laid the groundwork for modern public communication. His teacher, Plato, hated the way that public speakers skillfully manipulated audiences with no apparent regard for truth. Plato saw little value for the mere rhetoric used by the fast-talking speakers of his day.

Aristotle, however, saw great potential in rhetoric (one person addressing many). He believed it was an art that could and should be studied and that good rhetoric was not only persuasive, but also ethical. He stated that all public presentations are some balance of three rhetorical proofs: ethos (ethical), pathos (emotional), and logos (logical).

The ethos is the speaker and his or her character as revealed through the communication. The pathos is the audience and the emotions felt by them during the rhetoric. The logos is the actual words used by the speaker.

Although no presenter today would speak without considering the audience, Aristotle's pathos was a novel idea in his time. He is the earliest record of a rhetorician identifying the audience and their perception as an important part of public speaking. In fact, he believed that a speech was effective only if it stirred up emotions in its audience.