|
|
ABSTRACT As today’s society reaches to more and more technological advances, people have become increasingly dependent upon visual proof for credibility. Today, the art of persuasive public speaking is known for its visual presentation through appearance. Aspects such as voice, body language, and physicality contribute to the outward appearance that all speeches posses. Therefore, the speaker’s capability to effectively persuade an audience lies in the ability to establish a strong and credible ethos. Research was conducted through numerous public speaking books, personal interviews with leading speakers, and a public speaking forum to prove appearance’s dominating role in persuasive public speeches. I have competed for five years in the National Forensic League high school public speaking organization. Throughout my experiences, I have had the opportunity to write and perform numerous orations, as well as travel to compete nationally. Speaking in front of people is my talent; it’s my passion. I’ve learned that when aiming to persuade, the influence of your audience lies in the presentation of the speaker. Everything from dress selection, to the octave level of voice, to the way a person uses their hands, all contribute to the fluidity of a speaker’s competency. This essay is a reflection of my experience for successful public speaking. I INTRODUCTION TO ETHOS Public speaking has persuaded people since the early centuries. Persuasive public speaking has evolved into an art, and what sets speakers apart in their ability to persuade is not always the fluidity of their ideas, but rather the manner in which they present themselves. If appearance entails “an outward aspect,” and appearance holds as the first feature an audience notices in a presentation, then much more than content is taken into consideration (American Heritage College Dictionary, 1997). Therefore, the speaker must be aware of appearance when aiming to deliver a persuasive speech. Such outward aspects as voice, body posture and physical stature, whether viewed consciously or not, determine the degree of trust and ability to relate to a speaker aiming to persuade. These elements of appearance are what audiences rely upon to instigate first impressions. It is proposed that first impressions of people are made within thirty seconds of meeting, or seeing, or hearing someone. Appearance contains such a strong visual and emotional impact that when judging persuasive content against appearance, it is virtually impossible to take solely content into consideration. The ancient Greeks looked at three components of persuasive speaking: ethos; the credibility of the speaker, pathos, the effectiveness of playing off the emotions of the argument; and logos, the logic of the argument. Author Mortimer Adler elaborates on Greek philosopher Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos in his book How to Speak, How to Listen. Ethos, the first and most crucial support for judging appearance over content, must portray an attractive, interesting, and trustworthy character in order for any persuasion to be taken into consideration by an audience (Adler 29). While pathos and logos serve to establish the soundness of the argument, without the initial ethos element of persuasive speaking, an audience cannot be effectively persuaded. “Ethos should always come first; [make] yourself personally attractive to your listeners. Only after they are persuaded to trust you, can they be persuaded by what you have to say about anything else” (Adler 33). Only when a positive ethos shows through can the other Pathos (emotion) and Logos (reason) be fulfilled. The speaker must establish credibility and gain the trust of his audience in order for the content to be contemplated. In today’s society, ethos plays a much greater role because we are a much more visual society. The United States Presidential debate of the 1960 election demonstrates precisely how appearance dominates an audience’s mind. It was the first debate generated through television and radio. Many people who viewed the debate from the new technology of television thought that Kennedy won, but those who heard the debate over a radio insisted that Nixon had emerged as the clear winner. According to The American Museum of the Moving Image website, “Kennedy appeared tanned, confident and vigorous [over the television]. Nixon was wearing no makeup and a light-colored suit that blended into the background, [he] looked exhausted and pale and sweated profusely.” Those people who only heard the debate were able to judge solely on the content of the speakers’ words. But the visual image displayed to about 75 million people during one debate played such a large persuasive influential role that it caused the majority to vote for President Kennedy. Appearances can be deceiving, or in this case, revealing. Communication theorists Spitzburg and Cupach describe the relationship between appearance and persuasion: “Communication competence does not reside solely in the nature or behavior of the speaker, but rather in the judgment of the effectiveness of the speaker made by the audience.” The orator possesses the ability to make a positive, influential first impression through appearance; however, regardless of the orator’s efforts the judgment ultimately lies in the perceptions of the audience. Therefore, it is crucial for the speaker to create and maintain a positive, attractive ethos. One method for developing a strong ethos with the audience that Mortimer Adler suggests is beginning the speech with a story. This “initial step in the process of persuasion” allows insight into the speaker’s life (33). Adler gives three classifications of personal antidotes: making the audience laugh, astonishing the audience, and evoking emotion apathy from the audience. One competitive speech national champion oratoration written by Jared Weiss aimed to aspire people to focus more on the positive things in life. The opening of his speech included a self-made rap song written with aspirations of one day becoming famous. Another competitive speech national champion oratory delivered by Josh Gad, focused on overcoming the medium of human expectations. He opened his speech with the story of an amazing escape by a young girl from a Nazi concentration camp. That young girl was his grandmother. When a speaker offers insight into his own life, the audience can identify with the speaker’s human qualities. These qualities increase their level of trust. If an audience trusts the speaker, they are more inclined to accept the message being delivered, and are more easily persuaded.
|
