Persuasion is a vital life skill. It is a crucial aspect of our daily lives that can influence and impact our personal and professional success. Whether you are negotiating, convincing, or discussing important topics with friends and family, persuasive communication aids in presenting your ideas and thoughts in a compelling way that fosters understanding and cooperation. This article is targeted at helping you improve persuasive communication in different settings by understanding its nuances, techniques, practical applications, and common pitfalls. 

Persuasion involves a deliberate attempt at influencing people’s ideas, intentions, beliefs, and behaviour. Persuasion is made possible through a variety of elements, such as a communicator, a critical and relevant message, a recipient, a medium or multimedia, and a contextual factor. The process of maximising and constructing your information in a way that is suitable to each of these criteria and elements makes persuasion possible.

Using Aristotelian model, the first primary model of persuasion to encourage communication effectiveness is ethos. Ethos is an ethical appeal that refers to the character, credibility, and responsibility of the sender in establishing a trustworthy and authoritative association with its audience. In maximising this model, the elements of integrity, reputation, and expertise are key components. A communicator with ethos persuasiveness is perceived as being reliable and trustworthy. An example of ethos is a doctor giving health advice; he will likely be persuasive in his communication due to his ethical responsibility and expertise. He will also be seen as reliable and knowledgeable for those reasons. Strive for integrity, a good reputation, and expertise for proper use of ethos. 

The pathos model is a persuasive communication model that involves emotional appeal. With pathos, you can appeal to your audience’s emotions by eliciting arguments, support, or feelings. There are some reliable elements that can be used to improve your pathos persuasiveness:  stories, empathy, vivid language, and emotional triggers. An example would be the use of a charity advertisement showing images of suffering animals, communities, or societies to prompt people to make donations. The use of the pathos model is also often significant in personal settings between parents, social gatherings, or even friends. Use this model of emotional appeal to evoke compassion for individuals and to create a strong connection to the message that you share. 

Beyond using ethical or emotional appeal, logos help you maintain a balance through logical appeal. Logos is the use of logic, evidence, facts, or reasoning in persuading your audience. When using logos for persuasion, focus on the use of rationality, consistency, and clarity in your argument. Some foundations and elements of logos include well-structured arguments, statistics, and facts. To effectively use logos, provide evidence that support your claim. An example of logos in persuasive communication is a scientist presenting data and research findings to support his new theory. To effectively use logos, provide evidence that supports the claims you make while persuading individuals in professional settings. 

For practical applications that could be suitable for professional and personal settings, and in helping you grasp the usage of the models, imagine you want to market or advertise a product. What persuasive model do you think would be best? Pathos will be effective in connecting with your consumers through compelling stories and evoking an influence to purchase a product. You simply must use emotional appeal to capture attention, interest, desire, and, subsequently, encouraging actions. 

If you had a communal rift or conflict within your workspace, what persuasive communication model would be suitable for resolution and negotiations? You need active listening to understand your recipient’s needs, concerns, or mistakes before finding mutually beneficial solutions. Logos is best applicable when approaching the situation with effective cooperation and inventing options for common ground. 

Lastly, what if you had to communicate your vision, purpose, or mission regarding a team? Without a doubt, you need individualised consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation to articulate a clear and appealing vision. Understanding the role of ethos in using expertise, knowledgeability, and ethical responsibilities is significant in creating an image of reliability and credibility.

A common pitfall of persuasive communication is over-reliance on a single mode of persuasion. As seen from the necessary applications, different settings and situations warrant appropriate responses. Over-reliance on ethos, pathos, or logos can weaken your persuasive effectiveness and come across as insincere, undue, and manipulative. Balance all modes of persuasion in your communication by using credible sources, connecting emotionally, and providing logical statements. 

Additionally, you want to avoid focusing on the communicator element and ignoring your audience’s needs and values. Failing to consider the values and preferences of your audience may lead to a high level of resistance or even disengagement. A message that does not resonate with your audience’s beliefs and interest is incapable of persuading them effectively. Do thorough research that aids your understanding of your audience’s demographics, values, and needs, and tailor your message to them; also, engage your audience’s perspectives and acknowledge their circumstances.

Sadly, many individuals tend to believe that persuasive communication can easily be done spontaneously. Insufficient preparations can greatly undermine your persuasive efforts and credibility. A lack of preparation can be apparent in your message clarity, response to unanticipated objections, and even a lack of confidence. Avoid rushing through a persuasive process by preparing thoroughly, anticipating arguments, and practicing deliveries. You can also organise your arguments or persuasion in a way that shows clarity, credible evidence, confidence, and relevant examples. 

*Would you like to get a group/one-on-one customised training on speaking/writing? Feel free to contact me at [email protected] for training solutions.

*Dr Oji is a Senior Lecturer of English at the Institute of Humanities, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos