CH 1: Speaker I Admire

1. Think of a speaker you admire. Does his or her power to persuade come from ethos, pathos, or logos? Think about your own ability to persuade others. What personal qualities do you have that make you persuasive? Does Aristotle’s classification scheme work for them, or do they fit into another category?

There are many well spoken women I admire from the past to the present that helped shape our world to what it is today. For example, there have been many great “first ladies” of the US who have gone above and upon their role as women to make a change in the world we live into today. To choose one speaker I admire would be a women who was a first lady in 1974 who spoke on what she believed and the values and morals her and her family lived by. Betty Ford was filled with self-confidence, which allowed her to speak so well towards both men and women of all walks of life. She also would sometimes try to use humor to relate to individuals or gain their attention. Once she had their attention she would discuses her views on issues, such as controversial topics and Equal Rights Amendment she believe in. She did all this while raising a family, fighting breast cancer, speaking openly on topics she believed in and supporting her husband as the president of the United States.

I believe what made Betty Ford such an outstanding speaker was her ability to use ethos, pathos, and logos not just focusing on one of the power of persuasion, Aristotle points out. She had amazing presences in front of groups, used of emotions to gain true understanding of the importance of the topic and the choice of words she would carefully use to gain support towards issues to change the future.

I believe it took a great woman, such as Betty Ford to make such an impact on our world through the messages she spoke of in both the public and private life.
When I speak in front of a large or small group I try to make sure that I gain attention at the beginning with important facts or with personal examples to help others relate. I am not an emotion individual, so pathos is something I would love to work on to become a better speaker. However, for now I rely on my ability to gain attention from the crowd and my choice of words or example I use during my speech to get the message out clearly to the listener.

Have a Great Day!!!

Blondie