Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in my Speech

Growing up in a different part of the country, and being raised in a rural atmosphere, makes my background different than most individuals at UNC. I have a northern accent, and my body mannerisms may be different than others in the class. This makes me unique, as well as the way in which I will deliver my speech. This is true every individual in the classroom, as our personas are all different. The way in which I will interact with the audience and the context of my speech, will incorporate the three aspects of the Aristotelian method. In terms of ethos, I will have to let my tone of voice exude confidence and that I am not trying to speak over my audience. I will have to establish a common ground, by trying to establish some issues in which most of the class agrees on, in order to increase my chances of having the class believe my central idea in my speech. My personality will play a large role in how effective ethos will be portrayed in my speech. If I am able to exude confidence, and explain tax reform in comprehensible terms, then hopefully the audience will be receptive through these interactions. Moving onto pathos, which definitely relies on the interaction of the speaker, audience, and subject of the speech, I will have to capture the audience’s attention at the beginning and keep them interested in my speech through a story, and/or convincing diction. If my speech and my tone of voice come out too boring, with just statistics, and boring facts about taxes, then the emotional impact I have on my audience will be very weak. But if I can draw my audience in early, I will be able to keep their attention for my whole speech. Lastly, by choosing the most surprising and poignant facts and evidence, the logos I use in my speech will substantiate the claims that I make. By using evidence from reliable sources, my audience will be more likely to agree to my argument. If I use statistics that seem embellished, or I use overzealous diction, the way in which my persona and context interact with my audience will be ineffective. These interactions are critically important to the success of my speech. If I can establish common ground, sound convincing, relate my speech topic to everyday life, and support my claims through reliable sources, I will have a successful speech.