What is Pathos?

What is Pathos in public speaking? We'll look at Aristotle's concept and give practical tips on how to use this rhetorical appeal to be more persuasive and get your FREE 7 Instant Tips for Confident & Composed Public Speaking
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Pathos = Appealing to your listeners' or audience's emotion. You can do that through three main ways:
1. Telling good stories.
2. Demonstrating your point visually.
3. Using vivid language.

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[nilgoonaskari]

This video taught me the importance of considering the audience's emotions. Telling a story during a speech will give our audience the possibility to connect with the speaker, and the audience can easily relate. Thanks for this informative video!

[richarddebono]

Thank you for all these helpful videos Alex. That little dog chasing his owner put tears in my eyes 😢

[hanshermawan]

This video taught me about the importance of considering the emotions of the audience. When you think about it the more you reach out to the audience and appeal to their emotions the more engaged they will be throughout your speech. For example when you tell a story the audience is able to transport themselves and put themselves into the shoes of the characters you narrate. Another thing I learned about pathos is how you can use visual tools in order to help the audience be more engaged. This is due to the fact that the easier it is for the audience to follow along the more they'll be interested.

[mercurious]

that video of the owner abandoning the puppy is, as you say, heartbreaking...

[sweet.julisa]

I found this so helpful for my speech and you made me understand it more. I found this important to know for a speech and is how it plays a big part. Thank you for making this informative video. I will definitely keep this in mind for my next speech.

[sb_creativecorner]

Pathos...path to reach your audience!Thats what i learnt from you.Thankyou.

[CynthiaYancey-jp]

Thank you for the 3 videos. They have all helped me in my paper for school this week. You really broke down the Rhetorical triangle so that I feel confident when preparing my speech. In this video I learned that Pathos is speaking with the heart. Speaking from experience is a good example for me on how to use pathos in a speech. Thank you for the video!

[elviswong]

Alex, I have trouble in one part in public speaking. The part I'm having trouble is trying to practice a speech. How do I improve it

[themainmanzane]

This video was amazing, I really enjoyed all the information in this!

[traskelectro]

it's hard to persuade listeners and seeing this video has really good tips

[BaeWatson]

I enjoyed the video, so the least I can do is comment on the question of the day:


My most success when it comes to using pathos in a conversation has always been one that has to do with metaphor and flowery language. The first example of this that I can think of was when I was trying to tell some one I was trapped between a rock and a hard place, but instead of saying that, I said, "The claws are dug too deep into me, and if I try to escape I will tear myself apart" or something like that. Perhaps sounds a little pretentious from an out of context reading, but these things have their moments, and nuance.


Thanks for the education, man!

[sjlee]

thank you for your advice! I really appreciate it!🥰🥰🥰

[alexanderabaruski]

Great presentation, I have learned a lot from you the the class I am taking currently.

[rafagambardella]

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR MAKING AND UPLOADING YOUR VIDEOS!

[donjohnson]

"heres this video of a dog being abandoned"

me, crying: OKAY ALEX I GET IT YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT

[jlupus]

Reason is only a shield; emotion is a sword; the battle is the argument.
If you seek truth and to tell it to others, learn to use both. There are too many stupid people still Unsure of the difference between what I’d believed and what is known (facts and opinions). And if these stupid people drag you into a public debate, ruin them. Don’t let their ideas have any credit to them. If you don’t, you’ll regret it later, trust me.

[lucapouliot]

Hey Guys! I am reading an article on Hilary Clinton and it is a speech about women's rights. I am not too sure what the pathos is in this speech. If I say the women feel outraged would that be a valid answer for pathos?

[noorsalim]

Hello Dr. Lyon. Please I need the references you have depended on

[daniaaguilarsosa]

Thank you so much! Your Ethos, Pathos and Logos series is extremely helpful and I think I am going to pass my class. :)

[elviswong]

I had public speaking. I'm in 6th grade. I know Pathos makes us have emotion or using numbers.