Persuasive Appeal
Objective: After reviewing a handout on ethos, watching a speech from President Obama, and completing a worksheet on ethos, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of ethos and how it applies to the content and delivery of a speech.
Materials: ethos handout, ethos worksheet, DVD or VHS recording of President Obama’s Address at the 2009 NAACP Convention in New York, New York (37.35 min.), DVD or VHS device, television or overhead projector screen.
Steps:
1. Give each student the ethos handout and then read it aloud to the class. Tell the students that they can keep the handout for future reference.
2. Ask the class if they have any questions over the handout.
3. Handout the ethos worksheet to each of the students, and read the worksheet instructions aloud to the class. Tell the students that they can refer to the ethos handout to help them with the worksheet and that the worksheet will be handed in for a grade.
4. Begin watching the recording of President Obama’s address at the 2009 NAACP Convention in New York, New York.
5. At the completion of the film, ask the students if they have any questions over the film or worksheet.
6. Have the students hand in their completed worksheets.
Results: Students will have a better understanding of the components of ethos and how to effectively incorporate ethos into their speeches.
Handout:
Ethos
When you give a speech, the audience makes certain judgments about you. Ethos is how your audience sees you, based upon the speech you give. Remember, this may not be how you see yourself! It is important to establish a positive ethos in a speech so your audience will think highly of you and will accept what you say.
Ethos Components
To establish positive ethos, you need to show your audience that you are:
* knowledgeable of your topic,
* intelligent with your reasoning,
* trustworthy, not dishonest or manipulative, and
* genuinely concerned with their welfare.
Having only one or a few of these characteristics is not enough. Would you be convinced by someone who sounds like an expert, but does not seem to have your welfare at heart?
Establishing ethos
*In any speech, you need to establish your ethos. It is not enough for you to think you have a good grasp of your subject, sound reasoning, and honest good intentions; your audience needs to know it, too.
*There are many ways to establish your ethos. First, explain your competence. Tell your audience how you came to know so much about the topic, so they know you are knowledgeable. In a persuasive speech, be sure to show how your argument can benefit the audience, or in an informative speech, show the audience how the topic affects them, so they can see your genuine concern with their welfare.
*It is also helpful to establish common ground with your audience. It is important to show respect for your audience’s values and experiences, and one way to do that is by identifying yourself with them. Audience members will attribute more ethos to you if they think, “that speaker is like me.”
*The speech itself should be well-researched and well-reasoned. Solid research will show your audience that you have a firm grasp of the subject matter. Sound reasoning will let them see you are intelligent. Be sure to avoid any mistakes in your grammar or pronunciation, or your audience will think less of your intelligence.
*Fluent, expressive, and enthusiastic delivery is essential to developing good ethos. Practice to prevent vocalized pauses like “um” or “er,” so you speak fluently. Speak with confidence and enthusiasm, and your audience will see that you are genuine and trustworthy.
Ethos is dynamic
*Ethos is dynamic; your audience’s opinion of your character can change in the middle of a speech.
*First impressions are important! The way you look and sound when you start your speech gives you an immediate impression that may be difficult to change. Commonalities with your audience can give you a positive or negative ethos even before you say a word.
*However, a good introduction is not enough to guarantee you positive ethos for the rest of the speech. It is important to consider your ethos throughout the speech, so they will have a lasting, positive impression when you are finished.
Information derived from: http://comm.tamu.edu/Undergraduate/outloudonline/audience/ethos.html
Name:
Date:
Instructor/Class Period:
Instructions: While watching President Obama speech, complete the following questions listed below. Each of your answers should include detailed examples.
President Obama Addresses The 2009 NAACP Convention in New York, New York.
Ethos: Perceived personal qualities of the speaker
How does President Obama use ethos in his speech to show….
1. He is knowledgeable of his topic?
2. He is intelligent with his reasoning?
3. He is not dishonest or manipulative?
4. He is concerned with his audience’s welfare? Who is his speech directed towards?
Abby Wolf
Fall 2009
Ethos
Objective: Students will be able to identify ethos in their speeches. They will also classify the instances of ethos into the categories of good sense, goodwill, or good morals.
Materials: Students will need a copy of their working speech, Notebook paper, Chalkboard/Marker board
Steps:
1. Write the words “ethics” and “ethos” on the board, lining up the letters so that it is clear that the two words are very similar.
2. Ask students for input on what “ethics” are. They may have different definitions, but should come up with something like “a moral philosophy” or “the principles that make us behave appropriately.”
3. Explain that our word “ethics” comes from the Greek word “ethos,” but that we still use the words “ethos” when talking about public speaking to mean credibility or reputation.
4. Discuss the importance of having credibility and a good reputation when speaking. How will this impact the effect of your speech? What are some ways that you can show you have credibility regarding your topic?
5. Explain that to Aristotle, having ethos in a speech meant that the speaker had to demonstrate that he or she shared characteristics with others in the community. These characteristics were the three goods: good sense, goodwill, and good morals.
6. Good sense: This is established when the person who is talking has experience and knowledge about their topic. As previously discussed, when we don’t have experience with a topic, we can add good sense to our speeches by citing examples or quotations from people who do have experience. This will also give us ethos.
7. Goodwill: This means you need to communicate a sense of caring for yourself and about the audience members. You need to think about the audiences’ needs, status, and future, and you need to choose what you say and how you say it with your audience in mind. This aspect of ethos is why audience analysis is important.
8. Good morals: Again, audience analysis is important to this aspect of ethos. You need to speak about the beliefs and values that your listeners hold, and you need to share your audiences’ visions, fears, and hopes.
9. In a nutshell, ethos involves credibility and audience analysis. It reflects what people know, what they care about, and what they use as guidelines for living.
10. Explain that credibility, or ethos is especially important in persuasive speaking. Ask the students for ideas as to why this is the case. (You are trying to change someone’s mind, so they need to know that they can trust your opinion because you have done your research, etc).
11. As a class, discuss where ethos should be included in the speech. On the board, make three columns, headed introduction, body, and conclusion. Under each heading, list reasons why ethos is important from the suggestions that the class makes. (Ethos should be introduced in the introduction, but also included in the main points and conclusion.)
12. Have the students exchange copies of their speeches with a partner. Instruct them to make a chart like the one on the board on notebook paper. Have students list the instances of ethos or credibility under the proper heading for each other’s speeches.
Homework: made of the instances of ethos in their speech into the proper category of good sense, good will, or good morals. If they do not have any ethos in their speech, they will need to meet with the teacher to discuss how they could remedy that problem.
Results: At the end of this lesson, students will understand the importance of establishing credibility in their speeches. They will be able to identify ethos in their own and others speeches and will be able to classify ethos as good sense, goodwill, or good morals. Homework: Students will be asked to classify the ethos in their speech into good sense, goodwill, or good morals. If they do not have any ethos in their speech, they will need to add some.
Elissa Martin
Summer 2007
Your Judgment
Objective: After this lesson, the students will recognize how they trust a speaker.
Materials: Pictures (Displays- pants suits [black and white], skirt suits [red and black], t-shirt& jeans, running wear, ), Example speech video
Steps:
1. The teacher teaches what Ethos is.
2. The teacher shows cloths’ displays using pictures or wearing.
3. The students speak comments of what characters they guess the speaker has if s/he is wearing a suit, a t-shirt, or a running wear.
4. After learning the cloths’ effect, the students watch videos of the successive presidents of the United States, such President Roosevelt, President Clinton, and President Bush. The students pay attention to what dialect they speak.
5. The students speak comments of what impression they got by listening to the speeches.
6. The teacher reminds the students that anytime, anywhere, people judge a person following the ethos.
Result: The students should recognize that we judge a speaker following ethos theory.
Azusa Minoda
Fall 2007