Aristotle on How to Sell Anything to Anyone

Marketers know people make purchases from people they “know, like, and trust.” Almost nobody is going to take what you’re selling seriously if they don’t take YOU seriously. Hence, Ethos is establishing the credibility of the salesperson, and it’s the first move Aristotle advises one makes in the art of persuasion. The next are Pathos (appeal to emotion) and Logos (appeal to reason).

In short, persuasion, according to Aristotle, lies in 1) the character of the speaker, 2) the emotional state of the recipient, and 3) the argument itself. Masters of persuasion not only recognize, but understand how to influence, each element.

When it comes to ethos, storytelling helps. Instead of just listing credentials, share an experience that highlights relevant characteristics and personality traits. Included in that experience can be a mention of your education, but that needn’t be the only, or even primary, concern. What’s important is you make yourself 1) relatable and 2) reliable. In other words, that you establish “know-how” (practical intelligence) and good will.

Let’s think about — to use a cliched example — selling a weight loss product: Here, one can establish ethos if they have their own weight loss story that features struggles their audience can relate to, which works — or at least CAN work — to establish concern for the audience PLUS know-how from having “been there, done that.”

Entirely off the cuff:

“Dear friend,

This is a painful story for me to tell but if it helps a single person then I consider it worth it.

Growing up, my classmates routinely stole my Gameboy, forcing me to trade lunch items to get it back. Because I was overweight they said I didn’t need the extra calories that Mother packed for me — they said it would help with my ‘manboob’ problem if I didn’t eat so many mozzarella sticks. This caused me to feel useless because of how I looked and to live in constant fear of others.

However, things did eventually turn around…

In college, I majored in psychology and discovered — by pure coincidence — an important secret: Being overweight is less about what you eat and more about how you think. I didn’t have a body problem. I had a brain (thinking) problem. This discovery caused me to undergo an incredible journey, uncovering, and overcoming, the hidden motives of chronic overeaters, like myself.

What I discovered changed everything: I lost over 170lbs because of these “hidden in plain view” insights, and have successfully kept that weight off for 17 years — not, mind you, by following any strenuous diet but adopting a new mode of thinking that I call “F.L.O.A.T.” which almost immediately diffuses the temptation to overeat.

I would now like to share this method with you, free of charge.”

Notice this (admittedly crappy) copy blends ethos and pathos (emotional appeal). The story is designed to arouse emotions and make people relate to the pains explained therein. It also smuggles in credentials — the mention of majoring in psychology, and the personal success of the narrator. When copy is done well the elements of persuasion often come together seamlessly; it is not as if one must always follow strictly upon another (though sometimes that may be the case).

Pathos arouses the passions of the audience. It gets their feelings going. Marketers think about “twisting screws” of particular pain points or flouting pleasures. You see this all the time in weight loss ads: examples emphasizing how much life sucks being overweight (the fear of losing your spouse, etc.) or how much better life is with a sleek set of abs (catching eyes on the beach, etc.).

Finally, comes logos. These are the “reasons” offered to help the consumer feel the decision they are about to make — the decision they now want to make — is, in fact, rational. If we are talking weight loss perhaps some scientific studies are referenced to support the approach being sold or the testimonial of relevant experts, or whatever.

Logos — “the rationale” — should come last. People are not entirely susceptible to cold rational analysis, etc. People react more from their gut than their brain, but (importantly) they may hesitate to follow through if their brain is out of sync with their gut. Logos is there to set the alignment.

I talk more about persuasion in How to Be Better at (Almost) Everything.