Definition

Ethos is the style of argument that focuses on the credibility, authority, and ethical of the writer. It is also used to demonstrate trustworthy to gain the trust of the audience.

Significance

It is important to understand ethos because it is a crucial part of persuasive writing and speech. I believe that having a speaker/writer who has good moral characteristics and a high level of credibility could easily persuade the audience to trust what they say. In addition, learning ethos helps people improve their communication skills, enhance ethical communication, and contributes to one’s academic and professional success. Ethos can be applied to our real lives, such as when we participate in a job interview, having a strong ethos would make the individual become more outstanding among others. Additionally, ethos helps to form effective leadership. When a leader establishes more credibility, they can gain the loyalty of their people. Overall, understanding the uses of ethos would help people to develop themselves to the fullest.

Examples

Example 1:

A toothpaste company has a dentist explain the ingredients of the product in the advertisement to make people trust and buy their products.

Example 2:

A cosmetic company uses the image of a celebrity using their products to persuade audience to buy their products.

Example 3

“Over the past twenty-five years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children, and families. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my own country and around the world.”

“. . . I have met mothers in Indonesia. I have met working parents in Denmark. I have met women in South Africa.”

—Clinton at the fourth World Conference of the United Nations

This is an example of ethos because she uses her personal experiences such as traveling to different areas of the world to learn about the women and the challenges that they have to deal with, which makes herself become more credible because she mentions the locations that she traveled and met the women there.