The implementation of an idea requires the incorporation of three main components of persuasion, namely, logos, ethos, and pathos. Joshua Bell, a great violinist, learned the hard way why a large audience attended his concert in a theater one evening and then ignored him while playing at the subway station three days later. The TED video by Conor Neill explains the Bell experience from the perspective of Aristotle, who wrote on means of persuasion. The discussion of the concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos is interesting because it offers a deeper understanding of why Bell underwent the aforementioned experience.
First, it is important for an idea to make sense in the minds of the audience. Aristotle referred to this phenomenon as logos. The speaker must forget their perspective and instead ensure that they focus on associating their message with the experiences of the audience (Neill). The idea of playing in the subway made sense to both Bell and the people. However, the lack of pathos and ethos ensured that few people developed an interest in the music that Bell was playing. It is important to have an idea. However, its implementation fails if the concepts of ethos and pathos are not incorporated into the process.
Second, the speaker must have a good reputation; they should be known for something that the audience considers important. Moreover, they must be credible, trustworthy, and authoritative (Neill). This phenomenon is referred to as ethos. These concepts are expressed in the speaker’s confidence and professionalism. People at the subway ignored Bell because they did not associate the place with the type of talent they would find at a concert hall (Neill). A hall is a representation of trust and professionalism and, therefore, a place where people would expect to find great art. In this case, the ethos was missing because the subway did not confer trust to Bell for the audience to be receptive.
Third, it is important for a speaker to establish an emotional connection with the audience in order to be persuasive. This is referred to as pathos. The speaker should ensure that they create the appropriate environment for their message in order to enhance the audience’s receptiveness (Neill). Pathos was missing in the subway because of the lack of an environment necessary for the creation of an emotional connection with an audience. An emotional connection between Bell and the people was missing.
Works Cited
Neill, Connor. “What Aristotle and Joshua Bell can Teach Us about Persuasion”.TEDEd, Web.