Done With Ethos, Now Pathos

                After having thoroughly described how to manipulate ethos and the marvelous effects this can have on the audience, it is crucial to remember that pathos is another very important mode of rhetoric that complements ethos in an argument. Arguing is not only about establishing a clear character and using logic to persuade the audience. Sometimes this is not enough. The effective appeal to the emotions and feelings of the audience creates a strong connection between you and them. This connection will allow you to dominate their feelings and make them work towards what you want them to. A very efficient way to change the mood in an argument is by telling an anecdote. As Heinrichs says, “The more vivid you make the story, the more it seems like a real experience, and the more your audience will think it could happen again” (p. 81). The power of a detailed narrative is very impressive. It can manipulate the emotions of the audience almost instantly.

            It is the audience’s job to figure out the feelings being evoked and the emotions present in the argument, not yours. Therefore, you should not exaggerate the feelings you want to evoke. If you demonstrate or indirectly tell the audience which emotions you are trying to manipulate, they will acquire a preventive attitude and will let themselves be manipulated by you. On the other hand, by speaking in a simple manner and hiding your real intentions, you can trick the audience and manipulate pathos effectively. I found it very interesting to realize that stimulating anger in the audience is the best way to manipulate pathos. Heinrichs depicts that “the easiest way to manipulate anger…is to belittle that desire” (p. 86). Once you get the audience to be angry, then it is much easier for you not only to persuade them, but to make them commit to your ideas. I believed that infuriating the audience was a very bad idea, since they would not be very receptive to new ideas; however, if you use that anger correctly, the audience becomes vulnerable and will accept any way you propose to achieve your desire.