When picking a public speaker that admire I went with Dr. Oz and the reason for this is because he has great persuasion over his audience. I believe that tho he speaks through logos, his logic, I mainly see him as speaking and captivating his audience through pathos, his ability to capture peoples emotions. Of course as being a doctor Dr. Oz needs to speak with logic and reason, I mean he is talking about peoples health, diet, mind and so on but he uses his ability to get people emotionally involved in his topics to get them to believe in what he is saying and that they need to do as he says. From my own personal insight on this, my brother works at a natural foods store and if Dr. Oz talks about a product that people need to use or that is great for your health, well that same day his store out of the product and they cant keep it on the shelve for the next few weeks. To me that is power of persuasion. I believe that because he uses logos and pathos in his talking to the audience, he is able to get them to believe in what he talks about and makes them take an interest. Of course he does throw in his own personal character, ethos, but I don't personally believe that's what captivates his audience, but that's my own opinion.
As for me, I speak from the heart and I think that's my great ability to win people over. I use pathos when I speak whether it is with my passion for what I am talking about, own personal beliefs or experiences or just knowing that people want to see that emotion you have to make them really feel as though you care. Of course I use logos as well because at the same time I want to know what it is I am trying to persuade people to do and make them see valid points. At the same time I can adjust to my situation and surroundings. Just because I normally speak from the heart, I can also use my personal character to show people I am trust worthy as well as being able to use my logic to back me up. It does depend on the situation I am in but all in all I do lean more towards pathos. I do believe that Aristotle's classification Scheme works but not everyone fits into just one category. I believe that speakers can tap into the multiple categories at any given time and to fit any situation.
I also really like, and get a lot of information about my health from Dr. Oz. I agree with you that his strongest mode of persuasion is pathos, followed by logos. Especially when he did the episode revealing his bout with the beginning stages of colon cancer. I was extremely touched by his emotion, as he pled to the audience and TV viewers about the importance of screening for colon cancer. I believe he saved many lives from that one episode. I think it is key that he frequently has a panel of experts to support the information that he presents on his show. I admit that I’m one of those people that end up at stores, like Sunrise Natural Foods, buying products that Dr. Oz recommends.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really seen Dr. Oz but I have heard a lot of people talk about him, so he must be a pretty engaging speaker. It sounds like from what you are saying he actually does have ethos going for him, because he is a doctor and therefore has built credibility as an authority on the subject of health. That is important when endorsing products, much more effective than having a celebrity advertise a product, because he is actually selling a product directly related to his specialty. I think credibility (ethos) is actually one of the most important aspects of selling, which is probably why a lot of times commercials will have a doctor (or at least someone dressed as one) recommending a product.
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