Umm.. Ethos?

Fifty-two.  That's the number I reached until I lost track of the endless stream of "ums" flowing from my professor's mouth.  Psychology is a rather interesting subject, but when a professor chops it up with "ums," well it makes it much less appealing.


I have great respect for the credibility of a professor.  But that credible respect is only kept if the professor comes across as intelligent.  Sure, they're well educated and maybe they're an expert of their profession, but it makes them sound unsure of their own credibility when they soil a lecture with the "word" um.  It is important to convey your intelligence through appearance, but also through your word choices.

Once I dig myself out of the pile of "ums" my professor has thrown at me, I see that she knows a lot about her profession.  Therefore, I do believe she is credible and a good professor. If she could just find a way to avoid that horrible sentence-chopping word, then her class would be much more pleasant and I would gain more from her lectures.  Sadly, however, I've found myself losing the purpose of the lecture and focusing my attention on my professor's poor public speaking skills.

A good orator should execute pathos, ethos, and logos through their speeches.  However, without reaching a credible relationship with the audience, they'll be too far out of you're reach to even come close to achieving pathos and logos.  Trying to instill ethos into a speech doesn't have to be challenging.  Using commendable vocabulary, speaking clearly, and researching the topic can achieve ethos.  And of course, having a degree or some background in whatever your talking about helps too.


Commercials often misuse ethos.  Here is a great example.

Having a background of Ashton Kutcher's films, one may understand he might not be found diving around a fashion show just to get a picture of a woman's shoes.  However, he may attract viewers who are fans of his acting.  But Nikon should keep their audience in mind.  Are they looking for a bunch of teenage girls obsessed with Ashton to buy their product?  I don't believe so.  I would think that someone looking to buy an expensive camera would be more curious about the actor's picture-taking skills than his looks.  I presume that type of audience would be more engaged in a commercial that actually focuses (no pun intended) on the camera itself.  Or perhaps a well-known photographer who can vouch for the product would also be more appealing to the geared audience.  Misuse of ethos can result in a poor connection with an audience.  And without connecting with the audience you might not have great success in what you are attempting to achieve.


Last year, I was preparing to make a speech for one of my classes.  As I became more nervous my friend cheered me up with this clip.

My first piece of advice: Don't do what this guy did!  Watching a silly clip like this made me more relaxed.  Public speaking doesn't have to be as scary as everyone makes it.  Take control of ethos, pathos, and logos and you'll be surprised at the connection you'll make with your audience.