3) Pathos or “Emotion”
According to Aristotle, persuasion cannot occur in the absence of emotion. People are moved to action by how a speaker makes them feel. Aristotle believed the best way to transfer emotion from one person to another is through the rhetorical device of storytelling. More than 2,000 years later, neuroscientists have found his thesis accurate. Studies have found that narratives trigger a rush of neurochemicals in the brain, notably oxytocin, the “moral molecule” that connects people on a deeper, emotional level.
In my analysis of 500 of the most popular TED Talks of all time, I found that stories made up 65% of the average speaker’s talk, wheres 25% went to logos, and 10% went to ethos. In other words, the winning formula for a popular TED talk is to wrap the big idea in a story.
What kind of story? TED curator, Chris Anderson, explains, “The stories that can generate the best connection are stories about you personally or about people close to you. Tales of failure, awkwardness, misfortune, danger or disaster, told authentically, hastens deep engagement.” The most personal content is the most relatable.
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