Summary

Using the 4 components of:- Pathos, Logos, Ethos and finally Kairos you shall create one persuasive argument

Body

Yeah I know this isn't exactly "sexual strategy" but nonetheless no other autistic sperg subreddit will be interested in this. These principles can be used in business and in social situations in certain cases.

In these scenarios I am a producer of wine. And trying to persuade a grape farmer/salesman (fool) to sell me his grapes for cheaper. The fool's business is currently not doing great.

Pathos

What is it? Pathos is the appeal to emotions. It is when we stir up the AUDIENCE'S emotions. When we play to them, it neatly links to Law#32 of the 48 laws of power

Law#32 Play to people's fantasies

"The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes from disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses. "

By appealing to one's emotions/fantasies we can create a powerful argument. For example if there is a failing business and we convince them to sell their product to me for a cheaper price, and in return I'll give them more customers. I will appeal to their fantasy of their business becoming great again, I present myself as the saviour. Also neatly ties into the concept of when asking for favours appeal to the other party's interests rather than their mercy. Anyways that is pathos. Appeal to emotion.

Lifetopic you sperg, how is that an appeal to emotion?

Certain emotions like pride are very hard to control. Ambition is a powerful one too. In this example I appeal to both ambition and pride.

Logos

What is it? Logos is the appeal to logic. Realistically when making a persuasive argument you can't make some retarded points which make no sense. People aren't that stupid, even the common man can sense a trick from a logical view a mile away. At most we can try to use logical fallacies to trick the person, but be warned it may not always work. In my opinion logos is the hardest one to appeal to, especially if you are doing it purely for your self interest. There are a whole list of logical fallacies, I won't be going into them.

Example of Logos

Lifetopic:- Well sell me your grapes for £2 a kilogram rather than the rate of £3.

Fool:- Why? I'll be making less profit?!

Lifetopic:- You won't be though? Consider this logically. Selling me grapes for cheaper allows me to sell my product for cheaper too. Allowing more customers to buy my product, increasing the demand and hence allowing me to buy more grapes off you again. It's a positive feedback loop

Fool:- Surely if you buy more grapes, that'll only compensate for the cheaper price for grapes? I've not gained any profit

Lifetopic:- Don't be a fool. Do you want your business to fail or not? Allowing more people to buy my wine, will just widen my customer base -> thus widening yours. The already regular customers will be buying more wine, and now the new customers will be buying wine too. Hence you'll be making more profit. This is a good step for both of us.

Fool:- Ok, I see the benefit.

Note In this example there would be much better ways to manipulate this situation. Such as limiting the options of the fool. By suggesting lower prices as the days go on. Example on week 1 I offer him £2.50 a kg. He refuses, week 2 I offer £2.40, week 3 £2.30. Etc. Assuming the fool needs me more than I need him.

Ethos

What is it? It's the appeal to character. No not personal character. It's using someone with a reputation/character to help prove your point based on their character. An example being when shampoo adverts use attractive women to advertise their products. It is an appeal to character. The attractive women are used in order to create the assumption that if women use that product they'll end up attractive like that.

Example of Ethos

Lifetopic:- So farmer, I have also helped others like you.

Richer fool:- Yes farmer, Lifetopic's deals are very good. He will improve your business so much more! It's true he simply needs cheaper grapes, so he can produce more of his wine to sell to his customers

Fool:- Well the rich farmer does seem to agree. Sure!

Breakdown

Yes it is very very over-simplified. But the point is, using others and their reputations to help make your point will make you ever more appealing. Having backing from the FDA for your scientific paper will make you much more appealing than having backing from a group of anti-vaxers.

Now lets talk about anti-vaxers before we get onto Kairos

Jumping back to logos. Logic isn't actually universal to all cultures and societies. In fact what may appeal logical to us is in fact not logical to others. Such as vaccines and how they work. Explaining vaccines and using evidence from the FDA to persuade a bunch of anti-vaxers would be a fruitless excericse. They wouldn't see/believe the logic as they don't trust the FDA to begin with. None of what we say would make sense to them.

Therefore when appealing to logos you must be aware of your audience. The same really applies to pathos and ethos too.

Kairos

What is it? Kairos is the perfect moment. When you get the timing correct. Kairos is arguably the most important aspect. Kairos guides all 3 of the other aspects. Without kairos your argument will crumble.

Example of kairos

Well our scenario is the fool's business is not doing well. Therefore it would be best to present to him the argument of why selling his grapes for cheap to me would be an excellent business move. If I was to appeal to the fool when his business was doing great, there'd be less of a chance of me getting a good deal. I'd have needed the fool more than he needed me.

Take-aways

1. Ethos, pathos and logos are used to make effective arguments. The best arguments combine all 3. You need to be specific to your audience.

2. Kairos is needed. Without the perfect timing, you'll fail.