Logos/Pathos/Ethos & TED Talks
The classic formula for an effective speech is a balance of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Logical Fallacies to AVOID
- ad hominum & name-calling
- ad populum
- appeal to closure
- appeal to heaven
- appeal to pity/emotion
- appeal to tradition
- argument from consequences
- argument from ignorance
- argument from inertia
- argument from motives
- argumentum ad Baculam
- argumentum ex Silento
- bandwagon
- Begging claim/complex question
- big lie technique
- blind loyalty/team player
- blood is thicker than water
- bribery
- circular argument
- diminished responsibility
- either/or
- “e” for effort/noble effort
- equivocation
- essentializing
- excluded middle
- false analogy
- finish the job
- genetic fallacy
- guilt by association
- half truth
- heroes all & soldiers’ honor
- Just in case
- lying with statistics
- MYOB
- no discussion/no negotiation
- overgeneralization/hasty generalization
- paralysis of analysis/procrastination
- political correctness
- pout & taboo
- post hoc & non-sequitur
- red herring
- reductionism
- scare tactic
- sending the wrong message
- shifting the burden of proof
- slippery slope
- snow job
- straw man
- testimonial
- there’re not like us
- There is No Alternative (TINA)
- transfer
- two wrongs don’t make a right
- we have to do something
- where there’s smoke, there’s fire
revised 18 January 2017
Logos/Pathos/Ethos & TED Talks
Henry V’s Saint Crispin’s Day Speech (William Shakespeare)
- pro =
- con =
Martin Luther King Jr’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” 3 April 1968.
- pro =
- con =
revised3 January 2018
Logos/Pathos/Ethos & TED Talks
According to Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds by Carmine Gallo, TED Talks combine being emotional, novel, and memorable. Combine these three ingredients with your previous knowledge of TED Talks, how does this mesh with the classic formula?
ethos =
logos =
pathos =
No one giving a TED Talk “winged it.” You cannot give a polished performance without practice.
Part I Emotional
- Unleash the master within – passion is persuasive. Choose a topic you know about (ethos) and can be passionate about (pathos). Is there situational humor in this topic?
- Jill Bolte Taylor “My Stroke of Insight”
- Master the art of storytelling –rhetoric. Quickly introduce the topic, use rhetorical (poetic) devices, arrange your argument, refuse/discredit opposition (logos), have an emphatic/enthusiastic conclusion. Don’t forget the situational humor.
- Bryan Stevenson’s “We Need to Talk About an Injustice”
- Have a conversation – look and act calm and confident. Talk like a leader: keep your vocal tone conversational, intimate, and/or energetic; vary your amplification rate, volume, pitch/inflection, pause for effect, punch certain words. Practice eliminating dysfluencies (like, um, ok). Walk like a leader too: keep an air of confidence, manage your facial expressions and gestures (keep hand gestures above the waist and use hand gestures at key moments).
- Amanda Palmer “The Art of Asking” and her advice “Fake it ‘til you make it.”
Part II Novel
- Teach me something new – include an unexpected or unusual factoid to give the audience a new insight.
- Susan Cain “The Power of Introverts”
- Deliver jaw-dropping moments–plan a shock or surprise tied to your topic.
- Bill Gates “Mosquitos, Malaria, and Education”
- Lighten up – brains love humor. Smiling is great, laughing out loud is not the only sign of humor. Remember how powerful situational humor is contrasted with a joke.
- Sir Ken Robinson “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”
Part III Memorable
- Stick to the 18-minute rule – Goldie Locks.
- Nancy Duarte’s “The Secret Structure of Great Talks”
- Paint a mental picture – cliché but true: a picture is worth… Create a multisensory experience.
- David Christian’s “The History of our World in 18 Minutes”
- Stay in your lane – be authentically you, be vulnerable, phoniness is nauseating.
Getting your point across
- RobbWiller “How to Have Better Political Conversations”
Planning your TED Talk
- Come up with your topic, an idea worth sharing, a subject you care about
- Think about what you actually want to say, how you will fill the time
- Plan a balance of ethos, pathos, and logos (in a graphic organizer)
- Do research now if statistics or expert quotes are needed.
- Cite the reliable, scholarly source of your research within your speech.
- Start to draft
- Your draft will evolve, you will rehearse and improve the speech, and you will eventually reduce the written version of your speech to notecards.
- Peer edit your written work – refer to the rubric and make suggestions based on that
- Revise
- Rehearse out loud – many times, in person with partners, in the mirror, on video, with family. This speech will become very conversational, comfortable, and second nature.
- Refer to the rubric and imagine how your efforts will be scored by peers. Make needed improvements.
- Email your PPT, Google Slides, Prezi, etc. == Perform during the final block
- January 22, 23, and 26, 2018 (randomly selected presenters)
- You have the rubric, and you will be scoring (1/4 of) other speakers.
revised3 January 2018