How Persuasion can be Powerful

In chapter two of “Envision” I was able to learn interesting facts about strategies of persuasion. There is that one question that I ask myself when I buy an item. What convinced me to buy that product? This can range from a new cell phone, sports drink, or the college I decided to attend. There are numerous different reasons why people choose to buy something. The question is did that person truly need that item or did persuasion cause them to buy the product? There are countless different strategies when it comes to persuasion. Some companies may use powerful words, while others may use only imagines. The strategies are equally effective in both visual and written text. Words can be powerful when it’s short and to the point. Two or three words can have a positive impact. An example is President Obamas campaign slogan was “change”. That simple word went a long way during his campaign. The other strategy is using imagines to show your product. An example is a hair product. A company may show a picture of someone before they use the product, then an after shot. The point is to show how the product can improve your hair and make you look different.

There are three rhetorical appeals, which are logos, pathos, and ethos. As a writer you use logos when you construct an essay around facts and reason. When someone uses logos they favor the use of logic. Pathos is appeals to emotion. Pathos is defined as “suffering” or “feeling”. The goal is to put the audience in a particular mood or frame of mind. Ethos is appeals to character and authority. Ethos works as a rhetorical strategy by establishing the goodwill or credibility of the writer or speaker. Most of us use this everyday as a writer, you construct an argument in which your power to persuade depends on credibility. Depending on your strategies used to persuade an audience will determine how successful you will be.