When discussing high quality communication, and nurturing communication skills, Aristotle referred to 3 dynamics that we can all consider still today. Three dynamics for us to continue to grow in, work on, and develop if we are to meet our potential as excellent communicators.

The 3 concepts he raises for us to consider is ‘Pathos’, ‘Logos’, and ‘Ethos’. We need all 3 in order to become great communicators. I’ll take this blog to introduce these concepts, and then further blog posts to delve deeper into each of the 3 ideas.

Pathos – or, in today’s language, we’d say ‘passion’. Without passion, our message is dull, disconnected from our audience, carries no ‘heart’, and most would find boring. Without passion we fail to connect ourselves to the message we are sharing, and therefore others will struggle to connect to it also. Passion is not something that is entirely, and solely innate. We can nurture passion. We can develop and deepen our passion for the subject/theme/topic that we are communicating about. It is down to us to express our passion (which doesn’t necessarily mean we should be loud, ‘shouty’ and speak like an over-sugared-up child). Passion expresses itself in various ways. Passion looks different to every communicator – but it is expressed. It is our job to present our passion as well as our message.

Logos – also said as ‘knowledge’ or ‘skill’. This concept is all about our actual knowledge of the subject matter we are sharing. How much do you actually know about your topic of discussion? It is our responsibility to be continuing to grow in our subject knowledge and skill in whatever we want to be communicating, teaching, leading or pitching. Similarly, ‘logos’ is also about our knowledge and skill as communicators. Are you learning the tools, lessons and developing your ability as a communicator? Are you taking time to hone your communicative talent? How are you better at your communication this time since the last time you communicated?

Ethos – or ‘credibility’ as we tend to define it in this instance. By credibility we are not speaking about how trendy or relevant you may be, we are speaking about how respected and embraced by the person/people you are communicating to. The greater depths of credibility you have with your listener(s), the more likely your message will be well received. Whether this is a group you know well and communicate to daily or weekly, or whether you have never met them before and have 5 minutes to pitch an idea to – building credibility is essential, and is possible. This is about sharing yourself with the audience, not just the words of your message. Bridging a gap between yourself and your recipients can be done through your words, demeanour and character, so that respect is earned – and therefore the likelihood of your message falling on open and available ears increases.

I tend to think of these 3 concepts like a Venn diagram, all 3 are important, and with just one or two of these concepts you will always be lacking something as a communicator. I’ll take another post to share about what it looks like to nurture each of these concepts another time. But by nurturing ethos, logos and pathos, developing each of them as you can, you’ll find yourself having greater impact as a communicator than you thought possible.