The Satish Kakri Consultants Blog Site

We all know that storytelling has assumed a great importance today. I have use the word storytelling deliberately so that you may disagree with me at this stage. But if I say, presentations in the commercial world today has become necessary, you will surely agree with me. Because, that exactly is the reason why you are here. These presentations are nothing but persuasive speeches which can be effective only if it is told in an interesting fashion; only if its treated as storytelling. The facts alone do not interest any audience. Facts clothed in interesting stories do. About 2500 years ago, Aristotle, the Greek philosopher wrote a book about persuasion. It is called The Rhetoric. The Rhetoric is still a classic par excellence on the art of persuasion, on the art of Public Speaking. Among other things, it talks about three important factors of an interesting speech. These are: Pathos, Ethos and Logos. Before I talk about these factors and explain them, let me also emphasiz...

Yesterday I talked about ‘Ethos’ i.e. your credentials. Today, I’ll explain ‘Pathos’ & ‘Logos’. ‘Pathos’ represents the needs or the expectations of your audience. What does your audience need from you? If your communications satisfies this need, you are a good communicator/speaker. You must know the audience profile in order to establish their requirements. Age group, Gender, qualification, profession, general likes and dislikes. These all comprise the profile. Having understood the audience, it is easy to frame a suitable talk. When you are communicating to an individual, you have to put yourself in his/her shoes in order to define the needs. Lastly, it is ‘logos’. ‘Logos’ refers to your ability to be convincing. Your ability to influence people. You can do this with the following in mind. You must choose your words with discretion. Use simple language. Modulate your speech to hold attention of listener/listeners. Speak to express and not impress. ...

Three simple but rather uncommon words. Three great words not only for the public speakers but for everyone, according to me. Today, I’ll talk about ‘Ethos’ What is Ethos? It reflects your credentials. I explain to my students like this. “Imagine that you are appointed Ambassador of your country to another state. The first job that you have to do is to present your authorization documents to the head of the state in which you are appointed Ambassador. Likewise, a speaker must present his/her credentials to the audience. The audience must know that you are the right person to speak on the subject. That you not only have the required qualification and knowledge to speak on the subject but also desire and enthusiasm to benefit the audience. This is about public speaking. But everyone is not a public speakers, you might argue. Just to explain further, I’ll ask you a question. Suppose, you have to make an important phone call. Is it not necessary for the person to know th...