Who am I?
A speaker's understanding of how to use speech must start in their understanding of themselves. Speaker's use of Ethos, or their character, to make themselves credible to their audience, is at the core of persuasive speech. Ethos is constructed with various parts, but derived from the audience's ability to answer the question, "Is this person someone I can trust?" The speaker can accomplish this task in many different ways, however this must be accomplished first, if the speaker will hope to persuade the audience.
Character is built in a number of ways. One can be the "story" of the speaker. Every person has a life story. Individuals will vary in experiences and origin, but everyone has an individual story made up of one's origin, prior to birth, and including the beginning of their life. A person might tell of his or her life from birth to the time of the speech, and one's goals and outlook of their future. No one part of one's ethos is less shaping than the next, however the audience may choose to concentrate on one part as particularly important for their judgment of the speaker's character. Speakers can choose to concentrate on one aspect of their character with which they think the audience will connect. A person's origin is something they have had no say in creating. From one's race, gender, national origin, to ones social status, each was bestowed on the individual without their choice. In the past, this area of one's character was most telling of ones ethos. People felt that if they could grasp their origin, that many stereotypes would hold true of the speaker that they did not know. They felt that they could define the speaker by this criteria and that each person that shared these characteristics must be the same, or at the least similar. Through a measurement of one's ethos, one can form a positive or negative impact on the speaker. The speaker might choose to accentuate certain aspects of this, and hide others to appeal to their audience. This is a skill and choice that a speaker must make.
One's life experiences from birth to the present are shaped by the speaker's life decisions. Each person follows a life path and makes decisions in their life that affect that path. These decisions formulate the person that we are, and the character we have. Though one cannot go back in time to change those decisions, to make a better character for themselves, one can recognize that their past actions and inaction do shape how others will see them. This part of ones ethos, in most contexts, weighs the most on how an audience will judge one's character. Today most recognize that one's origin was not chosen and must be weighed less then one's life decisions. These life choices not only give the audience a better understanding of ones character, but also a view of what character one will be in the future. An example of this can be seen in President Bill Clinton and various pro athletes. Their ethos is questioned by what they have done during their lives, but many people still admire them for character in their professions, or how they make mistakes like we all do.
A person's ethos is not only one's origin and how that molds one's character, but also who one hopes to become. Many persuasive speeches ask the audience to trust in the speaker, who will take on a certain responsibility for the future. This takes not only their origin and life character, but also who the speaker sees himself becoming, and conveying that to the audience. One does not trust with personal responsibilities one who does not inspire to respect that trust and have that on their mind when completing the task promised to do. The speaker might use examples or promises to build their future character with their audience. The audience will decide if they believe the speaker to be truthful in attempting to fulfill those promises, but also if they have the ability to be able to make good on them.
The strategy of understanding ethos can be used in analyzing President Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. At that time, State Senator Obama was running for United States Senate in Illinois. He was hardly known in Illinois let alone the entire United States. John Kerry, the Democratic Party's nominee for president asked Barack Obama to speak to the Democratic Party during the convention. It was unheard of that a person with so little seniority within the party would have such a prime speaking position. This would be his introduction to the Party and the country. He would have to establish himself as a character that his audience could trust; not only for Obama's own sake, but for the sake of the message he was carrying. This message was many different things; it was to introduce John Kerry and his support of his candidacy, but also the message of himself, as a member of the future of the Democratic Party. Obama would have to convince his audience of his character, his ethos, before his audience would hear any of these messages.
Obama would start his speech with an introduction of who he was, his origin. "Let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant. But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place." Obama starts out his speech stating his history, setting his origin. Then he states how his story is an unlikely one. This statement allows the audience to see Obama not as someone entitled, but one that has defied the odds. Right away, this made him seem of the common man, one striving for the American Dream. He even refers to his story as one of America, referring to one that most Americans relate, which was met with applause. Obama goes on to inform the audience of his immigrant roots, his working class grand parents, their participation in World War Two, and the struggles that they faced in their lives. This technique would strike a cord with his audience, them seeing him as one of them, sharing their story, to be worthy of their trust. Establishing this common link with his audience would allow him to transition to his message, and persuade them to support it.
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