Your business isn't about money or products. It's about people. At its core, every business is about giving people what they need. If you have a product or service that people want or need, then you're golden, right? Well, not exactly. You also need to convince them that your offering actually meets their needs and/or solves their problem.
If the best product was all you needed, then every industry would have one company with 100% of the sales and no competitors. You need to explain why your product/service is the right answer. You have to persuade them to choose you over the competition.
Social media is the same. There's a reason we call those with large social media followings "influencers" and not sellers. It's because their main purpose is to persuade people to follow them and influence their choices.
If you want to grow your social media presence and your business, then you need to master the art of persuasion. Let's go over one of the oldest and most powerful business storytelling techniques first identified by Aristotle with examples of how to use it for your business.
What Is Aristotle's Framework for Persuasion?
Rhetoric is a work by Aristotle from the 4th century BCE on the art of persuasion. Persuasion is defined by Britannica as:
"[T]he process by which a person's attitudes or behaviour are, without duress, influenced by communications from other people."
However, Aristotle elevated this idea to part art and part science. He came up with a formula for effective persuasion that has withstood the test of time for well over 2,000 years. He made observations about communication and human behavior that have since been proven correct by various scientific fields like psychology and neurology.
Even the Harvard Business Review holds his work up as the gold standard in persuasion, saying:
"Aristotle's methods are just as powerful now because they tap into universal human nature. Great communication is about finding the right balance."
What Are Pathos, Logos, and Ethos?
Pathos, logos, and ethos are the three parts of Aristotle's persuasion framework. Let's break down each component:
Ethos: Credibility and Authority
Ethos is all about the speaker demonstrating their credibility and authority on the topic they're discussing. It's the part of the persuasion process where they build trust with their audience by demonstrating the reasons they can speak with authority on the topic.
Ethos Examples:
- A marketing consultant may discuss their relevant degrees or experience
- An entrepreneur selling a web design course can share their portfolio
- A fitness influencer can show their results and testimonials from the people their process has helped
Pathos: Emotional Connection
Pathos is the process of engaging with the audience's emotions. People are emotionally driven. Someone may know all the facts about recycling and the benefits to the environment, but when it's inconvenient to recycle, only those who also have emotional reasons to hold this value will follow through.
Pathos Examples:
- A marketer can share testimonials focused on the emotional impact of their services
- An entrepreneur may share a personal success story that inspires people to act
- A fitness influencer can discuss how being healthier helped them play with their children
Logos: Logical Argument
Logos is the part where you use reason and evidence to make a logical argument. Use facts, statistics, and proof to convince people that your product/service is valuable.
Logos Examples:
- A marketer can show increases in sales and revenue
- A web designer can show increased traffic, clicks, and conversions
- An influencer selling a course can show the financial results past customers have gotten
Practical Applications for Business, Social Media, and Personal Branding
Use Aristotle's persuasion framework to get people to take the desired action:
- Demonstrate your expertise, credibility, and/or authority to get people to trust that you know what you're talking about (Ethos)
- Use storytelling to connect with your audience emotionally and drive engagement (Pathos)
- Back up your claims with logical arguments, proven facts, and clear evidence (Logos)
As the Harvard Business Review states:
"The best communicators use ethos, pathos, and logos in harmony to build trust, spark emotion, and prove their point with logic."
Why Aristotle's Framework Still Matters for Business and Social Media in 2025
If business, social media growth, and personal branding all depend on persuasion and no one has been able to find a more effective method than Aristotle's in over 2,000 years, then mastering the implementation of this technique is the single most impactful thing you can do to achieve success.
James Engle said in his Harvard course:
"Identifying logical fallacies and crafting persuasive arguments are not just academic exercises—they're life skills."
Take the Next Step: Master Storytelling and Social Media with Our Workshop
Persuasion is a vital skill in today's business landscape. You need to be well-versed in it to achieve the success you desire. Download the Pathos, Logos, Ethos Worksheet for hands-on practice using Aristotle's framework.
If you want a more comprehensive resource, sign up for our workshop to learn persuasion techniques for professional storytelling, LinkedIn growth strategies for thought leadership, and AI workflows for effortless, persuasive content creation.
