1. Quintilian’s Useful Doubt Using selflessness for personal gain
Win Their Trust
Quintilian’s Useful Doubt
Using selflessness for personal gain

2. Win their trust…
“To be not as eloquent would be more eloquent.” -Christopher Martin Wieland Aristotle’s third ethos asset is disinterested goodwill. This is a combination of selflessness and likability. This speaker “feels your pain” and is free of special interest.

3. Consider this debate moment with Bill Clinton https://www. youtube
Consider this debate moment with Bill Clinton FvgbrlY Great Moments from US Presidential Debates ZDH3B_4
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4. Win their trust…
Today, many people use the words “disinterested” and “uninterested” interchangeably. What is the difference? Why is it important for ethos for a speaker to appear to be beholden to no special interests? Can you think of examples?

5. Important Term. Libertas originally meant both freedom and frankness
**Important Term** Libertas originally meant both freedom and frankness. Free people—those who weren’t beholden to a source of income— could speak freely because they were ‘disinterested’.
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6. Win their trust…
Advice from Cicero… “Seem to deal reluctantly with something you are really eager to prove.” (Act as if you felt compelled to reach your conclusion, despite your own desires. Make it sound as if you reached your conclusion after confronting overwhelming evidence.)

7. Win their trust…
The author envisions a scenario between a son and his father; the son wants to borrow his father’s car to take his girlfriend on a date. How did the young man ‘frame’ his argument to communicate disinterest and switch the focus of the debate from himself? How did the author suggest handling the “death penalty” issue? Do you think it is effective? Why or why not?

8. Win their trust…
Tip… Act as if the choice hurts you personally. The attitude of self-sacrifice helps build ethos. Remember the example of the child who hates to eat brussels sprouts… “I hate them too…but, I learned to bear it!”

9. Jimmy Carter, “Malaise Speech” https://www. youtube. com/watch
Jimmy Carter, “Malaise Speech” y7oZ58 Consider these other examples… Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover, Marie Antoinette, Hamlet
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10. Win their trust…
“Marie Antoinette didn’t actually say, “Let them eat cake”; her enemies planted the quote. But her lousy ‘ethos’ made it believable. An argument rests on what the audience believes, not on what is true.”

11. Win their trust…
Cicero said that you want your audience to be… -attentive -trusting -willing to be persuaded

12. Win their trust…
Your audience will be interested when they find you worthy of their attention. Therefore, model ‘virtue’, ‘practical wisdom’ and ‘good will’. Remember…it is important that your audience thinks you have these attributes. They must be made aware of them; for, if you have them but they are unknown…your ethos is poor!

13. Win their trust…
“Make it seem as if you have no tricks” “A speaker might choose to feign helplessness by pretending to be uncertain how to begin or proceed with his speech. This makes him appear, not so much as a skilled master of rhetoric, but as an honest man.” The Romans called this **dubitatio** (do not look tricky; seem to be in doubt about what to say)

14. Watch these videos… https://www. youtube. com/watch
Watch these videos… e13Zft9Q <It’s a Wonderful Life> YHCkoZs <Mr. Smith Goes to Washington>
Win their trust

15. Tip— If you are nervous before giving a speech…don’t try to calm your nerves. Use the butterflies in your stomach to your advantage. Start from uncertainty then gradually build force. It will seem that you are gaining confidence from the contents of your speech!
Win their trust…

16. Modern persuasion research confirms Quintilian’s theory— -a knowledgeable audience tends to sympathize with a clumsy speaker and even mentally argue his case for him. George W. Bush and his “Bushisms” r6AhJA
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17. Win their trust…
“Modern persuasion research confirms Quintilian’s dubious theory: a knowledgeable audience tends to sympathize with a clumsy speaker and even mentally argue his case for him. Dubitatio also lowers expectations and causes opponents to ‘misunderestimate’ you, as Bush puts it. Lincoln’s country-bumpkin image disguised a brilliant political analyst who could speak lucidly about the issues. His ‘ethos’ made the audience trust his sincerity while doubting his intellect—until he showed them his intellect.”

18. Win their trust…
Useful Tip— “Speaker often think that they have to grab their audience’s attention right off the bat. Not necessarily; most people start with an attention span of at least 5 minutes.” “In fact, a slow beginning can work better than an opening joke.”

19. Win their trust…
This technique can be used in one-on-one encounters to great effect. For example— Avoid direct eye contact until you are about to make your main point. Then stare intently into that person’s eyes.

20. Win their trust…
“For your own ethos to be credible, it is essential that your audience not notice your rhetoric’s inner workings.” “This does not simply mean ‘being yourself’. In fact, it may mean the exact opposite.” Remember—your ethos must be performed for the sake of your audience!

21. Discuss this scene from Julius Caesar. https://www. youtube. com/watch
Discuss this scene from Julius Caesar. PvXCbr W_o fS4hYk onMQGjo
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