How to Persuade: Credibility

Credibility is the character or the perception of authority, credibility or experience of the speaker. It is called Ethos by the ancient Greeks.

Examples of Credibility from famous speeches:

"I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. "

Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005

"Here's an important difference and distinction between the objective medical fact of my being an amputee and the subjective societal opinion of whether or not I'm disabled. And, truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I've had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions."

Aimee Mullins, TEDMED 2009

In these speeches, we garner a sense that the speakers have the experience that gives them the weight to speak as figures of authority. The audience does not doubt the veractiy of their claims, and accepts these claims, mostly, at face value.

Jobs uses the phrase "awful tasting medicine" to invoke the idea that he's been through something potent, and that it has given him great experience (in living a good life). He's saying, "Look at how my life went, and it still turned out well because I pursued what I loved." He offers the moral authority to give the audience direction in their lives. And that these comments are coming from a man whose background is well known further cements his call to action.

Mullins offers an even more concrete from of Credibility; as an amputee she has had experiences that few of us could rightly imagine. As she tells her story, re-defining the notion of "disabled," she is able to offer more gravitas and weight. No audience would take seriously a man with all of his limbs giving he same speech (and likely, this hypothetical speaker wouldn't be able to take himself seriously).

It is in delivering a speech with Credibility that the speaker reassures the audience that the message being delivered is backed by experience, the that person on stage has some education that proves their statements can be taken as truth. And to be clear, the mode of Credibility does not necessarily have to be delivered from a personal perspective. Quoting someone well known and respected can also offer up a indirect form of Credibility. Same with citing a scientific paper or referring to the ideals of a well know and accepted authority on the topic. In either case, directly or indirectly, Credibility relies on the orator presenting his or her speech with genuine authenticity and the best intentions.