What Aristotle and Joshua Bell can teach us about persuasion - Conor Neill

Summary

In 2007, renowned violinist Joshua Bell's performance in a subway went unnoticed, contrasting starkly with his sold-out concert days prior. This paradox highlights Aristotle's principles of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos. The prestigious concert hall provided ethos and pathos, enhancing the audience's receptiveness to Bell's music. In the subway, these elements were absent, demonstrating the critical role of context and emotional connection in persuasion.

Takeaways

• 🎻 Joshua Bell, a world-renowned violinist, performed to a packed audience at Boston's Symphony Hall.
• 🎟️ Tickets for his concert at Symphony Hall were highly valued, costing more than $100 each.
• 👤 Three days later, Joshua Bell played in a subway station where only a few people paused to listen.
• 😕 Joshua found it strange that people ignored him while he played in the subway.
• 💭 In the subway, Bell's expectations diminished, and he was grateful for any small acknowledgment.
• 🔍 The difference in audience reaction is explained by Aristotle's principles of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos.
• 📜 Logos refers to making the idea make sense from the audience's perspective, which is akin to composing good music.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Ethos involves the speaker's reputation, credibility, and trustworthiness, which were absent in the subway setting.
• ❤️ Pathos is about creating an emotional connection, which was present in the concert hall but lacking in the subway.
• 🔑 The takeaway is that even the best ideas need credibility and an emotional connection to resonate with an audience.

Q & A

Who is Joshua Bell?

Joshua Bell is one of the greatest violinists in the world.

Where did Joshua Bell play to a packed audience?

Joshua Bell played to a packed audience at Boston's stately Symphony Hall.

What was the audience's reaction when Joshua Bell played in the subway?

When Joshua Bell played in the subway, only six people paused for a moment, and one child stopped for a while looking as if he understood something special was happening.

How did Joshua Bell describe his experience playing in the subway?

Joshua Bell described it as a strange feeling that people were actually ignoring him.

What did Joshua Bell find surprisingly grateful in the subway performance?

Joshua Bell found himself oddly grateful when somebody threw in a dollar.

What remained the same in both Joshua Bell's performances at the concert hall and the subway?

The music, the violin, the passion, and the performer (Joshua Bell) remained the same in both performances.

What concept would Aristotle use to explain why people listened to Joshua Bell in the concert hall but not in the subway?

Aristotle would use the concept of rhetoric, specifically the three means of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos.

What does 'logos' mean in the context of Aristotle's rhetoric?

'Logos' refers to the idea making sense from the audience's point of view, following rules of logic.

How does 'ethos' influence persuasion according to Aristotle?

'Ethos' relates to the speaker's reputation, credibility, and trustworthiness, as well as the confidence and clarity of their message.

Why is 'pathos' important in persuasion?

'Pathos' is important because it creates an emotional connection between the speaker and the audience.

Why did the concert hall transfer trust to Joshua Bell, but the subway did not?

The concert hall is a trusted institution for musical talent, whereas the subway does not confer the same level of trust for great music or art.

How does the environment of the concert hall differ from the subway in terms of emotional connection?

The concert hall is designed for an emotional bond between the audience and the artist, while the hustle, movement, and stress of the subway platform are not conducive to such a connection.

What lesson did Joshua Bell learn from his subway performance?

Joshua Bell learned that a great idea (or performance) needs credibility (ethos) and emotional connection (pathos) to be effective.

What did Joshua Bell find surprising about his expectations during the subway performance?

Joshua Bell found it surprising that his expectations quickly diminished, and he became grateful for any small recognition, like someone throwing in a dollar.

What is the significance of Aristotle's 'Rhetoric' in understanding Joshua Bell's experience?

Aristotle's 'Rhetoric' helps explain why Joshua Bell's performance in a concert hall was received differently than in a subway, emphasizing the importance of logos, ethos, and pathos in persuasion.

Outlines

00:00

🎻 The Unnoticed Violinist

This paragraph tells the story of Joshua Bell, a renowned violinist, who played to a full house at Symphony Hall, where tickets were sold at a high price. However, when he played the same music in a subway station, he was largely ignored. The narrative explores the difference in audience reception and introduces the concept of persuasion through Aristotle's 'Rhetoric', highlighting the three means of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Keywords

💡Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell is a renowned violinist who is central to the video's narrative. He is depicted as playing to a full audience at a concert hall and then to an almost non-existent audience in a subway station, illustrating the impact of context on perception. The video uses his experience to explore the principles of persuasion.

💡Persuasion

Persuasion is the art of influencing people's attitudes or actions. In the video, it is linked to the story of Joshua Bell to demonstrate how the same performance can have vastly different impacts depending on the context. Aristotle's 'Rhetoric' is mentioned as a foundational work on persuasion.

💡Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the study of the techniques used in effective or persuasive communication. The video references Aristotle's 'Rhetoric' as the most important work on persuasion, which outlines three means of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos.

💡Logos

Logos refers to the use of logical reasoning to persuade an audience. In the context of the video, it is one of the three means of persuasion. It is exemplified by the need for an idea to make sense from the audience's point of view and to be relevant to their worldview.

💡Ethos

Ethos is the appeal to the credibility and moral character of the speaker. In the video, it is used to explain how the reputation and trustworthiness of the concert hall enhance the audience's trust in Joshua Bell's performance, which is lacking in the subway scenario.

💡Pathos

Pathos is the appeal to the audience's emotions. The video explains that creating an emotional connection is crucial for persuasion. The lack of pathos in the subway setting is contrasted with the concert hall's conducive environment for emotional bonding.

💡Concert Hall

A concert hall is a venue designed for musical performances. In the video, it is used as a setting that confers ethos and pathos to Joshua Bell's performance, enhancing the persuasive power of his music through the environment and the audience's expectations.

💡Subway Station

A subway station is a public transportation hub, not typically associated with musical performances. The video contrasts the subway station with the concert hall to illustrate how the context can drastically change the reception of the same performance.

💡Expectations

Expectations refer to the beliefs or anticipations about what will happen or what is typically found in a given context. The video shows how expectations in a concert hall versus a subway station influence the audience's reception of Joshua Bell's music.

💡Performance

A performance is the act of presenting a creative work, such as music. The video uses Joshua Bell's violin performance as a case study to explore how the same performance can have different impacts based on the context of presentation.

💡Credibility

Credibility is the quality of being trusted or believed in. In the video, credibility is a component of ethos and is shown to be influenced by the context in which a performance takes place, affecting the persuasive power of the performance.

Highlights

Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists in the world, played to a packed audience at Boston's Symphony Hall, where most seats cost more than $100.

Three days later, Joshua Bell played to an audience of nobody in a subway station, with only a few people pausing momentarily.

Joshua Bell described the subway experience as strange, noting that people were actually ignoring him.

In a music hall, Joshua Bell gets upset if someone coughs or if a cell phone goes off, but in the subway, he was grateful for any acknowledgment, even a dollar.

The same music, on the same violin, played with the same passion by the same man, but the audience's response was vastly different.

Aristotle's work on persuasion, Rhetoric, explains the differences in audience reactions through logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos means that the idea makes sense from the audience's point of view, requiring relevance to their world view and challenges.

Good arguments, like good music, follow rules of composition and logic, making sense to the audience.

Ethos involves reputation, credibility, and trustworthiness, showing care for the listener as much as oneself.

Authority combines confidence with a clear, strong voice and a concise message.

Pathos is the emotional connection, with stories being an effective tool for creating this bond.

A speaker must create the right emotional environment for their message, as audiences may not always be ready to hear it.

The concert hall's trust in Joshua Bell transfers to the audience, while the subway lacks this trust and expectation for great art.

The concert hall is designed for an emotional bond between artist and audience, unlike the stressful environment of a subway platform.

Joshua Bell's experience illustrates the importance of ethos and pathos, as a great idea needs credibility and an emotional connection to resonate.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

9th of January, 2007

Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinist in the world,

played to a packed audience

at Boston's stately Symphony Hall of 1,000 people

where most seats went for more than $100.

He was used to full, sell-out shows.

He was at the peak of his abilities and fame.

Three days later,

Joshua Bell played to an audience of

nobody!

Well, maybe six people paused for a moment,

and one child stopped for a while looking,

as if he understood that something special was happening.

Joshua said of the experience,

"It was a strange feeling that people were actually ignoring me."

Joshua Bell was playing violin in a subway station.

"At a music hall, I'll get upset if someone coughs

or if someone's cell phone goes off,

but here my expectations quickly diminished.

I was oddly grateful when somebody threw in a dollar."

What changed?

Same music,

on the same violin,

played with the same passion

and by the same man.

Why did people listen and then not listen?

Aristotle would be able to explain.

What does it take to persuade people?

2,300 years ago,

Aristotle wrote the single most important work on persuasion,

Rhetoric,

the 3 means of persuasion:

logos,

ethos,

and pathos.

Logos is that the idea makes sense from the audience's point of view.

This is usually different from the speaker's point of view,

so work needs to be done

to make the idea relevant to the world view,

the pains and the challenges of the listeners.

A good argument is like good music.

Good music follows some rules of composition;

good arguments follow some rules of logic.

It makes sense to the audience.

Ethos is reputation, what are you known for;

credibility, do you look and act professional;

trustworthy, are your motives clear,

do you show the listener that you care about them as much as yourself?

Authority is confidence plus a concise message,

a clear, strong voice.

Pathos is the emotional connection.

Stories are an effective human tool for creating an emotional connection.

There are moments where an audience is not ready

to hear the message.

A speaker must create the right emotional environment for their message.

What changed?

Why did people travel for miles to hear him play one night,

and not even pause for moment to listen the next morning?

The answer is that ethos and pathos were missing.

Ethos

The fact that the great concert hall hosts Joshua's concert

transfers its trust to Joshua.

We trust the institution, we now trust Joshua.

The subway does not have our trust for musical talent,

we do not expect to find great art,

great music,

or great ideas,

so it confers no trust to Joshua.

Pathos

The concert hall is designed for an emotional bond

between an audience and an artist,

a subway platform is not.

The hustle and movement and stress is just not conducive

to the emotional connection needed between performer and listener.

Logos,

ethos,

pathos,

the idea is nothing without the rest.

This is what Joshua Bell learned

on that cold, January day in 2007.

If you have a great idea,

how do you build credibility and emotional connection?