Page 104 - TX_Marketing 2_M1_v2

Lesson Summary

Pathos refers to engaging emotions to persuade or appealing to an audience by

pushing their "emotional buttons." This lesson examined how to properly use pathos

in negotiations sessions and in your daily correspondence. First, we discussed the
importance of establishing a sympathetic audience, or the importance of pathos in

general.

We then addressed two ways that you can keep pathos as a means of persuasion
open to you: producing persuasive emotions and managing problematic emotions.

It's important that you are able to create a sympathetic audience because a
sympathetic audience is more likely to listen to you; more likely to believe you; will

prove easier to address; and will seem less intimidating. One way that you can create

a sympathetic audience is by helping them feel a certain way. If you can help an
audience associate certain feelings with your ideas and positions, then you will have

an easier time persuading them because they will feel more at ease and they will

more readily identify with you. To do this, however, you must identify what particular
emotion in the given situation could prove helpful and then you must perfect

generating that emotion in the greater portion of your given audience.

To a certain degree, all people respond differently to different stimulus, which can

make establishing a sympathetic audience difficult. However, studies have been

conducted on people's general responses to certain colors, and examining common
usage can tell you something about the emotional effects of particular words.

Consequently, it is possible to create a specific emotion or feeling in most people,
provided you spend time carefully choosing your language and images.

For example, many people have specific associations with certain colors. Red is often
associated with revenge, aggression, impulsiveness, violence licentiousness, power,

creativity, and innovation. In addition, it is one of the most common colors used in

restaurant décor because it has been shown to induce physical hunger. Most

TX Marketing II: Negotiation Techniques 103