What’s the best way to make the case for masks?

If you communicate to persuade, you owe a lot to Aristotle. Without the benefit of modern neuro- and behavioral science that has since proved him right, he defined four “modes of persuasion“: ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos. These four represented the four contributors, as Artistotle saw it, to what makes someone say “yes” to an action or idea.

• Ethos is what I’ve referred to in the past as “domain of authority” — the person (or company) speaking is deemed persuasive based on their credibility to talk about the subject
• Pathos is the emotional argument, the one that engages and activates someone’s feelings
• Logos is the rational argument, the one that, to quote Aristotle himself, proves “a truth or an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments suitable to the case in question”
• Kairos is likely the least known of the three, but this is the one that leverages the urgency of the moment

When it comes to persuading people to wear masks, you can likely see where all four can come into play.

• Do you believe the person or organization making the case? That’s ethos.
• Are your emotions engaged? Do they sway you towards action? That’s pathos.
• Do you agree with the evidence and reasoning of the case? That’s logos.
• Do you feel the issue is urgent enough to act on now? That’s kairos.

The more you can get a “yes” to each of the four levers, the more likely you’ll persuade someone towards the action you’re looking for.

But a “no”? A no is fatal to an argument for action, even if there’s a yes to everything else.

The tricky thing, of course, is that you, as the persuader, aren’t in control of how your audience chooses to answer those questions. You can only do the work ahead of time to raise your probability of success. To do that, you need to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. As honestly as possible, you need to ask yourself whether or not the person or people you’re talking to are likely to agree on all four points.

(Side note: I call the ability to do that “polytropos” to build on Aristotle’s original model. Polytropos means “many faces,.” I believe it’s the most critical skill for creating actionable change: understanding how to alter your argument to fit the audience you’re talking to.)

It’s fairly rare, outside of debate club, to see multiple arguments made for the same idea, all in the same place. That said, when you do have that opportunity, it’s a great time to pull out your inner message analyst and see how you’d “score” those messages on Aristotle’s four points. In the latest episode of “What’s Missing From This Message?,” you get to do just that.

I look at two entries into a contest run by New York State to find the best public service announcement to convince New Yorkers to wear masks (and thanks to Rick Pollak for pointing out the contest to me originally!).

Whether or not you agree with the issue at hand, it’s a great chance to see what works for you — and doesn’t — about each ad, and why. Your answers may help you figure out how to improve your own “polytropism,” and your messages.