Aristotle Model of Communication In A Nutshell

The Aristotle model of communication is a linear model with a focus on public speaking. The Aristotle model of communication was developed by Greek philosopher and orator Aristotle, who proposed the linear model to demonstrate the importance of the speaker and their audience during communication. It comprises three key elements: Ethos (the speaker’s degree of credibility or authority), Pathos (the ability of the speaker to form an emotional bond with the audience), Logos (the literal meaning of the word logos is logic).

Contents

Understanding the Aristotle model of communication
The five components of the Aristotle model of communication
The three elements of a good public speaker
Key takeaways:
Communicational Frameworks Connected To The Aristotle Model of Communication
What are the three elements present in Aristotle communication model?
What is the advantage of Aristotle's model of communication?
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Understanding the Aristotle model of communication

Despite its ancient origins, the Aristotle model of communication will always be relevant since public speaking is an evergreen skill that is always in demand. Public speakers today must be able to persuade or convince their audiences, something Aristotle called rhetoric.

To achieve this, the speaker organizes the speech before delivering it according to the audience and the situation at hand. This makes the Aristotle model both linear and speaker-centric, with the audience taking on a passive role in the communication process. Indeed, while the audience can be influenced by the speaker, the model does not account for the audience interacting with the speaker via feedback.

The five components of the Aristotle model of communication

The Aristotle model of communication comprises five key components:

Speaker

The individual tasked with persuading or convincing an audience through their speech. In theory, this is achieved through careful word selection, appropriate body language, eye contact, and verbal modulation.

Speech

The message the speaker is delivering to the audience.

Audience

The people who passively listen to the speech as it is delivered.

Effect

The effect may be positive or negative, depending on how persuasive the speaker may be.

Occasion

Or the situation responsible for bringing people together. When a politician speaks to a group of people, the occasion may be an imminent election.

The three elements of a good public speaker

Given that the model is focused on the speaker, Aristotle also described three elements that must be present in a good communicator or orator.

They include:

Ethos

The speaker’s degree of credibility or authority. A speaker with no credibility will not be trusted by the audience, no matter how moral their intentions are. Ethos can be bolstered by using appropriate language and referencing information from competent and trusted experts. It is also important to only draw logical conclusions and avoid simple errors when making an argument.

Pathos

The ability of the speaker to form an emotional bond with the audience. Speakers who connect with the emotional environment of the room build trust and become more persuasive. To build pathos, the speaker can incorporate visual materials that invoke appropriate emotions. They can also begin the talk with a story demonstrating their knowledge or experience of the relevant emotional issues.

Logos

The literal meaning of the word logos is logic. In the context of Aristotle’s model, however, logos refers to the way in which facts and figures are used during communication to support particular statements. For example, a city councilor claiming crime rates rose under the previous administration must present the relevant data to verify their claims. The most skilled communicators will also examine and prepare for possible counter-arguments.

Key takeaways:

The Aristotle model of communication is a linear model with a focus on public speaking. It was developed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle to produce more effective public speakers.
The Aristotle model of communication is a linear and speaker-centric model with no scope for the audience to provide feedback. There are five basic components, including speaker, speech, audience, effect, and occasion.
The Aristotle model of communication also details how speakers can become more persuasive. Speakers must be credible, authoritative, and be able to form an emotional connection with the audience. They must also support their statements with facts and, where necessary, engage in counter-arguments.

Communicational Frameworks Connected To The Aristotle Model of Communication

linear-model-of-communication — The linear model of communication is a relatively simplistic model envisaging a process in which a sender encodes and transmits a message that is received and decoded by a recipient. The linear model of communication suggests communication moves in one direction only. The sender transmits a message to the receiver, but the receiver does not transmit a response or provide feedback to the sender.

berlos-smcr-model — Berlo’s SMCR model was created by American communication theorist David Berlo in 1960, who expanded the Shannon-Weaver model of communication into clear and distinct parts. Berlo’s SMCR model is a one-way or linear communication framework based on the Shannon-Weaver communication model.

lasswell-communication-model — The Lasswell communication model is a linear framework for explaining the communication process through segmentation. Lasswell proposed media propaganda performs three social functions: surveillance, correlation, transmission. Lasswell believed the media could impact what viewers believed about the information presented.

five-canons-of-rhetoric — The five canons of rhetoric were first organized by Roman philosopher Cicero in his treatise De Inventione in around 84 BC. Some 150 years later, Roman rhetorician Quintilian explored each of the five canons in more depth as part of his 12-volume textbook entitled Institutio Oratoria. The work helped the five canons become a major component of rhetorical education well into the medieval period. The five canons of rhetoric comprise a system for understanding powerful and effective communication.

communication-strategy-framework — A communication strategy framework clarifies how businesses should communicate with their employees, investors, customers, and suppliers. Some of the key elements of an effective communication strategy move around purpose, background, objectives, target audience, messaging, and approach.

7-cs-of-communication — The 7Cs of communication is a set of guiding principles on effective communication skills in business, moving around seven principles for effective business communication: clear, concise, concrete, correct, complete, coherent, courteous.

transactional-model-of-communication — The transactional model of communication describes communication as a two-way, interactive process within social, relational, and cultural contexts. The transactional model of communication is best exemplified by two models. Barnlund’s model describes communication as a complex, multi-layered process where the feedback from the sender becomes the message for the receiver. Dance’s helical model is another example, which suggests communication is continuous, dynamic, evolutionary, and non-linear.

Main Free Guides:

What are the three elements present in Aristotle communication model?

Given that the model is focused on the speaker, Aristotle also described three elements that must be present in a good communicator or orator: Ethos (the speaker’s degree of credibility or authority), Pathos (the ability of the speaker to form an emotional bond with the audience), Logos (the literal meaning of the word logos is logic).

What is the advantage of Aristotle's model of communication?

The Aristotle model of communication is a linear model of communication that was developed by Greek philosopher and orator Aristotle, who proposed three key elements to communicate effectively: Ethos, Pathos, Logos.