Let the Good Arguments be in Good Company

Are you a specialist and happy to appeal to reason with good arguments and intellectual words?   Do you speak in the direction of;  

“you should eat organic because studies show that there is up to 69% higher content of important antioxidants, and the food is free of pesticides”?

Then you, like most specialists, are happy with Logos (numbers, concepts and abbreviations). But like so much else in life, too much of a good thing can be bad…  

Good arguments must play together with the recipient’s emotions and your own credibility in order to be heard and remembered. In other words; it is a waste of good arguments if Pathos (emotions) and Ethos (your credibility) are not included.  

And why is that? I know you are happy with the arguments, so they are coming now.   If you appeal to people’s emotions, you will be remembered. You do this because more senses come into play, and the listener's own experiences are put into relation to what you say.   If you appear credible, people listen. Without trust, you encounter skepticism and lose attention, because they don't know why you are worth listening to.  

And why should you listen to me? I have worked in sales and business development all my life and have traveled the world to visit customers and business partners - not to drink coffee, but to get more people involved in my cause. I know how it is to have an important mission that is crystal clear to me, but which must first be understood by others before it becomes important to them.  

And that is the crux of the matter - as a specialist, you have extensive knowledge of cases that are important to others, but which are not yet understood by them.   If you use all three forms of appeal Logos, Pathos and Ethos in a beautiful trinity of arguments, emotions and credibility, you will have an easier time convincing rather than persuading.   I'm curious about your cases, so please use the comments section to convince me.  

Looking for more inspiration within sales?  Find more inspiration in my other blog posts, or contact me for sales coaching.