478 Part 4 Public SpeakingExactly which elements of a per-
suasive appeal are based on ethos or
credibility? The first element is com-
petence, or knowledge and experience
with the subject matter. You can evoke
this quality by preparing the speech at
all stages (from research to delivery) by
demonstrating personal acquaintance
with the topic, by revealing familiarity
with the work of experts on your topic,
and by ensuring that your speech is well
organized. The second aspect of cred-
ibility is character or trustworthiness, or
the degree to which a speaker seems
unbiased and fair. A speaker may have
a great deal of knowledge, but if you
think that he or she is trying to deceive you, then you may still not find that
speaker credible. A third element of credibility is communicating goodwill, the
degree to which an audience perceives the speaker caring for them and having
their best interests at heart (Teven & McCroskey, 1997). To show goodwill,
you must remember that one of your responsibilities is to help your audience
make informed choices. By giving listeners all the information they need to
make a decision, as well as addressing their needs and expectations relative to
the speech, you show that you have their best interests at heart.
Research does indicate additional ways in which a speaker can utilize
ethos. For example, audiences tend to be more easily persuaded by speakers
who they perceive as being similar to them in background, attitudes, interests,
and goals, a concept known as homophily (Wrench, McCroskey, & Richmond,
2008); research also reveals that we trust (and are more easily persuaded by)
speakers we like (Teven, 2008). However, if a speaker is similar to us and very
likeable but unprepared, uninformed, or disorganized (that is, not compe-
tent), we probably won’t find him or her to be particularly credible. And, as
Frymier and Nadler (2013) explain, when liking and credibility come into
conflict (for example, when we like a source with low credibility), credibility
outweighs liking and we’re unlikely to be moved by the speaker’s message.
Finally, audiences tend to respond to a speaker’s physical attractive-
ness, which, if evaluated positively, helps a speaker seem more likeable and
more credible (Cialdini, 2008; Yoon, Kim, & Kim, 1998) and can positively
impact attitude and behavior change (Berscheid, Dion, Walster, & Walster,
1971; Chaiken, 1979; O’Keefe, 2002; Widgery, 1974). For example, studies
in advertising and marketing find that physically attractive models are more
effective at selling products than their less attractive counterparts, and the
positive effect of attractiveness on persuasion seems to be greater when mod-
els are female and the audience is male (Baker & Churchill, 1977; Teven &
Winters, 2007). Attractiveness does not always lead to persuasion, but it does
seem to matter more if receivers have low involvement or rely on peripheral
processing (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).AS HE DEFENDS
criminals in the courtroom,
Lincoln Lawyer Mick Haller’s
credibility and character play
a critical role in whether he
can persuade the jury in his
favor. Saeed Adyani/©Lions Gate/
Courtesy Everett Collection
CONNECT
Part of revealing ethos
to your audience is offer-
ing an accurate, ethical
presentation of yourself.
As you learn in Chapter
2, self-presentation is of-
ten strategic—you reveal
or hide particular things
about yourself to achieve a
goal. But if you’re giving a
speech on the importance
of safe driving and you
fail to mention that you’ve
been issued five tickets for
speeding, you aren’t being
ethical. Your ethos would
be increased if you shared
your story and the lesson
you’ve learned from it.