Strategies for Establishing an Effective Persona: an Analysis of Appeals to Ethos in Business Speeches

Abstract

This study investigates a distinct type of ethos, signalled ethos, and how it is used in eight business speeches. A rhetorical analysis of the speeches resulted in five categories of signalled ethos; the categories center around deference, self-criticism, similitude, ex pertise, and the inclination to succeed. The study examines the rhetorical functions of these categories and suggests that signalled ethos is a useful concept for under standing the types of images authors create of themselves.