Author: Nirupama Subramanian

As a consultant and facilitator in the area of communication, I have been fascinated by one aspect of the American Presidential elections- the art and science of persuasion. After all, Mr.Trump has managed to pull off the biggest deal of his career, selling himself as the ideal Presidential candidate and persuading the voting public to elect him to the most powerful position in the country.

So how did Trump and Clinton fare when it came to their persuasive skills over the course of their campaign? The oldest and still relevant theories of persuasion were propounded by Aristotle in the oldest democracy in the world, Greece. His book On Rhetoric, talks about the three pillars of persuasive appeals -Ethos,Pathos and Logos,which need to be followed by anyone who wants to be a successful influencer.

Though I have not followed every speech and interaction of Trump and Clinton, I have formed a collective impression based on the debate and news reports, which I believe is enough to provide an idea of their powers of persuasion. So, here is my analysis, along with the 5 star rating system that is so popular these days, on how the two candidates fared with respect to Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Ethos refers to the character and credibility of the speaker.

Ethos is the sum of everything that a speaker is, from basic demographic characteristics to reputation and experience. A speaker’s ethos is what makes the audience trust and like him or her.

Let us look at each of candidates’ Ethos in the context of suitability for the post of President.

The role that gender played in the elections will be a subject of many researches and studies for a long time to come but since I have definite views on this subject and a tendency for a bias towards Hillary Clinton, I shall take gender out of the equation, for the moment. That aside, both are wealthy,white, married,Christians of approximately the same age.

On one hand, we had Donald Trump, with no political experience, no track record of having held any public office and  a dodgy reputation as a real estate businessman, reality TV host and promoter of casinos and beauty pageants. His personal character, which emerged over the course of his campaign showed him to be a misogynistic, xenophobic, racist with scant regard for the conventions of human interactions.

Then there was Secretary Clinton, who was  already familiar with the White House, first as FLOTUS and then as Secretary of state. Hillary Clinton, with a major in Political science, a law degree from a prestigious American University was also elected to the Senate from New York. She has an extensive knowledge of the political system and a strong record of public service as a champion for universal healthcare and the rights of women and children. She is, by all accounts, a loyal, hard working, patriotic woman who is known to be kind, empathetic and a resilient fighter. The recent email scandal did dent her image as a trustworthy candidate but compared to Trump, she had years of goodwill, the endorsement of President Obama and the support of the media.

If you had to choose someone to be the CEO of America Inc. ,a firm in which you have a major investment, which candidate  would you hire?

At the start of the campagin, Hillary Clinton had a definite advantage over Trump.

Ethos Score- Clinton- 4: Trump-2

Pathos- the ability to connect to the emotions of the audience

The first part of using pathos well is to understand who your audience is. Whether you are standing for election or writing a novel, it is not possible to please all the people all the time. Smart salespeople select their audience based on their decision making power. When I make a sales presentation to the senior team of a company, I need to ensure that the CEO’s needs and motivations are kept in mind as a priority.

As per the United States Census Bureau, the American population comprises 77% white Americans, out of which 66 % are non Hispanic whites. Out of these, 95% of them are middle class or working class as defined by their average income. If we assume that at least 50% of them will form the core audience of any speech made by either of the candidates, then the communication has to be tailored to this critical chunk of the audience.

The working class whites were Donald Trump’s core audience and everything he said was focused on this segment.

Hillary Clinton’s audience was a mixed  bag of educated liberal whites, African Americans, other minorities, women and the young urban college goers, each a distinct segment.

The second aspect of pathos is the ability to evoke a certain emotion from the audience which motivates them to take a particular action. As Aristotle put it brilliantly-

Take, for instance, the emotion of anger: here we must discover (1) what the state of mind of angry people are, (2) who the people are with whom they usually get angry, and (3) on what grounds they get angry with them. It is clear that it might be needful in a speech to put [the audience] into a state of mind of those who are inclined to anger and show one’s opponents as responsible for those things that are the causes of the anger and that they are the sort of people against whom anger is directed.’

Trump’s speeches capitalized on the two most visceral emotions, anger and fear. His core audience was told ‘They are stealing our jobs’, ‘They are bringing drugs, they are bringing criminals, they are rapists’. ‘They may be ISIS, they may be ISIS related ’ The only thing worse than ‘them’ was the previous government that allowed ‘them’ to do that. Trump painted a bleak picture of the future, stoking fear and uncertainty and then projected himself as the savior.

On the other hand Clinton said, ‘I am not a single issue candidate and we don’t live in a single issue world.’ A statement that is undeniably true but did not reflect the needs and motivations of her target audience. ‘Hillary for America’ did project herself as the voice of reason and the President for all. She was also the champion of the minorities and women but she was unable to tap into the core emotions of that group as Obama had done in the past elections.

Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people, said Yeats.

The third aspect of pathos is the ability to connect to the audience by talking their language, at their level of understanding. To succeed in the aspect of pathos, the speaker has to communicate in such a way that the target audience can relate to the way the content is delivered.

Sample the comments from the two candidates on the same issues.

Trump– I would knock the hell out of ISIS in some form. I would rather not do it with our troops, you understand that.

Clinton– A more effective air campaign is necessary but not sufficient. We should be honest that to be successful, air strikes have to be combined with ground forces.

Trump – I believe in really really smart trade where we can come out on top, that is what I believe in, alright?

Clinton– Any trade deal has to produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security.

Even if you don’t think like a wise man, it is important that your communication makes people feel that you are the one with the answers they want to hear. If you are an angry white American working class male who is worrying about losing his job to a large Asian nation or being attacked by hateful brown men who have sneaked into your country, who will you listen to?

Pathos Score- Clinton-3, Trump-5

Logos- the ability to appeal to the reason of the candidates

The word logic is derived from the Greek root logos. Yes, even in elections which are emotionally charged, the logical argument is important. People want technical or artificial proof, either the real numbers or examples and hints that show some cause and effect relationship and allow both inductive and deductive reasoning.

Effective use of  Logos requires the language to be simple, understandable and have a stickiness that causes the audience to remember the message long after the speech.

I am going to examine just one segment of one of the national debate which calls for the candidates to produce rational responses to questions on policy to see how Clinton and Trump did with respect to Logos.

In response to the question- Why are you a better candidate to create better jobs that put more money in the pocket of the American worker, this is what the candidates said. I have partly edited the segment but the key words have been reproduced verbatim.

Clinton– ‘We need good jobs, new jobs. I want to invest in you. We need to raise minimum wages, and ensure equal pay for women’s work. … encourage profit sharing and support people who want a better balance between work and family life. Let’s have paid family leave, earned sick days, affordable child care and debt free college. How are we going to do that? We want the wealthy to pay their fair share and close corporate loopholes.’

Trump – ‘Our jobs are fleeing the country. They are going to Mexico and other countries… China is using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild their economy. My friend said.. Mexico is the 8th wonder. They are putting up these big plants there…You see Ford is leaving. Thousands of jobs are leaving Michigan and Ohio. Carrier Airconditioning fired 1400 people. We have to stop that. Under my plan, I will be reducing taxes from 35% to 15% for all companies, big and small business. ..Companies will come, they will build, they will expand. It will be a beautiful thing to watch.’

Remember Pathos. See how Trump never forgets his core audience and their fears. Note use of examples, specifics, numbers and the creation of artificial proof. Which segment will you remember more?

The Trump campaign seems to have understood the galvanizing power of the three syllable chant-‘Bring back jobs! Lock her up! Build the wall! The words when repeated again and again by large crowds carry an explosive energy of their own.

They had a strong slogan- Make America great again. America was great. Now, it is not so great because of all the bad things done by the current government. I will make it great again. A simple proof.

The Clinton campaign lacked a powerful unifying message. Let us make history did not resonate with a large part of the population. Hillary for America was too vague. Though Hillary Clinton has a better vocabulary, superior sentence structures, an elegant turn of words and adequate data to bolster her statements, her logical appeal at many times lacked the simple stickiness that the majority of the audience required.

Logos score: Clinton- 3: Trump-4

Total Score in Persuasive skills- Clinton- 10 : Trump 11

When it comes to persuading people to vote or buy into any product or idea, all aspects of your appeal have to be stronger that your competitor’s. If your competitor’s Ethos is stronger, then you need to destroy that even as you bolster your own logos and pathos. Even though many factors determined the final result of the elections, the respective campaigns will at least will be a great case study in the art and science of persuasion.

You are so lucky,” grumbled an acquaintance who put in a regular 12 hour day at a regular office. “No commute, no boss, no office politics. I would love to lounge around in pyjamas and work when I want and how I want.” “It is not that easy,” I protested but he was carried away by his own misery and refused to believe me.

I work from home. The key word is WORK but what seems to stand out is HOME. It seems enviable to many, especially the men who are denizens of the corporate world. Working from home conjures up images of leisure, freedom and flexibility. You don’t have to get up to an alarm and rush around getting ready, gobble up a  hurried breakfast and brace yourself for the traffic. Instead, you can take your morning breath to the computer which will not complain about your hygiene or dress sense. Shower in the afternoon, if you feel like a shower at all. And when you need a break, just shout out to the spouse/servant who brings a hot cup of tea made just the way you like, along with some fresh pakodas. What’s not to like?

When I decided to quit a full time job and become a consultant and a writer, I believed that working from home would be a blessing- the ideal solution that would let me work at my time, be with my daughter and keep a gentle eye on the goings on in the household. I saw myself deftly juggling a  rolling pin and rolodex, seamlessly switching from the key board to the blackboard. Ours is a small household of 3. I have a cleaning lady and a cook, the small luxuries in this part of the world. I do have some flexibility and freedom. Yet working from home requires truckloads of discipline, oodles of self motivation and nerves of steel. You have to be comfortable with long periods of isolation, bouts of inactivity and a constant teetering on the tightrope of this thing called work-life balance.

I can recall a day last week when I thought I would have a  productive day at work. A typical day when I am not in a workshop or client site  begins  at 6.30 in the morning when  I get up to send my daughter off to school. The husband and I have a brief chat on the plan for the day and he leaves for office. I do my yoga and/or walk, breakfast, shower and move to the study which doubles up as my place of work.

I have  plans for this day. I need to complete a proposal to a client, attend a conference call , send a couple of emails and write at least 500 words for an article.  So far, so good.

At 10.30 a.m,I switch on my laptop and start with the proposal.

“ Didi, Colin nahin hai.” my cleaning maid pokes her head in. I make a note in my list of Things to Do.

I remember that she had not dusted the sideboard . I notice a stray cobweb. Instructions are given.

Back to proposal.

I hear the faint ring of the intercom. Where is the maid and why is she not picking up the phone. It rings again. Who could it be now?

My housekeeper announces that someone is coming with a parcel. Turns out to be a courier  with my husband’s credit card. I am asked to produce identification to receive the credit card.

I manage to get type up something on the  design of a workshop that I am proposing. My mobile pings. It is already the time for my call.

“Didi, gas khatam hua,” says the help. 5 minutes to the call. I tell her to change the cylinder. It is stuck she says. We push and pull and  fix the thing together

I get on the conference call. In the middle of the call, the maid enters and gesticulates wildly. She holds her nose and makes some gagging sounds. Something is not right. I can’t focus on the call. Finally, I am done.

I rush out to discover that there is a leakage of some sort from the gas cylinder. The kitchen smells of LPG. There is a defect in the new cylinder. She is in the middle of cooking and we are out of fuel. I call some neighbours and someone kindly offers me her spare cylinder. I call the Gas agency but no one picks up. I make a note in my Things to do.

The cleaning maid comes in to tell me that she is leaving. She wants a day off. No, I almost shout. You take too many holidays. It is my son’s school meeting she says. They have called the parents. Her husband is quite useless in this matter. I negotiate for a late arrival. She will try, she says , making no promises. I relent, one working mom to another.

Back to proposal. Is it already lunch time?

I get into my wannabe Multitasking avatar. I am halfway through lunch and The Lowland. The Lindt chocolate in my fridge beckons. I ignore it until it becomes an insistent shrill summon. The book is interesting. I continue with a few chapters after lunch. Surely, I deserve a break of half an hour. I promise to myself that I will finish my proposal today. I still have time.

2.30 p.m. I go to the bus stop to pick up my daughter. We discuss what happened in school.

We have Bio test tomorrow she says. And there is some Hindi  project. Something needs to be researched and written about  Chanakya. I think school is a great institution but I have my reservations about homework. Especially  the kind that makes the parent work at home.

Start reading Bio. I will finish my work and we will revise.

I check my mails and see that there are two new ones that need to be answered.

My daughter comes in to negotiate. I will study Bio and you can research my project, she starts. No way.  I have too much work to do. We discuss  what she can write about Chanakya. One thing at a time, I insist. Finish Bio and then we will do Hindi.

I need to finish the proposal. I notice an email reminder for my credit card payment .I add it to my Things to do.

I get an unexpected call from a client. She wants to discuss the dates for a workshop that had been planned for the month. They may need to change it. As we discuss options, my daughter mouths something to me. I shoo her away and try to shut the door. She glares at me and marches off. The maid shouts from the kitchen- something about jeera or Kheera . I ignore her. Finally I finish my call and step out- Can’t I even talk for a few minutes in peace, I say but no one cares to respond.

My daughter looks at me accusingly. You forgot. I told you the light in my room wasn’t working. Now I can’t study. Damn. Didn’t I put it in my Things to Do. I call the electrician.

I reconfirm dinner menu and give the maid money to buy cucumber for the salad from the shop in our condominium complex. I check on the state of bread and eggs and find we need to replenish that too. Why does she tell me these things at the last moment?

Is it evening already?  I have to make the last page of the proposal. I have to check the research on Chanakya. Why do 12 year olds need to write about Chanakya in Hindi? Why do they also need a printout of a picture which can be seen anytime on Google Images?

I open up the Google Hindi website on Chanakya and toggle between that and my proposal. In the meantime, I am also giving my daughter some questions to answer in Bio. My husband calls and  asks if I have paid the electricity bill due three days back. Pay it yourself, I want to shout. I make a mental note to make an actual note in my Things to Do.

Is it dinner time already? My husband is home. Horrible day, Terrible traffic he says. You are so lucky you don’t have to go out to work everyday! I glare at him.

We do dinner. I am almost done with the proposal. I tuck my daughter into bed. It is only 10.15 p.m and I feel terribly sleepy. I drag myself back to the computer and send off the proposal.  I still have the article to write but my brain has gone into deep freeze. I can’t get a word out. I read a few pending emails.

I shut down the machine and decide to go to bed. My husband is checking Facebook. Other people seem to have interesting things to do and say. What did you do today? He asks. I rack my brain. I finally sent off that proposal to ABC, I say. That’s it? That’s all you did the whole day, his look says but he wisely restricts it to a ‘Uh uh.’

Another day of work has gone by. My   Things to Do list has grown exponentially. I  shouldn’t  complain. I am one of the lucky ones.I know I have to be more disciplined, more assertive, more focused, more tenacious.  Some day, I will get there. Someday I will also get myself a little office-away from home.

This article originally appeared in my blog Women at Work on ibnlive.com two years ago. I still work from home and the List of Things to do keeps growing at a healthy rate.