The Art of Persuasion Hasn’t Changed in 2,000 Years

Harvard Business Review · Oct 29, 2026 · 5m

The Art of Persuasion Hasn’t Changed in 2,000 Years

Uploaded 08-03-22

9 Mar 2022

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To successfully sell your next idea, try using these five rhetorical devices that Aristotle identified in your next speech or presentation.

00:00 More than 2,000 years ago Aristotle outlined a formula on how to become a master of persuasion

00:42 Aristotle's five rhetorical devices

00:57 Ethos (Character)

01:48 Logos (Reason)

02:08 Pathos (Emotion()

02:50 Metaphor

03:27 Brevity

More than 2,000 years ago Aristotle outlined a formula on how to become a master of persuasion in his work Rhetoric. The first device…