Beyond Persuasion: Why Purpose Is the Crucial Link in Influential Communication

The world’s most influential leaders have shaped, and continue to shape, history through their message and communication style.

Leaders of yesteryear like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt.

And leaders of more recent times, such as Jacinda Ardern, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mother Teresa, Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai, Michelle Obama, Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey.

Not all leaders by title but leaders by influence.

Different voices. Different contexts. But the same truth: a communication style that resonates so deeply, it moves people to think, feel and act.

A core part of a leader’s role is to engage hearts and minds and mobilise action, whether to address complex challenges, navigate constant change or create positive outcomes for those they serve.

What I’ve come to know from my long career as a communication advisor and from studying some of the world’s most influential leaders, is this:

Whether you’re leading change, managing a crisis, running a town hall meeting or motivating a team, the context may shift but the timeless principles of effective communication do not.

Aristotle’s persuasive triad

Over two and a half millennia ago, Aristotle gave us the foundational framework for persuasive communication through three enduring rhetorical appeals:

• Ethos – an appeal to ethics, established through character and credibility, such as truthful, transparent and values-aligned communication.
• Logos – an appeal to logic, established through reasoning, evidence, facts and data.
• Pathos – an appeal to emotion, established through storytelling, personal insight and the ability to evoke feelings such as hope, concern or courage.

Together, ethos, logos and pathos explain why some messages persuade while others fall flat.

A fourth persuasive dimension

While Aristotle’s persuasive triad is timeless, I’ve come to find there is a further dimension that can significantly strengthen persuasive appeal when applied intentionally.

This dimension anchors communication in the greater good it seeks to serve. It is telos, another Aristotelian concept referring to the purpose or final end of something.

In simple terms, telos is the why behind the what and the how. It is the ultimate goal an action or message seeks to serve beyond immediate or short-term outcomes.

When the end goal or greater good is not clearly articulated within ethos, logos and pathos, telos makes it explicit, and people understand why something really matters.

Bringing it all together

When these four dimensions work together, persuasive communication can become truly transformational:

• When you convey ethos (ethics), you signal character and credibility which builds trust.
• When you convey telos (purpose), you signal a worthy cause which creates meaning.
• When you convey logos (logic), you signal clarity and cogence which engages the mind.
• When you convey pathos (emotion), you signal empathy and connection which engages the heart.

In an era of low trust, disruption and uncertainty, leaders don’t just need to be persuasive, they need to inspire people to take action towards positive change and a desired future.

This is where Transformational Communication comes into focus, a communication approach that embraces the holistic application of ethos, logos, pathos and telos.

When communication is grounded in ethics, guided by purpose, supported by reason and delivered with empathy, it builds belief, earns trust and moves people to act in service of something bigger than themselves.

©Ros Weadman