9 persuasive devices

Change how you communicate.🔥 Change how you lead. Join the community built for real transformation—or check out a free event.

Here are 9 Persuasive Devices from Ancient Greece & Rome. They’re like spices, use sparingly for flavor and to enhance.

Ethos – Appealing to credibility or character.

“As a certified project manager, I’ve successfully led similar teams under tight deadlines.”

Logos – Appealing to logic or reason.

     “Our client churn dropped 18% after implementing this feature.”

Pathos - Appealing to emotion.

“If we delay this launch, it puts months of hard work — and our client’s trust — at risk.”

Tricolon – A series of three words or phrases.

“We need clarity, speed, and courage.”

Erotema – A rhetorical question that makes a point, not a request.

“Who wouldn’t want to save time and reduce errors?”

Antithesis - Two contrasting ideas in parallel structure.

“We can react to change, or we can lead it.”

Anaphora - Repeat a word or phrase at the start of successive lines.

“We listen to our clients. We listen to our data. We listen to each other.”

Chiasmus - Mirrored structure: A-B, B-A.

“Don’t manage to communicate — communicate to manage.”

Hyperbole - Intentional exaggeration for emphasis.

“This new feature will change the way we do business — forever.”

You don’t need to be a politician or poet to be persuasive at work. You just need to use tools that have worked for centuries.

As a coach who’s helped hundreds of professionals become clearer and more confident (ethos), I can tell you this: when you use logic (logos), connect emotionally (pathos), and group your ideas in 3’s — like clear, confident, compelling — people start to lean in (tricolon).

What if your next presentation didn’t just inform — it moved people? (erotema) 

You can follow, or you can lead. (antithesis)

You can hesitate, delay, avoid…or you can step up. (anaphora)

Don’t talk to be heard — be heard because you talked. (chiasmus)

When you use these tools well, your message won’t just be heard — it will be impossible to ignore. (hyperbole)

✅ Put the 2 Minute Tip into action…Become More Influential & Build A Culture Of Open Communication in our supportive online community ✅