Hill Ethos Pathos Logos

Have you ever wondered if you need everything you own, that shirt you never wear, or the shoes that sit in the back of your closet? In the speech “Less Stuff, more happiness”, Graham Hill uses this thought process to help people listening use a similar lifestyle as his own. In this Ted Talk, Hill speaks about his use of a very minimalistic lifestyle, living inside a 420 sq. ft apartment. Throughout the speech, he uses various forms of rhetoric such as Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Diction, Syntax, and Tone to help persuade the audience to use a more minimalistic lifestyle such as his.
Hill uses Ethos in multiple ways throughout his speech to help boost his credibility with the audience. An example that Hill used was “So I started a project called

Hill uses Pathos many times throughout the speech, the best example of this is when he states “Most of us have experienced at some point the joys of less: college -- in your dorm, traveling -- in a hotel room, camping -- rig up basically nothing, maybe a boat.” This quote appeals to the audience's emotions because it circumvents memories and nostalgia of good times they had used a more minimalistic lifestyle. Another quote that the author stated using Pathos is “Secondly, our new mantra: small is sexy. We want space efficiency. We want things that are designed for how they’re used the vast majority of the time, not that rare event.” By using the phrase “we want” multiple times throughout this quote we are shown what it is that the people of this world are desiring. This desire is the emotions of the audience as well as other people. Additionally, the author uses the word “mantra” in this quote, this is a very formal word choice and could have been replaced with words such as signal or chant. However, he decided to use the more formal word giving the whole speech a formal Tone. A form of Diction used in this quote is when Hill uses the word “sexy”. This word gives a much larger emphasis on how good small is, this is because the word sexy is used mainly for sexual attraction. So the author's use of the word “sexy” is a great way to give a large emphasis on the

One example of the author using logos to persuade the audience is Hill stated “With over 300 entries from around the world, I got it, my own little jewel box. By buying a space that was 420 sq. ft. instead of 600, immediately I’m saving 200 grand.” This quote shows the audience the benefits of purchasing a smaller space, the main benefit is saving $200,000 for getting 180 square feet less space. This helps persuade the audience of living a more minimalistic lifestyle, as it gives a reason to live more minimalistic. Another example of the author using logos in his speech is when he states “And that shirt I hadn’t worn in years? It’s time to let it go.” This quote uses logic to persuade the audience to get rid of items and clothes that they don't wear or use anymore. This quote is also an example of Syntax, as it uses two simple sentences to get Hill’s point across to the audience in an easy