A positive ethos will take managers a long way towards influencing their audiences with their
intended messages, whereas a negative ethos is one of the greatest barriers to effective
communication. How a manager is perceived makes the difference in how well he or she is
believed, how persuasive he or she is, and ultimately, how effectively he or she communicates.
Successful leadership communication depends on projecting a positive ethos.
One of the primary requirements to inspire confidence and induce others to listen is credibility.
In their research on leadership, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner found that credibility is
the number one reason people follow someone (1993). To be effective, leaders must be credible
to their followers. Credibility is essential to creating a positive ethos. Aristotle says, “persuasion
is achieved by the speaker’s personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think
him credible” (Roberts, 1954).
For an audience to view leaders as credible, they must perceive them as knowledgeable,
authoritative, confident, honest, and trustworthy. Leaders can achieve the first two through hard
work and position. For instance, if they are giving a presentation on the future of energy
production in the United States, they must know the industry and the market as well as
something about politics and regulatory policy. They can learn the facts and appear
knowledgeable. In addition, if they are senior executives of a major energy company, their
audience will probably perceive them as persons with the authority to talk about energy. They
can exude confidence by being well prepared and feeling comfortable delivering presentations.
They can even create an aura of honesty and trustworthiness by effective delivery techniques,
such as steady eye contact, easy rapport with the audience, being well prepared to answer