Logos, ethos, and pathos

In his article “I’ve lost my conversational mojo – can I relearn the art of small talk?”, Rhik Samadder uses pathos and ethos, with pathos being the dominant form of appeal. 

Pathos

Pathos is widely used in the article and is often connected to Samadder’s use of humor. Samadder makes fun of himself throughout the article. This is done in several ways, such as through his use of figurative language. For example, he talks about dipping “a toe into small talk” (l. 116) which suggests that he is hesitant and afraid of what will happen during social interactions. The words paint an amusing image.

Samadder also appeals to pathos by making references to his own emotions:

It also occurs to me that my panic about talking stands in for a deeper fear of whether I still think like myself. It’s been so long since I felt funny or intere...