When it comes to persuasion, emotional appeals often take centre stage. After all, emotions have the power to captivate audiences and drive immediate impact. However, while they can effectively grab attention and stir the heart, their ability to persuade is reliant on support from solid logical reasoning.
Aristotle’s classical rhetoric triangle—ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic)—posits that a truly persuasive message requires a balance of all three elements. Ethos establishes the speaker’s credibility, pathos engages the audience’s emotions, and logos appeals to rational thinking.
A reliable way to appeal to logic is through the use of syllogisms, a powerful form of deductive reasoning that can clarify and substantiate emotional appeals. A syllogism consists of two premises followed by a conclusion.
The strength of a syllogism lies in its simplicity and logical inevitability, as demonstrated by the timeless example from Aristotle’s teachings:
“All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.”
This clear, logical progression from a general statement to a specific conclusion illustrates how syllogisms use agreed-upon truths to lead audiences toward an undeniable conclusion.
Syllogisms are not just relevant to ancient philosophical texts; they apply to everyday modern life. For instance, a common syllogism that many encounter without even thinking about it is:
“All prescription medications require approval. This medication is a prescription. Therefore, this medication has been approved.”
Such reasoning helps people navigate daily decisions and trust processes within medical, legal, and technological fields, among others.
In this article, we will explore why syllogisms remain a persuasive tool in modern marketing and digital messaging, exploring their role in persuasion and how they can be used to craft compelling narratives that stand out in today’s information-saturated environment. We will discuss the integration of syllogisms with modern marketing strategies, examine how digital platforms can enhance their impact, and provide insights into generating effective syllogisms using the power of artificial intelligence. By blending ancient wisdom with contemporary technology, you can engage your audiences in a dialogue that is both convincing and captivating.
Why Syllogisms are an effective form of persuasion
Syllogisms are persuasive due to their ability to invoke perceived objectivity and credibility. This form of reasoning starts from premises that are generally accepted by the audience, ensuring that the foundation of the argument is already recognised as true. The audience is not required to adopt new beliefs but is rather guided to expand on what they inherently accept. This method bolsters the speaker’s credibility, as they are seen not as persuaders introducing novel ideas, but as logical thinkers illuminating obvious conclusions.
Supporting this perceived objectivity is the cognitive ease provided by the familiar structure of syllogisms. This logical framework aligns with the Gestalt principles of organisation, which suggest that the human mind prefers patterns and organised structures.
Syllogisms reduce cognitive dissonance by aligning new conclusions with pre-established beliefs. Since the conclusions drawn from syllogisms are directly connected to accepted premises, they harmonise with the audience’s existing views, easing mental conflict, and promoting acceptance of the argument. Moreover, the universal accessibility of syllogistic reasoning makes it particularly valuable in digital messaging, where content must appeal to a diverse, global audience. By using logical structures that transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries, your digital communications appeal to a broader spectrum of individuals.
Syllogisms used in successful marketing campaigns
Successful marketing campaigns often leverage syllogisms to effectively communicate and persuade audiences to accept a fundamental belief that is critical to the success of their campaigns. However, the logical structures may not always be immediately apparent.
For example, Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” Campaign.
Major Premise: High-quality, professional photos require a professional-grade camera.
Minor Premise: These stunning photos were all shot on an iPhone.
Conclusion: iPhones have professional-grade camera capabilities.
By showcasing user-generated photographs that rival professional quality, the campaign persuasively demonstrates the iPhone’s advanced camera features. The logical progression is clear: if such high-quality images can be produced with an iPhone, then the iPhone must possess capabilities akin to professional cameras. This campaign does an excellent job of highlighting the product’s features while emotionally engaging the audience by showing real-life applications of these features in a relatable way.
Another good example can be found in the logical reasoning that supports Fitbit’s health-tracking campaigns.
Major Premise: Accurate health metrics are important for optimising personal health and competitive performance.
Minor Premise: Fitbit devices provide comprehensive tracking of these essential health metrics.
Conclusion: Using Fitbit enables optimal personal health and performance management.
To support this syllogism, Fitbit’s marketing campaigns effectively utilise real-world scenarios to demonstrate the capability and accuracy of their health-tracking devices. By showcasing these devices in action, particularly during rigorous activities such as marathons or fitness challenges, Fitbit reinforces the reliability of its technology in capturing detailed health metrics.
For instance, Fitbit’s involvement in events like the Miami Marathon serves as a vivid demonstration. Participants wearing Fitbit devices can monitor their heart rates, steps taken, and overall physical exertion in real time. These metrics provide actionable insights that participants can use to adjust their performance, pacing, and recovery during and after the event. Such practical demonstrations underscore the accuracy and utility of Fitbit’s tracking technology in managing and enhancing performance.
Crafting Syllogisms For Your Digital Messaging
Try using syllogisms in your digital messaging to support the conclusions you wish your audience to draw. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to develop a syllogism that resonates with your audience and enhances your brand’s messaging.
Step 1: Identify the Desired Conclusion
Determine the key message or conclusion you want your audience to reach. This should align closely with your business goals and address the needs or desires of your target market. For example, a conclusion might be, “Our service saves you time.”
Step 2: Establish Credible Premises
Next, develop strong premises that logically lead to your conclusion. These premises should be based on facts, testimonials, research findings, or widely accepted truths.
Major Premise: Identify a general principle or fact that your target audience agrees with or can easily verify. For instance, “Time efficiency improves productivity in the workplace.”
Minor Premise: Connect this principle directly to your product or service. For example, “Our service automates routine tasks, significantly reducing the time needed to complete them.”
Step 3: Connect the Dots
Ensure that your premises are not only true but also directly support the conclusion in a way that feels natural and inevitable to the audience. The connection between your premises and the conclusion should illustrate a benefit that is clear and compelling.
Using AI To Create Syllogisms
You can use AI tools to complete some of the steps outlined.
Finding A Persuasive Conclusion
Natural language processing (NLP) algorithms can evaluate customer reviews and feedback to detect common themes or sentiments. This analysis can uncover what benefits or features are most appreciated by your customers, guiding you to a conclusion that aligns with these insights.
If the data shows that customers value time-saving solutions, AI can help confirm that a conclusion like “Our service saves you time” will likely resonate well.
The necessary prompt might be as simple as pasting in a list of customer reviews and asking “Please analyse these reviews and tell me what my customers care about the most”.
If you don’t have any reviews of your own, you can collect reviews from a competitor.
Confirming the Major Premise
AI can help confirm that your major premise is widely accepted by analysing current publications, databases, and online content. For example, if your major premise is “Regular exercise improves mental health,” AI can scan through medical journals, health blogs, and research databases to gather consensus and present summaries that reinforce this claim.
Validating the Minor Premise and Its Link to the Conclusion
AI can assist in mining data to establish a robust minor premises. Persuasion works best when based on truth and virtue. Therefore, you should work with premises that are valid and accurate. Machine learning models can sift through vast datasets to find evidence supporting why your product or service meets the identified needs.
For instance, if your conclusion is about saving time, AI can analyse user behaviour data to provide evidence on how much time your service saves on average. Additionally, AI can be used to research relevant case studies, findings, and testimonials that align with and strengthen your premises, ensuring they are rooted in reality and verifiable facts.
Another example might be, let’s say the major premise is:
“People don’t exercise because they struggle to find the time”
Your minor premise might be along the lines of:
“Our app sends daily workout reminders,”
You could ask AI:
“How convincingly does this minor premise support the conclusion that our app improves health? Please explain why.”
AI can then analyse related data and reasoning patterns to confirm the logical linkage or suggest modifications.
To illustrate that point, we asked ChatGPT4 to analyse this syllogism and this was the response provided:
The syllogism you’ve provided attempts to connect the functionality of your app with improving health through increased exercise, but there may be some gaps in how convincingly the minor premise supports the intended conclusion. Let’s analyse it:
Major Premise: “People don’t exercise because they struggle to find the time.”
Minor Premise: “Our app sends daily workout reminders.”
Intended Conclusion: “Our app improves health.”
Analysis
1 – Relevance of Minor Premise to Major Premise: The minor premise addresses a part of why people might not exercise — forgetting or not planning it into their day. By sending daily reminders, your app could potentially help people remember to exercise, which tackles one aspect of the time management issue. However, the major premise suggests that the core issue is not merely forgetting but actually struggling to find the time.
2 – Assumption in the Logical Connection: The syllogism assumes that reminders will suffice to overcome the barriers related to time. However, the true barrier may be more about scheduling or the ability to manage or prioritize time effectively, not just remembering to exercise. If the primary reason for not exercising is indeed a tightly packed schedule or feeling overwhelmed, a reminder alone might not be sufficient to change behavior.
3 – Supporting Health Improvement: For the conclusion that “our app improves health” to be strongly supported, the minor premise needs to directly facilitate not just the intention to exercise but the actual behavior change. This could involve not only reminders but also features that help with quick, effective workouts tailored to busy schedules, or integration with calendars to help find suitable times for exercise.
Suggestions for Strengthening the Syllogism
Enhance the Minor Premise: Consider adding features that assist with time management, such as suggestions for short workouts, integration with personal calendars to identify free times, or motivational elements that encourage taking action when a reminder goes off.
Broaden the Approach: Address multiple barriers to exercise, not just time constraints. This could include motivational tips, tracking progress, or even social features that could encourage accountability.
In conclusion, while the minor premise of sending daily workout reminders is a step towards supporting the major premise, it might not fully bridge the gap to the conclusion that the app significantly improves health without additional features or support mechanisms that directly facilitate making time for and engaging in physical activity.
As we can see, the AI does an excellent job of identifying shorting comings in the logical reasoning.
Using AI for Logical Reasoning
Like we saw in the example above, you should directly engage with AI tools like ChatGPT by asking specific questions such as:
“Do you agree that this premise supports the conclusion? Can you show your logical reasoning?”
The AI tool will then detail its thought process, perhaps by referencing patterns it has learned from data or by logically deducing the strength of the connection based on structured argumentation techniques.
For example, if a business wants to use a syllogism in their marketing such as “All natural ingredients are better for health; our products are made with all-natural ingredients; therefore, our products are better for your health,” the business owner can use AI to:
- Confirm that the major premise (“All natural ingredients are better for health”) is widely accepted by fetching and analysing consumer trends and health studies.
- Validate that the products indeed contain only natural ingredients (minor premise) and effectively show how this leads to improved health (conclusion) by drawing on existing customer testimonials and product analyses.
Conclusion
As we can see, syllogisms can allow brands to convey their value propositions clearly and convincingly, guiding audiences from widely accepted premises to strategically aligned conclusions. Whether it’s demonstrating the professional-grade capabilities of an iPhone camera or showcasing the health benefits of a Fitbit, syllogisms help bridge the gap between consumer needs and product benefits in a way that is undeniable and appeals to your audience’s pre-established beliefs. Moreover, logical reasoning such as this provides the optimal medium for integrating AI into the process. AI’s analytical prowess enables marketers to uncover insights from vast data sets, ensuring that the premises are relevant and robustly supported by empirical evidence.