Emotional Appeals: Ethical or Unethical?

Emotional appeals can be ethical, but like any other appeals, it could be abused and become unethical. Using emotional appeals with a mixture of logical appeals creates a well balanced, and ethical message. In Business Communication Essentials: A Skills-Based Approach, Courtlan Bovée and John Thill remind readers that “even if your audience reaches a conclusion based on emotions, they’ll look to you to provide logical support as well” (227). 

According to Bovée and Thill, "every method of reasoning is vulnerable to misuse," and it is best to avoid the following:

• Hasty generalizations.
• Circular reasoning.
• Attacking an opponent.
• Avoid oversimplifying a complex issue.
• Mistaken assumptions of cause and effect.
• Faulty analogies. (228-229).

Connecting with an audience on an emotional level isn't improper or unjust, as long as there is a balance of emotional and logical appeals. Using an emotional appeal  helps the receiver become more understanding about the situation, as logical appeals supply the receiver with a reasonable explanation. Creating an effective message involves emotional and logical appeals, but it also requires the writer to ask "how can I strengthen my message even more?" Bovée and Thill give the simplest advice, and that is to choose powerful words (229). Diction is valuable because even the slight change of a word or meaning can affect the message entirely. Even further, writers can think "beyond specific words and phrases, [and] look for other factors that can reinforce your position like finding ways for [the receiver] to benefit from your request as well" (Bovée and Thill 229).

Works Cited

Bovée, Courtlan and Thill John. Communication Essentials: A Skills-Based Approach. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2014. Print.