Rhetorical Analysis: The Gym

To do this assignment I went to the Gold's Gym near BYU campus. I was nervous because I knew that if I didn't have some kind of backup to my ten minute claim,they'd end up talking me into finding more time. So I set an alarm on my cell phone and went in.

Pathos: The guy with whom I was paired began by appealing to my pathos. He asked me about where I was from, and after informing him that I was from Provo, he mad a connection from me to him by telling me about his roommate who was also from Provo and had gone to Provo High. He was obviously trying to create some kind of connection between us so that I would feel more comfortable.

Ethos: Next he told me how great the gym was, that it was the first one in Utah, and that all the trainers were some of the best. He also let me know that he was the manager, thus building himself and his fellow trainers up as worthy and knowledgeable purchasers of my money.

Logos: Then came logos. Going along with the Ethos, he gave me some of the facts. The Gold's Gyms of Utah were some of the best and largest nation wide. It seemed like an ovbious thing to join because of all the nice benefits and convenient locations of the gyms.

Luckily I made it out alive and with two minutes to spare. It was an interesting experience to see the various methods of persuasion they used. The best part to me, though, was identifying his use of the threat/reward fallacy. He said something along the lines of "It hasn't been a good week, I'm going to get yelled at on Monday, but if you join, I can at least have something to show for it...." Right.