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CREDIBILITY
A CONDITION FOR TRUST
From time immemorial, the concept of credibility
has been discussed and has been an
important topic in the public debate. It was
central even in the ancient rhetorical tradition.
Aristotle, perhaps the foremost teacher of rhetoric
in antiquity, deals with it in detail under
the designation ethos. Ethos, along with logos
and pathos, are the three means through which
a speaker can influence a listener. Logos is the
objective, logical account – the evidence. Pathos
is the emotional aspect; if one can arouse strong
feelings in an audience this will affect their
inclination to believe what is said and act
accordingly. Aristotle felt that, of these three
means of influence, ethos – that is, credibility
– is the most important.
Like beauty, a speaker’s credibility is in the
eye of the beholder, i.e., listeners decide whether
a speaker appears to be credible. If they believe
the speaker is credible, this can be a basis for
feeling that he or she is worthy of their trust.
And trust is a key concept in all communication.
If we look at the relationship between the
elected and the electorate, between society’s
institutions and its citizens, it is clear that credibility
is a key concept in a thriving democracy.
This study penetrates the complex concept
of credibility. It addresses, thus, elucidation of
a concept, but also proposes further research
by Rolf Hedquist*
Summary
in the area and provides some concrete advice
in the art of communicating so as to improve
credibility. The study’s efforts are rhetorical,
i.e., its point of departure is the ancient rhetorical
tradition. The focus, thus, is on how an
individual speaks, but the assumption is
always that this speaker represents an organisation.
Based on arguments regarding a speaker’s
credibility, it is possible to discuss the prerequisites
for an entire organisation, e.g., a
public authority, to appear credible and, thus,
worthy of the citizens’ trust.
An introductory section discusses the conditions
of the study, as well as the relationship
of credibility to the closely related concepts trust
and confidence.
The second section presents the most important
factors for credibility: extroversion, selfcontrol,
knowledge, social competence and
identification. Moreover, this section discusses
the listener’s opportunities for perceiving a
speaker as credible and how a speaker’s credibility
can change over time.
• Extroversion stands for an ability and will to
communicate. If the listener perceives that
the speaker does not wish to communicate
or cannot express him- or herself intelligibly,
there is a risk that credibility will erode.
*Rolf Hedquist is Senior Lecturer in Nordic languages at Umeå University; his main area of study is
rhetoric in theory and practice.
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