Sometimes I am in awe of Obama as a speaker. I just watched his Back to School Speech at Benjamin Bannaker High School. Even with my volume on mute, I could tell he was speaking eloquently and informatively just by how he looked. First, he was wearing a suit. How much more professional can you get? Not much more. Second, he held himself very professionally. His posture always upright and formal, but he never looked stiff or uncomfortable. Also, he made eye contact with the members of the audience which makes him more relatable and credible because he is talking right to them. His limited use of hand gestures strengthened the point he was trying to make. He never gestured profusely just for the sake of moving his hands around. He used gestures to emphasize a statement. Lastly, he used the inflection of his voice to his advantage. His voice projected throughout the whole gymnasium without sounding overbearing. He didn't use much cadence or range in his voice because he wasn't trying to rally the audience, but he did become quieter when he wanted people to listen more closely and he pronounced words clearly so the audience could understand him.
Obama knew that his audience was varied (from kindergarteners to highly educated teachers) and his diction was logically chosen to cater to all of them. He used simple sentences with powerful words that kindergarteners could understand, but also impressed teachers. He knew not to use long sentences with elevated vocabulary because his audience would have been easily distracted. His purpose wasn't to rally the audience so there weren't many phrases that provoked vocal reactions from the crowd. Instead, he wanted to motivate students to have a plan for the future and to keep pushing ahead to achieve what they want to achieve. To do this, Obama used empowering language, such as "you're this country's future" and "whether we fall behind or race ahead in these coming years is up to you." These statements motivated me, along with other students all over the nation, to strive for excellence and be the best student I can be.
Obama used many emotional appeals to elevate his speech. The statements I listed above are examples of pathos because they make a person feel like they can go and conquer anything. Also an example of pathos was when Obama was talking about the sacrifices teachers make. He said that "[teachers] don't do it for a fancy office or a big salary. They do it for you." This definitely sparked emotions in me. I felt honored that teachers make all this sacrifice in order to make our future better. I also felt like now I need to work harder to show that their hard work has paid off. He used a lot of ethos in his speech, too. All of the times he referred to himself, he was using ethos by establishing his credibility. For example, when he talked about his time in high school and how he wasn't the best student and didn't really like his classes, he established his credibility because he was explaining a time when he was in our shoes. We, as students, are more inclined to listen to someone who knows what we are going through, so by using that example, Obama brought himself to our level and we believed the things he was saying. Lastly, he used logos to provide students with examples of what they could be doing and what they needed to be doing. When Obama included the statistics about how 60% percent of the jobs in 10 years will require a degree higher than a high school diploma and that America is ranked 16th in the world based on the number of college degrees per our population, he influenced the audience by using logic and reasoning. It is kind of a shocker statistic that appeals to the audience by making them work harder. He also used logos when he included the examples of teenagers across the nation that were doing tremendous things to benefit society. That made me want to strive to do more things, even though they might not be like what those kids did.
Obama is a very influential and commanding speaker.
Sorry this got to be so long but it is brimming with analysis!
There's a tidbit for ya.
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