Barack Obama's 2004 Democrat National Convention Keynote Address

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0

            Barack Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention did more than give the Democrats a final push in the election that year. Not many people were aware of Obama on a national level, but at the conclusion of his speech people, regardless of political affiliation, could not stop talking about him.

            When you begin to examine the speech in detail it is important to first talk about the ethos attached with his persona. As a Senator from Illinois, and relatively new on the political scene, the speaker had a clean slate. The general public did not know a lot about him, but because he was in a high political office the audience trusted him. He enhanced his ethos by starting the speech by talking about his journey to his current position.

            Next, we must look at the logos associated with this speech. The 44^th President of the United States uses a lot of anecdotes in his speeches. Within most of these small stories, he uses numbers to connect the listener to the narrative. By using numbers, alongside his small stories, Barack Obama helps to strengthen his argument with cold hard facts.

            Finally, and without a doubt Barack Obama’s most important form of persuasion is ethos. The nation’s first African American President uses rhetoric that enables the listener to make a distinct connection with him. He says, “My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America, your name is no barrier to success,” at the beginning of his speech. This statement establishes an early connection with his listeners. It also helps to make him more personable. By relishing in his ability to connect with the listener on a very personal level, Barack Obama uses one of the strongest form of persuasion to get voters to listen to Democratic ideas.

           Regardless of political affiliation you cannot deny that his rhetoric is what propelled him up the political ladder at an accelerated speed. Even though the Democrats did not get the result that wanted in the 2004 election, their keynote address provided as much help as possible.

Mort Utley Speech

“A burning desire, it is wanting something so badly, you would be willing to pay any price that is right just to have it.” I can still hear the words of Mort Utley’s famous speech in my mind. I was not just a speech about a sales internship it was a speech about life. When I first heard the speech, nearly two years ago, I was passionately motivated and almost moved to tears all at the same time. Mort had a presence, a demeanor that was confident and compassionate. I heard the speech at sales school days before I embarked on my first summer internship selling books. It was rated by Forbes magazine as the toughest internship in America. I was scared out of my mind. Not only had I learned from successful alumni that it was the hardest thing they had ever done, but the program also had a two percent completion rate. It was easy to see that a 19 kid would be intimidated. Mort’s speech was given to give first years tips on how to succeed and encouragement not to quit. The speech used pathos, logos and ethos to effectively convey the message.

The intro that Mort was given before the speech made excellent use of ethos. Even if people had no idea who Mort Utley was, the list that was given of all of Mort’s accomplishments were enough to convince the crowd that he was an expert in the art of sales. Also during the speech Mort gives several examples of instances in his career where he had success and experience. I had never heard of Mort Utley before I heard his speech but I left respecting his accomplishments in sales and goal setting.

The most compelling parts of the speech were made using pathos. Mr. Utley could have the crowd rolling on the floor in laughter, with jokes like the boy and the $10,000 dog or just real life humor. In just an instant he could bring the tone down and say a very somber tender word. His use of stories also puts the listener in the story and helps them feel what the character would feel.

The use of logos was a bit smaller than the other technques used. The most effective use of logos came when he spoke of goal setting. He used logic and statistics when he spoke of the goals that he set for himself. These help the listener have a better understanding of the importance of goals. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y80FK6e4uBE

This video is an excerpt from a message by pastor and author John Piper.  He is one of my favorite communicators. The purpose of this particular portion of the message was to explain what salvation truly is.  The audience was thousands of college students at a conference in Atlanta called Passion.

He effectively used logos by discussing multiple things that salvation is not to help explain what it is.  He also used it by walking the audience through how they could logically discern whether they had experienced true salvation.

Given his topic and audience, he had really strong ethos.  Almost everyone at the conference would have read his books or heard his sermons. This gave the words he was saying a lot of credibility.

He used pathos by saying that salvation would give you new desires and new sources of pleasure.  He explained that these new desires cause people to find the deepest joy possible in salvation and the life that follows it.  

His combination of logos, ethos, and pathos made him effective in achieving his purpose of explaining what salvation truly is.

Condoleeza Rice: Where Does America Stand? (Lindsey Johnston)

The speech I chose to analyze for this assignment was given by Condoleeza Rice at the Republican National Convention.  Her speech, Where Does America Stand? exhibits properties of logos, ethos, and pathos.
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/08/29/video-transcript-condoleezza-rices-speech-from-the-republican-national-convention/
Condoleeza appeals to the audience's logical side by bringing up the economy.  She states that the upcoming presidential election will be one of consequence because of the issues it will address.  Ms. Rice goes on to say that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will help stimulate the economy and small businesses.  These things will help America retain its power and make the country something to be admired and emulated.  These statements fit under logos because they are about the numbers.  Everyone knows the economy is in bad shape and they want a president who will turn it around.

Her speech also embodies ethos because of who Condoleeza Rice is. She is a prominent political figure and former Secretary of State.  She is well known and obviously knows a good deal about politics and the government so she is a trusted credible source.

Finally Where Does America Stand has the appeal of pathos.  In one part of the speech Ms. Rice tells the story of "a young girl growing up in Jim Crow Birmingham Alabama who could not go to the movies or get a burger at the Woolworth's lunch counter, but whose parents told her she could be the next president of the United States..." Upon hearing this the audience erupts in cheers.  Her story is one of a girl who grew up under oppression, but whose parents never stopped encouraging her.  This encouragement led her to become the Secretary of State.  By talking about her family and tearing up when she does so she becomes relatable to the audience. The people listening feel for her and are inspired by her story. Many times in the speech Condoleeza praises America and appeals to her listeners' patriotism. She talks about how the country can remain great and powerful.  And of course she says "God bless this country the United States of America!"

The logos, pathos, and ethos present in Condoleeza Rice's speech at the RNC make it compelling and inspiring.

Dove Evolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
I saw this commercial a few years ago and never forgot it.  Obviously after watching, you realize that the commerical is about the evolution of beauty and all the work that is put into a simple ad.  It shows the world that our image of beauty is distorted because of all the changes that are made to photos by technology.  This ad really highlights a pathos effect because so many of the viewers can relate.  Many women who go through self consciousness issues see this ad and can finally understand that they are beautiful.  And maybe they dont look like the people they see in the magazines but that is because the people in magazines have images that are almost unattainable.  The emotions that this ad portrays really help viewers relate.  It also uses logos because the ad is very straightforward.  It gives the facts and shows that people do no naturally look like this and it takes photoshop and other forms of technology to make these images. 

May 1, 2011

When I read the topic for this post, this speech was the first to come to my mind. President Obama is addressing the American people about the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. This speech has Ethos, Pathos, and Logos as well as a clear goal/purpose and target audience.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ellnd3M8-ow&feature=fvst

Target Audience: The American People

Goal/Purpose: I believe this speech has a couple purposes. The obvious one being to inform the public that the most deadly terrorist of this generation has been killed. Second, I think this speech was written to give Americans hope. Like the President said in the speech, America can do whatever we set our mind to, and I think he was trying to remind us of that. Yes, it might have taken 10 years, but we never gave up. Also, I think President Obama wanted to instill pride in the American people. With the hard hitting recession, it has been a rough couple of years, and I think this speech was to remind the people of the pride we can have in our country.

Logos: the Logos in the speech is easy to spot. In the very beginning when the President states "The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden". There is more signs of logos further into the speech where he discusses the plan and tactics behind the operation and giving the "go ahead" to kill Osama.

Ethos: The ethos is very easy in this speech, he is the President of the United States. No matter what political party is, when the President speaks about something of this magnitude, you realize his credibility. Being our Commander in Chief makes President Obama extremely credible in this speech.

Pathos: The pathos within this speech is pretty constant. In the beginning when President Obama begins describing Sept. 11, 2001. Also, when he talks about the families who lost someone on that day and how we will never forget them.

No matter what party you affiliate with, this speech is an historic one.

Mitchell Appleby Blog Post

Mitchell Appleby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61uCHhDLWh4

            The speech that I chose was from last night’s Republican National Convention. When I watched New Jersey Governor Chris Christie deliver his speech, I knew that was the one I would use.  Christie uses a lot of ethos, logos, and pathos during his speech to help get his point across.

            Ethos is very clear from the start in this speech. First, Governor Christie is a Republican Governor. The people in the audience knew who he was before he even stepped on that stage due to the fact that it was a Republican convention and Christie is one of the more popular members of the party. He also spent some time during the speech discussing the success that he has had in New Jersey.  He said that he was told it was impossible to cut taxes in that state and that he could not balance the budget, but he was able to do it. He also saved retirees pensions and spoke truth to the teacher’s union when nobody else would. With all that said, Governor Christie solidified himself as a very credible speaker to the audience.

            Pathos was extremely prevalent throughout his speech. He was very firm and direct, but he did use some brief humor at the beginning to lighten the mood. He told the audience about his parents and the hard life that they endured, which made him look like a common hard-working American. He discussed how he was instilled with family principles, including respect and love. He spoke with a passion and pride for the country that is normally not so clear. Christie called for this country to be great again and tonight was the time for us to stand up and do so. His firm speaking and repeated quotes about believing in America seemed to get the crowd excited. They rose to their feet and were very motivated by the Governor’s speech. If a speech can motivate the audience, then pathos had to play a role.

            Logos was not used as frequently in this speech and the other two, but there were some brief instances where Governor Christie used logos on the crowd. He said that the American people need to use what they know to be true to determine what this country needs. They need to be smart and choose the party that has the right ideas for the country rather than the party with the wrong ideas. Christie told the crowd that we, as Americans, need to change. We need to choose politicians who will stand up and do something rather than just try to be something so that they can win a reelection. He left it up to the crowd to do something and choose what’s right.

            The audience that Governor Christie is addressing is a group of Republican conservatives, but he really is addressing much more than that. His message is for all of the American people. I believe that his purpose with this speech was to call Americans to restore this country to what it used to be. He wanted to support Mitt Romney for president and motivate all people to revitalize our nation.

Jodi Picoult

For my speech, I wanted to find something that really stood out and interested me. After doing some thinking, I decided to find an interview of my favorite author, Jodi Picoult. Here is an interview given by Katie Couric about Jodi's new book, Lone Wolf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZU9LpdPvuE

This interview has an abundance of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. As I was watching this, I was amazed by how things in each category really stood out to me.

Logos is the first one that I will touch on. At one point in the interview, Katie Couric points out how all of Jodi's books are about really controversial issues. Some deal with abortion, suicide, school shootings, and organ donations. All of these issues are extremely thought provoking and will cause the reader to think deeper about the subject at hand. Jodi talked about how she thinks long and hard about these issues before deciding to write about them. She said that if they really stick in her mind for long periods of time, she feels that it is worth writing about. All of her topics in her books catch the interest of her readers and leads them to ask questions about what they are reading about. The issues which she is writing about are topics that need to be addressed, so it's essential for people to not only learn about them, but form their own opinions of them.

Ethos is another big part of this speech. Right off the bat Katie mentioned how Jodi had already written 19 books. Jodi also commented on the fact that she usually starts a new book the day after she finished her last one. Obviously, she is a very talented and credible author. Throughout the interview, Jodi talked about how much research she does before writing each book. This obviously shows how much time and effort she puts in to the facts that go in to her books. All of those combined shows that she is a very credible source.

During the interview, Jodi used a lot of pathos as well. While she was talking about writing new books, Jodi put herself in the readers shoes by asking herself things such as what would I do while reading it. She was always telling stories that would make the audience laugh, and she showed herself in a very humble way. The way Jodi presented herself and talked made her seem very relatable, and showed the audience that she is just like everybody else.

Overall I think the audience of this speech is for those who are interested in reading, especially those who are fans of hers. As for the purpose, I believe this was to inform her fans of how she comes up with the ideas of her books, as well as to show readers that she is a normal human being like the rest of us. The other purpose could be to engage readers to really think about the issues in her books since they are so controversial.

Weblog 8/29/12

Rachel Croft

Comm 315

August 29, 2012

I’ve been a huge fan of Mac products my entire life, so I watched Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address for my assignment.  As I watched this speech, I noticed Jobs’ frequent use of both logos and pathos.  Jobs used a very logical format for his speech; at the beginning, he informed the audience of exactly what he would be discussing in his address and followed that outline precisely.  He offered advice to his audience and proved the advice was sound by sharing some of his own personal experiences.  By sharing these experiences, Jobs also used pathos in his address.  His stories were those of love, loss, sickness, failure, and success.  These experiences were moving and insightful; they really seemed to cause an emotional stir in his audience.  Ethos can also be seen in this speech; Jobs clearly has credibility with his audience, since he is the creator of Mac and every person in the audience probably owned a Mac product or at least used one in the past.  Basically every person in the audience knew that even though Jobs did not graduate from college, he is extremely smart and has done very well in life.  Another was this speech was effective was the way it was directed specifically towards the audience, which was a group of students graduating from Stanford.  Jobs frequently spoke of both failure and success, all the while giving the adolescents advice on how to survive in the real world.  By using the appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos, as well as designing a speech specifically for his audience, Steve Jobs was able to create an effective inspirational speech for all the 2005 Stanford graduates.

Miracle Speech

For my speech I chose Coach Brooks' pregame speech for the USA hockey team in the movie Miracle. I love sports and therefore love pregame speeches and how they have the ability to inspire unlike anything else. I have experienced this first hand and I think this is why I love great pregame speeches. The movie Miracle, is set in 1980 when the USA hockey team played the USSR hockey team in the gold medal game of the 1980 winter olympics. The USA hockey team were major underdogs and the game attracted increased media attention because of the great tension at the time between the United States and the USSR.

This is the link to the speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwpTj_Z9v-c

This speech is made by Herb Brooks, the coach of the 1980 USA mens hockey team. His audience is the entire team and the speech occured in the locker room before the gold medal game. I think his purpose is solely to inspire his team. He knows they are ready and that they are prepared for the game so his goal in this speech to get them pumped up and inspired.

Coach Brooks does not use a lot of ethos in this speech because his players already know who he is and respect his tremendously. There is no need for him to prove his credibility in this pregame speech because he has already proved it long before this game.

He does use some logos in this speech when referring to his teams chances, saying that if the USA team played the Soviets 10 times, the Soviets would probably win 9 times.. He uses these statistics to inspire his team and let them know that beating the Soviets can be done. No one else but the people in the locker room believe the team can win and this creates a sense of camaraderie amongst the team.

However, Coach Brooks' main appeal is pathos. He is appealing to his team's emotions because he knows if they look at stats, it appears they will not win. He tells them that this is their moment and their time. He tells them if they believe in themselves, then they can accomplish their goal of beating the Soviets and inspiring the country.