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.