Jim Valvano vs. Clint Eastwood

For me, the most effective speech so far was Jim Valvano's Espy speech and the least effective was Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican National Convention. Valvano's speech was the most effective for me because of the humor and pathos used in the speech. Even though Valvano had cancer he knew how to make the audience laugh instead of cry for him. He did not make the audience feel sorry for him but instead gave them advice on how to live their lives with no regrets. I also loved his ending when he said "Don't give up, don't ever give up!" That line has always stuck with me and the speech overall was extremely inspirational. On the other hand, Clint Eastwood's speech at the RNC did not have the same effect on me. I felt his speech was lacking because of his delivery and lack of purpose. I really feel his only purpose was that he was a movie star and he was showing his support for Mitt Romney. I also thought when he pretended Obama was sitting in the chair next to him, was not well delivered and was confusing for the audience.

I feel Valvano's target audience was almost anybody who was watching. His purpose was not only to increase awareness and support for cancer awareness but also to inspire and give hope to people struggling with fatal diseases like himself. His context was the Espy awards and his inspirational speech was perfect for a sports centered event.

Eastwood's target audience was the Republicans at the RNC and also all the political media because through this speech he was publicly displaying his support for Mitt Romney. His audience was all the political media and the context was the RNC and the upcoming political election.

Eastwood did do some good things when he used logos to prove why he was supporting Romney. Also, when he said his catch phrase at the end he got the crowd involved and ended his speech on a good note. I really cannot think of any of Valvano's mistakes in his speech. His speech might have been  a little long for an acceptance speech but he didn't care because he had limited life left and wasn't going to stop until he said everything he thought he needed to.