The speech that I found the most effective was Jimmy Valvano's ESPY awards speech. He expertly combined logos, ethos, and pathos to create an inspiring speech. Mr. Valvano was able to balance advertising the Jimmy V. Foundation and telling his personal story, all while accepting an award. He thanked everyone for his award and told the story of his battle with cancer. Jimmy also teared up while he was telling his story which made him more relatable and personable. He made the connection with the audience that is so important. Not only did he appeal to the audience's emotional side, but he also had ethos. Everyone in the audience knew him as a famous and successful football coach. Because of his fame people listened to him and actually cared about what he was saying. When Mr. Valvano brought up statistics related to cancer patients he appealed to the audience's logos. He used these statistics to further convince the audience that his foundation was a worthwhile organization. Overall I was very moved by his speech. I felt like I connected with him on a personal level even though I've never met him. I was convinced that I should look in to donating to the Jimmy V. Foundation.
On the other hand, the TED talk done by David Christian was not very effective. I did think some elements of his speech were engaging, but for it didn't keep my attention. The visual effects that David Christian used were interesting and some of them worked well. I liked the large timeline of existence that he zoomed in and out of and I also liked the graph with the people and the mice. One of the visual aids I didn't like was when he turned out the lights to emulate the beginning of the world. It lasted a little too long for my taste and I started to wonder if he was having some technical difficulties. I also didn't like the video of the egg at the beginning. I don't think it added a lot to the talk. Mr. Christian's speech was much more logos based than Jimmy Valvano's which served the purpose and audience well. However, I wish he had added more of the other elements of rhetoric. He did not establish any credibility which I didn't like. The people at the TED talk probably knew who he was, but he should still have said something to inform those who didn't know him. The whole time I was wondering why I should be listening to him speak and if I could trust his information. I also would have liked to see more pathos incorporated in some way. David Christian ended his speech talking about his grandson and the future of our planet. If he had talked about that more I think the talk would have been more effective and relatable.
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