Engelska 7 Analysis of a speech PDF

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Analysis of Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

(Bastian) Introduction: “I am honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation,” This is the start of Steve Jobs commencement speech to the Stanford University class of 2005. A commencement speech is a speech given to graduating students. It is typically given by a notable figure in the community when students receive their degrees. The person giving the speech is known as the commencement speaker. Commonly, colleges or universities will invite politicians, important citizens or other noted speakers to come and address the graduating class. The first two sentences immediately add an element of humor and humility to his speech, and are well perceived by the audience. The initial remarks of the speech automatically set the tone, and in this case he sets a conversational, and laid back mood that puts the audience at ease. His introduction appeals to the audience’s emotions, catching their attention, giving Jobs a gateway into the rest of his speech. During his speech to the new graduates, he tells three life stories. He encourages the students to pursue their dreams, and do whatever makes them happy, even if what makes you happy does not always go according to the plan.

jooo(Miriam) Three stories: Jobs wrapped three lessons into three stories. Dividing a message into three parts or stories is a simple, memorable, and effective technique to structure a message. “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories,” Jobs began. Jobs’ first story was about connecting the dots. He talked to the graduates about dropping out of Reed College so he could “drop in” to the courses he wanted to take, like calligraphy, a course that he at that point thought had no practical application to his life. Ten years later he incorporated what he had learned into the design of the first Macintosh. He continued the speech by saying “It was the first computer with beautiful typography…You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Jobs’ second story was about love and loss. He recalled falling in love with computers at an early age, meeting Steve “Woz” Wozniak, building Apple, and losing Apple after a falling out with the Board of Directors. “Getting fired was the best thing that could ever happen to me…I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love.” Jobs’ third and final story was about death. “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs was first diagnosed with cancer 2003. He had a rare form of pancreatic cancer. His cancer diagnosis is certainly reflected in this part of the speech and it is clear that death is something he has pondered on. “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there.And yet death is the destination we all share.No one has ever escaped it.And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.They somehow already know what you truly want to become.Everything else is secondary.”

(Emil) Figures of Speech:

An extremely important part of a speech is keeping your audience's attention whilst still delivering your powerful message. Jobs achieved this by structuring his speech around three main points, and he applies the Rule of Three in many sentences and paragraphs. An example of this is “ all external expectations, all pride, all fear”. The recurring theme of Three creates a path in the speech which makes the speech easier to listen to and understand.

Too show you how full this speech is with figures of speech all the parts in red are figures of speech

“If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in…” Antithesis humour… provides a clear pictures of his version of the thoughts “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” Antithesis. Interesting, new perspective. makes you think Why did I drop out? (HYPOPHORA) question with immediate answer makes the listeners think about the answer and then immediately gets an answer. Almost the same effect of rhetorical question. awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick (METAPHOR) Metaphorical language activates the imagination, and the writer is more able to convey emotions and impressions which also is a recurring theme we will talk about later. don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't (TRICOLON & ANAPHORA) let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. A tricolon allows you to emphasize your point in a memorable way.

Ends the speech really strongly. Repetition. Stay hungry stay foolish. memorable.

(Miriam) Conclusion of the speech:

Steve Jobs saves his call to attention for the end of the speech: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” The speech emphasized triumph over adversity. Each of the three vignettes from Jobs life involve struggle or sacrifice. Stories of triumph over struggle resonate with audiences because humans are hard-wired to empathize with one another, and stories are the vehicles through which we share these common bonds. Stories help transport listeners to another world, allowing them to see to themselves in the speaker’s shoes. Once they’re connected to a speaker, an audience is more likely to follow the speaker’s advice or buy into their idea. (Bastian) Language of the speech: Steve Jobs speaks in a very colloquial tone that resonates well with the audience which in combination with his masterful use of rhetorical devices results in a speech that not only keeps the audience's attention but creates something the audience can relate to personally. Ethos, Logos, Pathos are modes of persuasion used to convince others of your position, argument or vision. Ethos means character and it is an appeal to moral principles. Ultimately, ethos is all about trust. It’s about establishing the speaker’s credibility, so that the audience can believe in what they say. And it’s about presenting an argument with ethical appeal. Jobs speaks about dropping out of college and studying calligraphy. How none of this made much sense at the time from a practical perspective. But later on, it helped him work on font design and branding at Apple. Then he moves on to speak about the ups and downs of his professional experience. How he was fired from Apple. How he moved between companies, never settling. We see that he has been successful, despite dealing with adversity. And despite some of his decisions that seemed suspect at the time. Jobs furthers his authority on life by talking about his confrontation with death. He describes his pancreatic cancer diagnosis and recovery, and how death helps life by being its antithesis.

The experience validated his choices, because it reminded him that change is inevitable. You will die someday, and nobody knows when. So you should do what you’re passionate about now, while you can. He drives this home by saying “your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Jobs tells a story that builds up a trustworthy persona. By bringing himself down to the level of the audience, he becomes relatable and by speaking of unorthodox success, he becomes credible. LOGOS Logos means reason and it is an appeal to logic. Logos is about presenting a logical argument. It focuses on the details of the message presented to make it credible. It shows the speaker is informed about the subject matter at hand. We want facts, figures, structure. We want data from credible sources to back up what is being said, so we can believe it. Jobs uses relatively little Logos in his speech as he is not trying to persuade the audience of an idea but more a way of life, and thinking. PATHOS Pathos means experience or sadness and it is an appeal to emotion. By generating an emotional response, pathos appeals to pity, anger, and/or fear. All those powerful feelings. Pathos creates empathy with the speaker’s point of view. That’s why it’s so important to imbue rhetoric with an emotional tone. We see it when Jobs talks about his upbringing and formative college years. He was adopted by working class parents. His unwed biological mother couldn’t take care of him. But she made sure his adoptive parents would send him to college. When he got to college, he felt guilty for using his parents money. They had sacrificed and saved, yet he had no idea what he wanted to do. So he dropped out. To make ends meet, he returned coke bottles for the deposit. He sat in on college classes he was truly interested in. He slept on the floor of his friend’s dorm room. In the end, it all worked out.

Jobs ends the story with the following emotional appeal: "Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leaves you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference." Most people understand being broke. Being scared and confused. Being guilty. So the story appeals by stirring empathy. The mythical Jobs was always human after all. He’s dealt with the exact same issues as the audience he addresses. Jobs tells the audience to trust their “gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” It can be scary to follow passion, but it’s important to do so no matter what. His hardship ended in success, after all. Later in the speech Jobs mentions how he was fired from Apple. The company he spent most of his adult life building. Of course, he was eventually re-hired. When he gave this speech, he was the CEO of Apple once more. But mentioning this event makes Jobs look humble. Everyone can relate to failure.

(Emil) Our thoughts: A great speech can give people courage they didn’t know they had. The speech has been inspiring people for a decade and will continue to do so, convincing many more people to “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” that resonates with just about everyone who seeks meaning in their lives and their career: Do what you love. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it,” Jobs said. Steve makes the point to trust that you know where you are going. That only after you're there, can you then connect the dots. “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.

The speech meant a lot to Steve Jobs. He had practiced the speech endlessly, often talking out loud as he walked around the house. He gave the speech several times during family dinners, taking advantage of the captive audience. The best speeches and presentations—those that connect deeply with another person’s soul—are best written from the heart. At 22 million views on YouTube, Steve Jobs’ commencement speech did connect deeply with millions of souls around the world. So remember Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish...