Topic > Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford: pathos, ethics and logos

IndexIntroductionAnalysis of Steve Jobs' commencement speechPathosEthosLogosConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionSteve Jobs, in his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, uses the concepts of ethics and relies heavily on pathos to communicate to its audience the importance of pursuing a passion-driven career. He creates a strong connection with his listeners by tapping into emotions while weaving credibility into three stories that spark such engagement. Jobs is aware of this community and relates his techniques in such a way as to resonate and maintain relevance with them. This speech was given fourteen years ago, not long after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Taking this into consideration, it seems fitting that he led Stanford's commencement in 2005, with the intent of inspiring students to seek fulfillment in their limited lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Jobs had a number of reasons for giving this prepared speech in this place and this time. First, a recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest diseases. This speech was presumably in the wake of some sort of near-death revelation. Furthermore, in the same year he had pulled Apple out of a sales rut ​​with numbers well above those of recent years. The combination of death and business success focused Jobs on the importance of passion in work. He saw it as a driving force he could share. Furthermore, he chose to speak at Stanford, a university full of bright-minded, driven individuals who probably, like most young people, were uncertain about which of life's countless paths to take. . Jobs recognizes the potential of this group and intends to provide the one thing missing: direction. Analysis of Steve Jobs' Commencement SpeechPathosOne of the two main rhetorical appeals that Steve Jobs uses in his speech is pathos, which has the effect of engaging the audience with the piece through an emotional appeal. Jobs goes into detail about his past, talking about adoption, dropping out of college, cancer and being removed from Apple. They all make use of emotion and confirm his message of pursuing your true passion and trusting that the rest will “fall into place.” Specifically, his story of a near-death experience with a disease like pancreatic cancer elicits sympathy. This, in turn, keeps the target community engaged in what he has to say while supporting his thesis: due to life's uncertainties, you need to do what you love. Jobs knows his audience well. They are young and feel like they have all the time in the world. Sharing his unexpected cancer discovery touches students on an emotional level in a way that is relevant to them. It shows how, despite their youth, time flies and people are not always able to enjoy life for as long as they think. His desire to give the speech stems from his passion for a future illuminated by technological progress and an expansive worldview. At the heart of Jobs' argument is the simple quote “Stay hungry. Stay silly. While this is a unique message to leave with his audience, he takes it from another work, The Whole Earth Catalog, which he calls "one of the bibles of his generation." The catalog is filled with essays, articles and photographs whose culmination is a comprehensive, inspiring and challenging worldview that Jobs saw as the core of a vision of life that would bring satisfaction to many. The main theme of the catalog is the same that fuels Jobs,and pathos, or emotion, is the main attraction used to support the central idea of ​​the speech. Ethos While the effective use of pathos engages the audience through emotion, ethos establishes a speaker's credibility with an audience in a given rhetorical situation. Jobs' effectiveness in establishing and maintaining credibility throughout his speech tells listeners what he thinks and demonstrates that he is someone they can trust. Jobs achieves this by recognizing the irony inherent in having a college dropout give a commencement speech. Treat your audience with respect by conveying a story about dropping out of college without devaluing the college matriculation process. His emphasis on his personal idiosyncrasies makes the message relevant to a group of which he is not fully a part. He attended courses, such as calligraphy, and was rewarded ten years later when he was an integral part of the Macintosh. His fascination with specific classes guided him despite them having little immediate relevance in his life. The subsequent application of this learning validates the educational experience as a whole. Furthermore, Steve Jobs is not only the founder of Apple, but also the founder of other ventures such as Pixar, the most successful animation company in the world. He is an entrepreneur and innovator who simply did what he loved and indisputably changed the world forever for doing so. In this way, his experiences validate him and the main topic of his speech, demonstrating to the audience that he is someone worth listening to. LogosLogos, the rhetorical appeal that focuses on logic and reasoning, is used sparingly throughout the speech. There is purposefully limited use of logos in this speech for a number of reasons. One is gender. Typically, a commencement speech is intended to inspire and invigorate the audience. However, the facts and reasoning are likely to defeat its main purpose and as a result it will not be well received. Second, it would dramatically mitigate the essential emotional impact of the message. In this specific case, the limited logos reinforce pathos in a way that is ultimately beneficial to the argument Jobs makes. After all, half of his “stay stupid” call to action would be undermined by appeal to reason and logic. Although the logo is little used, it is still present when Jobs explains why he dropped out of college: all of his parents' income was spent on education and he "couldn't see the value in it." Jobs took advantage of an opportunity in the limited time he had by only attending classes that piqued his interest, which further supports his claim. Conclusion Steve Jobs' speech is mainly based on the concept of pathos with limited use of ethos and logo to effectively convey the concept message of making use of one's limited time. In the case of pathos, it is the emotional connection that a speaker establishes with the audience through his presentation. In his Stanford commencement speech, Steve Jobs does an amazing job of telling his life through three stories and allowing the audience to connect emotionally with what he says. Through this emotional connection, the speaker is able to convey their message more clearly and the audience is able to appreciate it more deeply. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Customize EssayAlthough ethos has a smaller presence, it is used effectively to support Jobs' theme and matters no less. It is the key reason why the audience accepts Job's speech and the crux of what he intends to communicate. Logos, despite the 2005.-061505/