Topic > Analysis of Rhetorical Appeals Used by Steve Jobs in His New Year Speech

Steve Jobs is a big name in today's society. Steve Jobs is primarily known as the original co-founder of Apple Inc., one of the largest, if not the largest, companies in existence to date. Jobs is a highly successful and respected man, which is why his speech at Stanford University on Commencement Day captured the public's attention and made Stanford University students want to act and listen. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The goal of Steve Jobs' speech was to inspire students at Stanford University to find their passions through activities. Jobs is able to successfully convey his point of view to everyone who listens to his speech due to the details that were put into the structure of the speech given by Jobs. In Jobs' speech, rhetorical appeals are shown using persuasion to draw students' attention to meaningful questions that can contribute to life-changing experiences. Stories told during the commencement speech included pathos, shared personal experience can relate to ethics, and story endings use logos. Ethos is clearly used throughout the speech when Jobs states, “I never graduated from college. To be honest, this is the closest thing to a college degree I've ever had.” The purpose of the 3 stories that Jobs included in his speech are used to tie together his main argument about the importance of finding things that you are passionate about and enjoy participating in. This point is developed by references to pathos in the first few sentences as he tells his stories. In the first story, Jobs mentions adopting a child, happiness and states “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I'm about to do today?”. This shows pathos because the author's feelings and emotions are described and shown here. Jobs reveals his personal life, background and experiences to support his ideas. The pathos used in the speech is evident when the author concludes that "If I had never dropped out, I would never have taken this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do." Jobs also states that “About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer,” which clearly shows both ethos and pathos. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In summary, Jobs' main goal of his speech is to convince the graduates listening to find the things they love to do and focus on them. Jobs supports his point by stating “Your work will fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work” (Jobs). This quote can be taken from Jobs' personal experience which he shares with the audience to inspire and push them.