Steve Job gave a commencement speech to Stanford students in 2005 that is a revolutionary speech. The way that he analyzed his audience, and then used his knowledge of college culture from his previous experience as a student to make this speech so powerful was because he had already studied the culture. He knew what was needed for a good presentation. Steve Jobs’s speech was more important because he spoke of something that will allow future graduates to experience this current reality. Steve Job’s Stanford Address has a lot of elements that are Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
Ethos is one of the elements that Steve Job’s unknowingly focuses on. Ethos is a component that emphasizes credibility. Ethos asks you to consider the following questions: Who is this speaker? Can I believe what this person says? Steve Job is a trustworthy and prominent figure who delivers the speech. He can be regarded as a credible source. His speech also tells his story. Nobody knows your life better than you. Steve Jobs explains that he did not graduate from college but took steps towards becoming successful. Jobs’ approach is unique because he focuses on his steps to success rather than the college education he received. It is possible to consider these’steps credible’ coming from an extremely successful entrepreneur. Jobs’ thoughts are only valid if he can use his experiences and life background to support them.
It is not enough to share his sufferings as a means of supporting ethos. Steve relates the story of being fired from the business he once owned. It was his second tale out of three. The disappointment is evident. Disappointment is something that can be related to by anyone. The audience can relate to his story. It brings back the memories of his loss when he finally lost the company he so diligently built. Jobs talks in his final story about the closeness of his death. He describes how doctors told him he had a type of cancer that was almost certain to be incurable. This is a new argument that brings back emotions and pathos. Most people know someone who is or has been a cancer patient. This certainly hits home. As he attempts to illustrate why life can be so uncertain and valuable, he uses his own emotions to connect with the audience.
Steve Job did not use any clear statistics to prove his logos. Jobs’ speech reads more like a memoir. Jobs’ speech did contain some obvious facts, despite the lack of statistics. He stated, “Death is our common destiny.” Nobody has ever managed to escape. Humanity is aware of this fact. One day, every person will be faced with this fact. One day, everyone will be gone from this planet. He brought up this subject because people live their lives to please others. The message he wanted to send was that time is precious and we cannot waste it. Jobs talks about the consequences of not taking a calligraphy lesson. Steve Jobs said that if he hadn’t taken the calligraphy class in college, there would never have been multiple fonts or proportionally-spaced fonts on the Mac. This is correct, as he introduced these features for the first time to a computer. He then says that Microsoft has copied the Mac’s features and that there is a good chance that no personal computer will have them. Steve Jobs’ inventions such as multiple fonts and proportionally spaced typefaces would not have been possible without him.
You can determine the quality of Jobs’ speech by the topic chosen and the way it was delivered. He realized that his speech would be in front of a group of graduates. The speaker wrote his speech taking into account the audience’s needs. Steve Jobs achieves his main objectives in his speech by focusing on ethos and pathos. Steve shows his creative vision and passions in life by using references to death, adoration, and personal experiences.
