A Rhetorical Analysis Of Commencement Speech By Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs speech is to inform and entertain the public audience. He’s giving a lesson on life. Steve Jobs uses his life in his speech to give all audiences a word of encouragement. He tells the story of birth, death, and rebirth. The historical background of the commencement speech is based on Jobs actual real life background. Job was set up for adoption way before he was born. He then grew up to go to college but not find the value so he became a drop out. He went through many trials but never gave up on what he loves to do. The primary audience of this speech are the graduating students of Stanford University. He wants them to hear the speech and keep it with them as they commence into the next level in their lives. The secondary audience would be anybody who listen to the speech. Due to the fact that this speech is used to encourage and uplift a lot of people in their lives and career journeys. The structure of job speech is very systematic he told his stories in a three story chronological form. This structure allows him to talk about different and varying points while still connecting them to his overall point of finding “what you love to do.”

Steve Job’s commencement speech in 2005 at Stanford University, which is one of the best university in our country was very memorable and inspiring for Stanford graduates and also for audience listening to speech. In his speech, Jobs inspires students and audience to pursue their dreams and always to follow their heart no matter what even though things don’t always go according to plan and never give up. Steve Job is mainly known for his contributions in the technological world but along with that he is also recognized for his world-renowned presentations. Jobs’ simplicity in delivery and extensive use of rhetoric makes his speech effective and comparable to speeches of famous narrators. In this commencement speech, Jobs uses simplicity in the structure of his speech along with the use of rhetoric such as ethos and pathos besides usage of personal stories to make this speech effective in inspiring his audience and making it memorable.

Steve Jobs was like the Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Albert Einstein of our time.  He not only innovated personal computing, but personal media and communication, iTunes which became one of the most popular music and video retailers and Pixar which was one of his side projects had become one of the greatest animation digital movie creators and software. But all that is a just part of the list of his legacy, because in the end he still left behind Apple which is world’s most valuable company, which is valued at $350 Billion Dollars.

Steve Jobs is a household name, at least in most parts of America. He was both the head of one of the most influential companies in the emerging computer field, while also pushing for innovation in both Apple, and Pixar. He starts his speech by saying that he has “three stories from my life”, then goes on to tell the story of how he dropped out of college. By utilizing the technique of ethos, he influences the audience to be able to both trust and respect him.

Steve Jobs, who is known as one of the greatest innovators of our time, had given a speech in 2005 to new graduates from Stanford. As many would find this ironic since he never graduated from college, but by the end of the speech they have realized why he was there to give the speech. He successfully gives the speech by using multiple rhetorical devices such as repetition of life experiences as well as common emotion that everyone consists of. By using those, his goals are to have the new graduates continue through life by doing what they love to do no matter what obstacles comes across their life.

In 2005 during his Commencement address, Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple and Pixar, uses ethos to inspire Stanford graduates to follow their dreams no matter the obstacles in life. Jobs focuses on three stories of his life. His first story is about him dropping out of college in which he said was the best that could have happened to him. From this, he was able to become successful in what actually interested him, which were computers and their typography. Jobs second story describes how he was actually kicked out of his own company, giving him a fresh new start to create something new. From this misfortune, Jobs was able to found the companies NeXT and Pixar and also where he met his wife, Lauren.Thirdly, Jobs speaks about his close experience

Six Years ago, the world lost one the most technologically and innovatively inclined individuals of his time. He was best known for creating classy and cutting edge technology that many people worldwide would attempt to be first in line for when the newest edition was released. This man’s name was Steve Jobs. He was the founder and CEO of Apple, a company that he and Steve Wozniak developed in Jobs’s garage after he dropped out of college. Creating such a company was no easy task, but Jobs persevered and didn’t back down from any challenge that he faced along the way. He is an individual that is very hard to ignore, specifically when listening to him speak. For a man of so many accomplishments, it is no surprise that Stanford invited him to speak at the 2005 commencement ceremony. This speech is said to be one of the best he had ever given. The speech dives into Job’s life and lessons he learned along the way through trial and error. Jobs tries to convince the graduates that they should to listen to their heart when selecting a career. Jobs uses ethos to establish credibility, pathetic appeals to get the audience to listen to his advice and utilizes a logical argument to show that in order to achieve success, one must stay true to who they are.

He points out facts about his creation of Apple that took over ten years to create and once it was to much for him to handle he hired someone to help out they later on came to a dis-agreement “So at 30 I was out. Very publicly” his own company he started from the ground up fired him and left him with nothing. After being fired Jobs was unemployed for a few months and thought about running away from everything “But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did” Apple had rejected him but not taken away his passion for his job (Jobs 1). Jobs didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened for his career. The heaviness of being successful and maintaining that success was replaced by a fresh start and the joy of being a beginner again, Jobs states he enjoys the feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen next (Jobs 1). He began to change the face of the film industry with the company Pixar “It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life” (Jobs 1) his emotional distress connects the audience and allows them to trust him giving a new insight into his creative new

Steve Jobs began his Stanford Commencement Speech effectively by capturing the audience’s attention through expressing that he is a former drop out, yet he stands proudly to address the graduates who he once visioned to be sitting beside .He then went on to explain that the content of his speech would be delivered in three simple life stories of his. He implemented a very smooth transition from his opening to the body of his speech, beginning with his birth and childhood origins. Jobs began his three stories by discussing his experience in college and then connected with his audience sympathies by detailing how he would implement things he found seemingly-impractical in his days attending college to being crucial in his enormous success.

He was able to rise above his circumstances against all odds, and accomplish incredible things. When someone so successful speaks on his own experiences on the road to success, it is important to listen and analyze his message, to better understand how one truly becomes “successful”. In 2005, Jobs was chosen to speak at Stanford University, specifically to address the graduating class and offer them words of wisdom for the road ahead. In his speech, Jobs told multiple stories from his own life, and eventually he ties them all together with one simple, yet thought-provoking quote. Most people in the world see someone like Steve Jobs and think that in order to get where he is, he must have been blessed with a prodigious gift.

A commencement speech, a speech that sends off college students into the real world. When these speeches are said, they are meant to be eye-openers, a lesson that should be held close to you to aid in whatever comes your way in the future. This is what Steve Jobs wanted to do when he gave his commencement speech. He gave his speech to his fellow graduates to guide them into something more and tell them a fundamental tip on how to live their life. In Steve Jobs commencement speech, he uses rhetorical devices, syntax and diction to make his purpose which is don’t live your life based on others choices or taboos in society, but rather how you want to, more persuasive.

In most arguments today, facts are given to support claims; however, in Jobs’ case, he presents only his opinion and history as evidence. Even though this is all he offers, it creates rhetorical backing in ethos. Through his stories, he creates a persona for himself. He makes himself out to be a person who carries on even in the darkest of times and who has overcome many obstacles when things didn’t look good. When trying to teach the audience that failure can sometimes be good, these are important pieces of his persona to establish. He is known as a successful man and role model already. Developing this persona allows him to connect with his audience even more.

A few years after the release of their second model, Apple II, sales went up to $139,000,000 dollars.

Jobs’ appeal to ethos in his anecdotes is not just limited to the fact that he is a celebrity. He also chose parts of his stories not only to give lesson but also to speak for his own manner. He didn’t tell us stories about how he smartly crushed competitions or how he obtains a monopoly on the tech market. He chose stories where he is basically the “good guy”. He didn’t even talk about how he got fired from Apple in the first place. He just passes it saying, “Our vision of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out.” In addition to his status, during his stories, he successfully builds the argument that he is a “self-made man” not lucky, he was faithful, not arrogant and he is smart. These are behaviors the audience value and consider very useful. This makes the audience value him and his speech more.

Lastly, Jobs describes his life philosophy, saying “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” meaning that he would live his life doing what he likes, not what others like. Jobs impresses and convinces the audience through logic, pulling them in. This allows the graduates to be inspired to take ahold of life.