Steve Jobs Speech Rhetorical Analysis

Entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, in his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, recounts three stories from his life. Jobs’ purpose is to inspire Stanford graduates to follow their heart and intuition. He utilizes rhetorical appeals in a nontraditional way to convince his audience to chase their dreams.

To fully understand this speech, one must be knowledgeable of Steve Jobs’ successes. Worth an estimated $8.3 billion, he was an incredibly successful entrepreneur, business magnate, film producer, inventor, and designer. In his article, “Apple’s Visionary Redefined Digital Age,” John Markoff explains how Jobs had “led cultural transformation in the way music, movies, and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age.” Jobs

He explains how he had always lived everyday as if it were his last, which is why he believes he was so successful. Jobs tells of how he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and was told he was going to die. Death itself is an emotional subject, and this appeals to pathos because cancer common disease that the audience can relate to and empathize with. He uses his experience with death to shed light on the subject, especially since it is something most people want to avoid. Jobs acknowledges that death is inescapable and it strips away everything except what is truly important. For these reasons, he claims there is no reason to not follow your dreams. He encourages the audience to “have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” This story appeals to logos and pathos because Jobs utilizes the emotional fact that everyone dies to inspire people to spend their lives doing things that make them

Jobs uses a conversational tone to relate to the audience. Being one of the most successful men in the world, he wanted to convince the audience that he was no different than them. Jobs maintains good eye contact through the speech, showing he knows it well and helps him connect with the audience. Also, he doesn’t stand with stiff, formal posture that is commonly associated with businessmen. He looks like an average person, which makes him feel more approachable and relatable to the audience. Jobs also utilizes conversational word choice. He doesn’t speak with long, sophisticated words, but rather words he would used talking to a friend. As one of the most successful and well-known men in the world, Jobs knows the audience can be intimidated by his achievements and status. He utilizes these rhetorical elements in an informal way to remind the audience that he’s a normal person, just like them, and therefore makes his speech more