Analysis Of Admiral William Mcraven's Speech

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Former Admiral William H. McRaven served in the Navy for many years. He gave a commencement speech to the class of 2014 at the University of Texas at Austin. I chose this speaker because his speech is very motivational. The purpose of the speech is to teach people that anybody can change the world; he gives them 10 suggestions on how they can change the world. Although his speech is not perfect, he does a great job at communicating what was intended. The type of communication McRaven uses is public communication because he is speaking to an audience. The model of communication is linear because McRaven is sending the message, and the audience is receiving it. McRaven encounters environmental noise from the audience throughout his speech. However, …show more content…

McRaven also has non-verbal communication, which conveys a message to the audience that the speaker is an organized, respected person. He is wearing his Navy uniform, which holds many artifacts (ribbons and awards) he has received throughout his career in the Navy. He also holds a straight posture throughout his speech. However, he does not use hand gestures during his speech, except at the end of his speech when he makes horns with his hand. He does this to show his support for the University of Texas since it’s mascot is a longhorn bull. He could have used hand gestures to communicate better, but the fact that he does not use hand gestures does affect the transmission of his words in a negative way. Even without the use of hand gestures, his message is conveyed clearly and …show more content…

His message is organized. He has an interesting introduction, and a clear main idea to change the world. He comes to the podium in his Navy uniform to let the audience know that he is a credible speaker. The organization of the message, the credibility of the speaker, and the clarity of his words, influenced the audience to pay more attention to the speaker. McRaven He projects his voice very well. He speaks with a tone of voice that is motivational, and he is extremely confident when he speaks. Also, when he tries to convey an important point, he slows down his speaking rate to give the audience more time to process what he says. He also presents his points clearly throughout his speech, and at the end of his speech he summarizes his main idea and supporting points. However, there are some things that McRaven could have done better in his speech. First of all, he could have used hand gestures to help him convey his message better. Second, McRaven reads from a paper on the podium for about one-third of the time of the duration of his speech. For the rest of the time, he makes eye contact with the audience, which is essential to make a connection with the audience. Finally, McRaven should not have been licking his lips so often because it can be distracting for some people. Despite all of this, he delivers his speech clearly, which is what matters the

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