In the commencement speech, Jobs used a narrative pattern with an introduction, three stories, and an end. In a short, succinct opening, Jobs set the stage for his talk, grabbed the audience’s attention and used self-deprecating humor by telling them he had never been to a graduation ceremony before. By starting with humor, he gave the audience a break from the more serious topic about life and their future and kept the audience enthusiastic for what he said next.
The text of his speech told a natural and highly effective story and revealed insights about Jobs’ life that the students could relate to. The central idea of his speech was to share his journey, trials, and struggles to succeed. The immediate purpose of the speech was to reassure graduates that they could also succeed if they listened to their inner voice and adhered to the life lessons he had learned.
The arrangement of his speech moved it along in a convincing fashion, and his ideas flowed from one point to another easily. This kept the audience engaged and listening as he etched his life’s lessons in the listeners’ minds.
His overall theme was life, death, and rebirth. …show more content…
He told the audience that “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards” (video) and emphasized that the graduates needed to develop trust. He opened up to the audience about his birth family and adoption, which was unusual. When asked about his background in 1985 for a Playboy article, he “refused point-blank to go into it” (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/09/steve-jobs-stanford-commencement-address). Yet his candor with the Stanford graduates showed his humanity and added a deep level of poignancy to his speech. By telling his own story of how he took a leap of faith, he demonstrated that the audience – the graduating students – could have the same
The text of his speech told a natural and highly effective story and revealed insights about Jobs’ life that the students could relate to. The central idea of his speech was to share his journey, trials, and struggles to succeed. The immediate purpose of the speech was to reassure graduates that they could also succeed if they listened to their inner voice and adhered to the life lessons he had learned.
The arrangement of his speech moved it along in a convincing fashion, and his ideas flowed from one point to another easily. This kept the audience engaged and listening as he etched his life’s lessons in the listeners’ minds.
His overall theme was life, death, and rebirth. …show more content…
He told the audience that “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards” (video) and emphasized that the graduates needed to develop trust. He opened up to the audience about his birth family and adoption, which was unusual. When asked about his background in 1985 for a Playboy article, he “refused point-blank to go into it” (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/09/steve-jobs-stanford-commencement-address). Yet his candor with the Stanford graduates showed his humanity and added a deep level of poignancy to his speech. By telling his own story of how he took a leap of faith, he demonstrated that the audience – the graduating students – could have the same