Commencement speeches are usually given by famous, rich and successful people to inspire graduates to become like them someday, but these speeches are not always effective if the speaker does not reach the audience. Michelle Obama, however, gave a powerful and effective commencement speech at Bowie State University for the class of 2013. Mrs. Obama discussed the educational issues affecting African Americans. The First Lady compelled me to analyze her powerful speech in which she used the appeals of pathos and ethos to tell the students to take action and motivate their communities to value education.
When the First Lady greeted her audience, she wanted to connect to them and make them value her presence. She also thanked “President Bernim for that introduction” he made. Michelle Obama continued by thanking the other members at Bowie State …show more content…
The students’ stories Mrs. Obama talked about led to her own story with education. She established credibility by saying that her father worked hard to pay her and her brothers’ tuitions. The First Lady had automatic ethos, however, she wanted to establish credibility as someone who knows what the graduates went through, as someone who always thinks about “all the folks who dug into their pockets for that last dime, the folks who built those schools brick by brick, who faced down angry mobs just to reach those schoolhouse doors.” When any famous/rich person gives a speech, the audience always questions whether the speaker knows the topic or not, however, that was not the case with Michelle Obama, as she proved that she knew what she talked about, and that she knew the history of the university, which made the audience listen to her without any doubt. Telling some graduates’ stories did not only give her credibility by leading to her story, but it also implied that she cared about her audience, as she cared about the younger generation’s
When the First Lady greeted her audience, she wanted to connect to them and make them value her presence. She also thanked “President Bernim for that introduction” he made. Michelle Obama continued by thanking the other members at Bowie State …show more content…
The students’ stories Mrs. Obama talked about led to her own story with education. She established credibility by saying that her father worked hard to pay her and her brothers’ tuitions. The First Lady had automatic ethos, however, she wanted to establish credibility as someone who knows what the graduates went through, as someone who always thinks about “all the folks who dug into their pockets for that last dime, the folks who built those schools brick by brick, who faced down angry mobs just to reach those schoolhouse doors.” When any famous/rich person gives a speech, the audience always questions whether the speaker knows the topic or not, however, that was not the case with Michelle Obama, as she proved that she knew what she talked about, and that she knew the history of the university, which made the audience listen to her without any doubt. Telling some graduates’ stories did not only give her credibility by leading to her story, but it also implied that she cared about her audience, as she cared about the younger generation’s