The Power of a Speech Have you ever heard words from a speech that stick in your head forever? Why do those words leave such a lasting impression? To make an effective and memorable speech, the speaker uses various styles, devices, and techniques. To be specific, "The Power of the Pause" by Maria Shriver and "The Children 's Era" by Margaret Sanger, are two very powerful speeches filled with many rhetorical devices, appeals, and persuasion techniques. In Annenberg School 's commencement speech, Maria Shriver inspires the audience with her advice and the reality of the journey they are about to undergo. In Margaret Sanger 's speech, she describes the problems of having unplanned children and how to solve the issue. What makes these two speeches
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Most importantly, these two speeches use many different literary and rhetorical devices to make their speeches effective, rememorable, and impacting. In Maria Shriver 's commencement speech to the graduates at Annenberg School, "The Power of the Pause", she uses many rhetorical devices to make her speech memorable. For example, in Shriver 's speech, she uses rhetorical questions such as, “What are you gonna do after graduation? Do you have a job? Where will you be working? How much are they paying? Where are you going? Where will you be living? Who are you seeing?” This is effective because it scares the audience with questions that everyone is asking them as college graduates. This makes them really question their lives and where they are going, in which Shriver provides the audience with helpful advice. Also, on March 30, 1925, Margaret Sanger gave a speech called "The Children 's Era", which includes rhetorical questions such as, "Why does the Children 's Era still remain a dream of the dim and the distant future? Why has so little been accomplished? -- in spite of all …show more content…
These include repetition, lists of threes, and short, powerful statements. An example of repetition in Shriver 's speech is when she repeats, "Change it from criticism and fault-finding to understanding and compassion. Change it from nay-saying and name-calling to acceptance and appreciation. Change it from dissembling and dishonesty to openness and explanation. Change from screaming to speaking." This is effective because "change it" sticks in the audience 's head, convincing them that they are capable of changing the world with their knowledge. Sanger also uses repetition when she says, "When we protest against this immeasurable, meaningless waste of motherhood and child-life; when we protest against the ever-mounting cost to the world of asylums, prisons, homes for the feeble-minded, and such institutions for the unfit, when we protest against the disorder and chaos and tragedy of modern life,..." In this statement, she is convincing the audience that their protests are not enough and that they need to start with the root of the problem, which is preconception. Another persuasive technique is giving a list of three to add a rhythm that will stick in the audience 's minds. Shriver lists adjectives to describe how communication is for the graduates in her audience when she says, "You communicate instantly, automatically, and effortlessly." This helps to dramaticize her point that the degree in
Most importantly, these two speeches use many different literary and rhetorical devices to make their speeches effective, rememorable, and impacting. In Maria Shriver 's commencement speech to the graduates at Annenberg School, "The Power of the Pause", she uses many rhetorical devices to make her speech memorable. For example, in Shriver 's speech, she uses rhetorical questions such as, “What are you gonna do after graduation? Do you have a job? Where will you be working? How much are they paying? Where are you going? Where will you be living? Who are you seeing?” This is effective because it scares the audience with questions that everyone is asking them as college graduates. This makes them really question their lives and where they are going, in which Shriver provides the audience with helpful advice. Also, on March 30, 1925, Margaret Sanger gave a speech called "The Children 's Era", which includes rhetorical questions such as, "Why does the Children 's Era still remain a dream of the dim and the distant future? Why has so little been accomplished? -- in spite of all …show more content…
These include repetition, lists of threes, and short, powerful statements. An example of repetition in Shriver 's speech is when she repeats, "Change it from criticism and fault-finding to understanding and compassion. Change it from nay-saying and name-calling to acceptance and appreciation. Change it from dissembling and dishonesty to openness and explanation. Change from screaming to speaking." This is effective because "change it" sticks in the audience 's head, convincing them that they are capable of changing the world with their knowledge. Sanger also uses repetition when she says, "When we protest against this immeasurable, meaningless waste of motherhood and child-life; when we protest against the ever-mounting cost to the world of asylums, prisons, homes for the feeble-minded, and such institutions for the unfit, when we protest against the disorder and chaos and tragedy of modern life,..." In this statement, she is convincing the audience that their protests are not enough and that they need to start with the root of the problem, which is preconception. Another persuasive technique is giving a list of three to add a rhythm that will stick in the audience 's minds. Shriver lists adjectives to describe how communication is for the graduates in her audience when she says, "You communicate instantly, automatically, and effortlessly." This helps to dramaticize her point that the degree in