Rhetorical Analysis of the Commencement Address delivered by Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was renowned for his pioneer work in the microcomputer industry. In partnership with Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs founded Apple Inc. and transformed a small partnership to a world-leading telecommunications industry. The inventions of Steve Jobs spearheaded technological change in the telecommunications industry. Apart from being an inventor and an entrepreneur, Steve Jobs was also an inspirational speaker. One of the most famous addresses given by Steve Jobs is the commencement address he delivered at Stanford University. In 2005, Steve Jobs delivered a commencement address to the graduating class, despite him being a college drop-out. The speech by Steve Jobs stands out because Steve used rhetorical devices to deliver his message. As he starts his speech, Steve tells the graduating class that he will give them three stories about his life. Some addresses are long, tedious, and unattractive. Therefore, Steve captures the attention of his audience by saying he will give them stories about his life. The commencement address by Steve Jobs uses ethos, pathos, and logos as rhetorical appeals to captivate the audience and deliver the main message.
Steve uses ethos to convince the audience of his credibility and character. When one is delivering a speech, it is crucial to capture the attention of the audience. One way a speaker can use to capture the attention of their audience is to convince the audience of their credibility. The Stanford university audience knows Steve Jobs as a successful man and a role model. Also, Stanford University is one of the best universities in the world. Therefore, Steve Jobs has to be a very successful man for such a high-end university to invite him to give a commencement speech. Thus, Steve Jobs does not necessarily have to convince the Stanford University audience of his credibility and character. However, since the main aim of Steve Jobs is to motivate the graduating class, he dismantles his already believable character and tells the students how his journey to success. “I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation” (Jobs 1). When Jobs mentions that he is a college drop-out, his audience becomes interested in knowing how a college drop-out became a successful inventor and entrepreneur. Jobs seems to celebrate that he has achieved so much without possessing a university degree in contrast to societal norms which dictate that contemporary education is the only way to succeed (Richardson et al. 46). Jobs builds his credibility of telling the audience how he dropped out of school because he was unsure of what he wanted. In so doing, Jobs appeals to his audience as a focused man who prefers to quit rather than waste his time and money on uncertain life choices. Also, when Jobs says he is honored to address one of the finest universities in the world, he gives the graduates a sense of accomplishment, seeing that a world-famous entrepreneur and inventor feels honored to address their ceremony. After capturing the Stanford University audience with his credibility, Jobs delivers the rest of his speech to a keen and captivated audience.
Jobs uses the pathos strategy to appeal to the emotions of his audience. Most people follow their feelings when making significant decisions. Emotions are powerful, and they can sway perception and change one’s outlook towards life. Most of the address by Jobs is laden with emotional appeals to his audience. Jobs tells the graduands of how he dropped out of college barely six months after admission. Although his birth mother envisioned her son as a college graduate, Jobs decided to drop out and figure out what he wanted in life. Jobs states, “I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK” (Jobs 2). Dropping out of college in a community that emphasizes the importance of education requires courage (Richardson et al. 48). Jobs tells his drop-out story to pass a message to the graduands that sometimes, success requires one to go against societal norms. Jobs states that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he ever made. Thus, the graduands have to gather courage and work towards what they love, despite societal norms and boundaries.
Jobs also appeals to the emotions of his audience when he talks about death. Jobs breaks another societal norm by talking about death. Most inspirational speakers appeal to the emotions of their audiences by narrating their personal experiences. However, Job cruises an unchartered path by reminding the graduands of the inevitable, in his case, death. Jobs states, “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life” (Jobs 5). By talking about death, Jobs challenges the graduands to shed all their fears and insecurities and work on self-accomplishment because time is limited (Richardson et al. 51). Also, Jobs narrates his closest experience to death and how the experience changed his perception towards life. The main message that Jobs passes by using death as an emotional appeal is that life is short, and one should not waste it by living the dreams of others. After challenging his audience to follow their hearts and intuition fearlessly, Jobs fortifies his address by using facts and logical arguments.
Jobs convinces the audience of the sincerity of his address by using logos to state facts and logical arguments. When delivering a speech, credibility and emotional appeal is essential. However, indisputable facts and well-thought logical arguments also play an equally important role in passing a message. Jobs states that “I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz [Steve Wozniak] and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2bn company with over 4,000 employees” (Jobs 3). It is irrefutable that Jobs is a college drop-out who built a telecommunications company from the garage of his parents. Although Jobs did not come from a wealthy background, he focused his efforts on what he loved and followed his passion. After Jobs was fired from Apple, he felt like a failure, and he even thought of relocating to avoid facing reality. Ideally, when one faces public humiliation, their first thought is to run and hide from the truth. Thus, Jobs used an experience that was relatable to most graduands. However, when Jobs was on the verge of giving up, he remembered his passion and geared his efforts to invent more successful companies (Richardson et al. 49). Jobs encourages the graduands by telling them of the reality awaiting them after graduating. The graduands will face rejection and at some point, feel like giving up on their passion. However, just as Jobs regained courage and focused more to create an even bigger invention, the graduands should be ready to embrace failure and use it as an opportunity to create something bigger and better. Jobs ends his speech by asking the graduands to stay hungry and foolish because hungry and foolish people always look for nourishment to quench their thirst.
In conclusion, Jobs delivered a compelling address at Stanford University. The address is unique because Jobs used his personal experiences to motivate the graduands. Also, the speech makes excessive use of ethos, pathos, and logos to pass the main message in his address.
Works Cited
Jobs, Steve. “Stanford commencement address.” June 12 (2005): 2005.
Richardson, Julia, and Michael B. Arthur. “” Just Three Stories”: The Career Lessons Behind Steve Jobs’ Stanford University Commencement Address.” Journal of Business & Management 19.1 (2013).