Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

             Steve Jobs is the Chief Executive Officer, Apple, and Pixar Animation. Steve was invited to deliver an influential speech to Stanford University students. Steve’s speech was performed during the commencement ceremony on June 12, 2005. The purpose of the speech was to try to inspire the graduates to pursue their passion in life despite the challenges posed. Steve Jobs used some critical points from his life history to persuade the students to focus on the fields of their interest. The commencement speech used a simple structure, which made the speech to be adequate to his audience. The speech included the introduction, three stories of his life, and the conclusion. The address by Steve Jobs used all the essential elements of a speech such as rhetorical devices and colloquial language, which made the speech to be useful to the audience. The speech introduction creates a comfortable environment for the audience. In the introduction, Steve motivates the students by stating that they are in one of the best universities in the world (Lancaster, 2015). “I am honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world.” Steve follows by admitting that he never went to a university, making his audience feel valuable and cheerful about themselves. The speech has a strong thesis statement that lays the foundation for the speaker’s three important stories. In the opening of the speech, the attention of the audience is attracted when the speaker states that he will only be focusing on three stories and nothing more (Lancaster, 2015). “That’s it. No big deal…, just three stories.” The speech employs a straightforward structure, which makes it more useful to the target audience.

The first story gives about Steve’s early life and his history of quitting when necessary to follow his passion. The importance of quitting is emphasized by the degree to which the speaker employs various figures of speech to get the attention of his listeners. Steve executes different figures such as pausing and timing to emphasize the key points he is willing to put across (Streeter, 2015). “Even when it leads you to the well-worn path and that will make all the difference.” The key information that Steve emphasizes is on the importance of quitting instead of staying in school at the expense of losing one’s passion. The speaker uses well-crafted antithesis by bringing out contradicting ideas to make the audience understand the points in his argument (Lancaster, 2015). In so doing, the speaker can win the attention of the audience to make his speech a widely discussed speech. “If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in.”The speaker also attracts the attention of his audience by using alliterative sounds throughout the speech like “being a beginner.” The speaker creates a common ground for his audience by telling his personal stories to the audience. The speaker attracts the attention of his audience by the use of rhetoric questions. At the outset of the first story the speaker confronts the audience with a rhetoric question “So, why did I drop out?” to attract the attention of the audience. The speaker uses the metaphor, “life is a journey” and other rhetoric devices to reinforce on the theme “life circle” in his speech.

The second story is given about love and loss. Steve and Woz start the apple company when Steve is 20 years from his father’s garage. The technology was Steve’s major interest, and thus his invention was motivated by passion and what he loved. Steve is fired by a company that he had started doing to the siding of the company’s board of directors to fire Steve. However, Steve takes the firing issue as a significant issue that he could use to his advantage. Instead of giving up, Steve decided to start new companies to compete with Apple in the market. Steve was a renowned inventor who could stop at nothing to follow his passion for technology. The firing issue is even put lightly by Steve to have led him into meeting his current wife. Steve Jobs finalizes his speech by talking about death. Steve urges the students to use their fear of death to create unforgettable experiences. Steve claims that he used to evaluate himself concerning the day he would die and the relevance of the activities he will be able to leave behind for legacy.

In conclusion, Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University was effective and had a long-lasting effect on the audience. Use of rhetoric devices ensured that the audience remained attentive throughout the speech delivery. Steve Jobs personal life experiences inspired the graduates to pursue their passion, which was the purpose of the speech. The speaker needs to improve on the physical and vocal aspects to make the speech more effective. Use of simple sentences and simple speech structure made the speech effective.

References

Lancaster, S. (2015). Personal Stories. In Winning Minds (pp. 127-134). Palgrave Macmillan,         London.

Richardson, J., & Arthur, M. B. (2013). ” Just Three Stories”: The Career Lessons Behind Steve    Jobs’ Stanford University Commencement Address. Journal of Business & Management, 19(1).

Streeter, T. (2015). Steve Jobs, romantic individualism, and the desire for good      capitalism. International Journal of Communication, 9, 19.