Introduction
Mr. Clark’s and Rocky Balboa’s speeches are examples of appeal to the public to attract attention as they effectively apply rhetorical techniques. Mr. Clark’s speech addressed the students at Eastside High School, who were predominantly black and from low-income families.
Discussion
At the beginning of the speech, Mr. Clark mentioned to the audience that the racial majority considers them to be people who cannot learn and whose education is a waste (“Lean on Me Inspirational Speech” 00:58–01:10). These words provoked a strong reaction from the audience as they were aimed at critical issues for the crowd. Furthermore, the speaker directly addresses the audience by repeating, “Can you hear me?” thus encouraging an emotional response from the audience (“Lean on Me Inspirational Speech” 02:41–02:46). Therefore, Mr. Clark utilized direct appeals to the audience and emphasized the most crucial issues for the students to receive their attention.
Rocky Balboa’s speech features the speaker’s employing various devices to persuade the audience. The actual beginning of the scene appears as a rhetorical question about rights, which the speaker presents to the listeners (“Rocky Balboa – Pursuit of Happiness” 01:02–01:06). Throughout the speech, the character of Rocky speaks louder, thus providing an emotional context. The speaker then directly addresses the audience, mentions his personal life vision, and explicitly indicates to the audience the purpose of the speech (“Rocky Balboa – Pursuit of Happiness” 02:05–02:13). Simultaneously with the decrease in the tempo, Rocky Balboa changes the gesture to a calmer one that correlates with the words that conclude the scene. In general, Rocky Balboa utilizes variations in intonation, motion, and direct appeals to listeners to conduct a convincing speech.
Conclusion
These speeches illustrate precisely how the proper appeal to listeners enables speakers to engage people’s attention effectively. In this regard, context is an essential factor in determining the nature of the speech and the techniques needed to attract the listener’s attention. Both examples have high emotionality as the speakers actively use intonation and gestures. In addition, an essential aspect is a direct address to the listeners in both instances. It enhances the audience’s perception of the speaker by directly engaging them in the discourse. Therefore, Mr. Clark and Rocky Balboa applied various techniques and methods to produce effective speeches that effectively engage the listeners.
Works Cited
“Lean on Me Inspirational Speech.” YouTube, uploaded by Bruce Martin, 2008, Web.
“Rocky Balboa – Pursuit of Happiness.” YouTube, uploaded by Toukyfriz, 2011, Web.