Introduction
Effective communication involves using rhetorical techniques to sway an audience’s attention. Excellent orators like Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai use ethos, pathos, and logos in their touch. Ethos enables the orators to establish their authority making their message credible. Logos involves a logical argument that shows the rationale for the speech. Meanwhile, pathos enables the orators to sway their audience emotionally. Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai demonstrated effective communication in their speeches: “I am prepared” and “Nobel Peace Prize speech.” The two orators used ethos, pathos, and logos to appeal to their audience.
Rhetorical Analysis
Nelson Mandela gave his speech in the South African courtroom during the Rivonia trial in 1964 during the apartheid era. During this time, apartheid opponents were being tried for resisting government laws (Msamati, 2017). The purpose of his speech to his audience was to demonstrate apartheid’s injustices. Malala Yousafzai delivered a speech at the United Nations on the value of education on the 12th of July (Yousafzai, 2014). She employs her personal experiences and her broad knowledge of terrorism disasters to persuade her audience of the arguments and message she was attempting to convey (Yousafzai, 2014, 9:47). When the Taliban took control of Pakistan in October 2007, they forbade females from attending school. Both speeches are works of art in verbal and non-verbal communication. The speakers employed rhetorical elements making their speeches memorable and impactful.
Nelson Mandela employs ethos to emphasize his qualifications as a credible speaker and reveals his successes to counter people’s perceptions of him as a prisoner. Mandela said that he was the first accused with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and practices as an attorney (Msamati, 2017, 00:57-2:30). Furthermore, Mandela told his audience that he was a convicted prisoner for five years (Msamati, 2017, 2:40-3:00). He also uses the same rhetorical strategy to take advantage of other people’s credibility. He recounts his journey with the ANC, saying that he “met with sympathy…and promises of help” for their venture in South Africa (Msamati, 2017, 1:44-2:30). Mandela’s speech on struggle and oppression is credible since he was among the prejudiced Blacks.
Malala uses ethos to demonstrate her familiarity with the subject when she says, “Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They thought the bullets would silence us. But they failed (Yousafzai, 2014, 5:30-6:30).” She has direct knowledge of the issues that women’s rights and girls’ education suffer because she was shot for speaking out about them. Malala treats the audience as if they were on an equal footing when she says, “we”, “Brothers and sisters”, “us”, and “we are all together, united for the cause of education” (Yousafzai, 2014). By utilizing these lines, she engages the audience and treats them as equals because she believes they must band together to fight for education.
Both speakers employ logos to appeal to their audience’s reasoning and build logical arguments. Nelson Mandela defends his violence by explaining why the ANC’s fundamental peace beliefs were ineffective in bringing about change (Msamati, 2017). He says, “fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more… repressive legislation and fewer rights (Msamati, 2017, 2:20-3:40).” He also directs the audience’s attention to the government’s wrongdoings and the consequences of the ANC’s movement (Msamati, 2017). He says,” it showed that a government that uses force to maintain its rule teaches the oppressed to use power to oppose it (Msamati, 2017, 2:20-3:00)”. Therefore, Mandela justifies why a regime against apartheid and violence was necessary for South Africa.
Yousafzai emphasizes her research when she provides readers with basic knowledge of other countries and the issues they face daily. The audience understands her speech’s context and relates it to their life situations. Her concrete facts also give her more credibility when speaking about such subjects (Yousafzai, 2014). She says, “In many parts of the world, especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars, and conflicts stop children from going to their schools… In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labor. Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria (Yousafzai, 2014).” The use of logos demonstrates that Malala wanted to express her gratitude to everyone before moving on to her speech’s main point.
Both speakers employ pathos to appeal to their audience’s emotions and be part of the desired change. Mandela used words like “fight” and “struggle” in the closing paragraphs to create feelings of violence and war (Msamati, 2017, 11:48-13:57). He sends the message that his arrest does not signal the end of the push for national reconciliation. Meanwhile, Malala used statements like “Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead” and “And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical students in the recent attack in Quetta” to provide listeners with a sense of comfort and reliability through statistics and other factual information (Yousafzai, 2014, 11:30-15:30). Malala and Mandela’s speeches evoke a struggling feeling among their audience.
Conclusion
Rhetorical elements are crucial in a speech since they help the speakers effectively communicate. Furthermore, the rhetorical features enable the speakers to connect to their audience and call them into action. Nelson Mandela recounted the African’s struggle during the apartheid. Meanwhile, Malala recounted the children’s struggles at the hands of terrorism. The speaker’s speech encouraged the audience to participate in the fight for social justice. Therefore, pathos, ethos, and logos allowed Malala and Mandela to communicate effectively.
References
Msamati, Lucia. “I Am Prepared to Die”. Almeida Theatre, 2017. Web.
Yousafzai, Malala. “Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Speech”. Malala Fund. 2014. Web.