Introduction
In her TED Talk, Aki-Sawyer (2020) proposes a new idea of turning a feeling of dissatisfaction into meaningful action, making it a central thesis of the piece. She bases her argument on her life experiences and achievements to prove her point, not some distant research. Thus, she is personally connected to the topic, as she approaches it from the first-person perspective. This approach makes the speaker highly influential in convincing the audience and successfully delivering the message. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to analyze what techniques Aki-Sawyer uses to achieve this objective. The analysis consists of three parts pertaining to the elements of persuasion, including rhetorics, evidence, and presentation. Despite the lack of research into the topic, Aki-Sawyer manages to convince her audience using her experience through the excellent employment of rhetorics, evidence, and presentation.
Rhetorical Situations
In order to fully understand the speaker’s argument, it is important to first understand the concept of the rhetorical situation. A rhetorical situation is the context of a particular argument, which includes the audience, purpose, and context. The audience is the group of people whom the speaker is attempting to influence. The purpose is the goal the speaker wants to achieve. Context includes the historical, current, and cultural factors that influence the argument.
Aki-Sawyer masters the rhetorical situation of the TED Talk skillfully to persuade the audience. It is evident that one part of this audience is the guests of the talk, and the other part is online viewers, both of which are general audiences. Thus, it is optional to focus on the specifics of the topic, presenting profound research findings, as in the case with the expert viewers. This fact adds to the speaker’s overall purpose, making it more of a goal to inform and inspire. As a social activist, Aki-Sawyer wishes that the public would follow suit with her cause, attempting to transform society for the better. The general nature of the Ted Talk audience makes this platform perfect for this aim, as they are just ordinary citizens with equal potential for social impact. Therefore, she carefully crafts her message for them to get inspired and turn their dissatisfaction into action.
As mentioned previously, the talk’s content is the social activism in Freetown, Sierra Leone, amidst the Civil War and Ebola crisis. Aki-Sawyer is a witness to these critical events, as she describes her contributions to alleviating the situation. These challenging and tragic events are highly suitable for making her argument, as they induce the high levels of distress and dissatisfaction necessary for the action from Aki-Sawyer’s perspective. Furthermore, this background establishes the emotional appeal as one of the rhetorical tools, as the viewers can empathize with people’s struggles during these times. Another rhetorical technique that the speaker also covers through this strategy is credibility. The speaker is a direct participant in the events giving incredible trust to the audience in her words. This fact, coupled with the logical and reasonable structure of the argument that action can be born in dissatisfaction, is a strong force in persuading the viewers.
Evidence
Aki-Sawyer’s evidence for the argument is primarily based on her own experiences and accomplishments. She shares how she transformed her frustration at the situation in her country into a powerful movement, which gave her the opportunity to make a positive contribution to society. This example is well-timed, relevant, and credible, as she is a direct participant in the events. The audience can easily relate to her experience and understand the importance of turning dissatisfaction into action. Furthermore, this experience is also highly relevant to the topic of the talk, as it reinforces the importance of turning a negative emotion into something productive. In addition, the speaker also uses different statistics to demonstrate the effectiveness of her action, such as a lower rate of crime in the community and an increase in people belonging to the movement. These figures create logical support for her argument, making it more convincing. Despite being a convincing piece of evidence, the audience may want to know more about the long-term effects of the movement, as well as the potential challenges of taking such an approach.
Presentation
The speaker’s presentation skills are another component of persuasion, and Aki-Sawyer is certainly a master. She introduces her argument right away, making it crystal clear to the audience. As she dives into the evidence that backs up her argument, the viewers are quickly drawn in, knowing they need to pay attention more carefully. Throughout the presentation, Aki-Sawyer projects her voice in a confident manner, making concise and comprehensive points while also exuding confidence with her body language. Even though she does not use visual aids, and humor is not sensible for the heavy events described, her strong words and vocal delivery more than makeup for it. Moreover, the speaker finishes the talk with powerful words, calling for action and inspiring people to be the change they want to see in the world. With a rousing conclusion, Aki-Sawyer shows her mastery of persuasion.
Conclusion
Overall, Aki-Sawyer manages to convince the audience through the use of rhetoric, evidence, and presentation. She describes her experiences to demonstrate the point and connect with the viewers emotionally while showing her credibility. Moreover, the confidence that she presents in her voice and body language supplements the effect of persuasion. Despite the absence of visual aids and humor, she makes concise points that are logically appealing to the audience. These elements prove the good quality of her argument and the effectiveness of her persuasion. Furthermore, her words convince and inspire the audience to action, providing a simple solution of transforming dissatisfaction into activism. The talk seemed empowering and thought-provoking, as I became interested in Aki-Sawyer’s work.
Reference
Aki-Sawyer, Y. (2020). How to turn your dissatisfaction into action [Video]. TED. Web.