The event, titled “The Power of Vulnerability,” took place on October 2010 at TEDxHouston. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, delivered the speech. Brown has extensively studied the topic of vulnerability and shame. The event was held at the Wortham Center in Houston, Texas. The event’s purpose was to discuss the importance of vulnerability and its role in human connection. Brown’s performance in this speech was both engaging and thought-provoking. She effectively used personal anecdotes and research to support her argument and establish ethos, logos, and pathos.
Visual elements
Brown wore a simple brown dress shit with minimal accessories. The background behind her was a plain white wall with the TEDxHouston logo. Her stage presence was confident and relaxed. She used gestures effectively to emphasize critical points and maintained good eye contact with the audience. She is funny and playful and occasionally laughs at herself. This makes her appear vulnerable, which is a way of “becoming her message.
Content
Brown discusses the idea that connection is a fundamental aspect of human life and the importance of understanding and measuring it in research. She argues that her research on connection expanded her perception and changed her approach to life and work. Brown uses reasonable claims and provides evidence to support her claims. She uses her own experience with a boss’s evaluation to illustrate the tendency to focus on negative feedback rather than positive. Further, she highlights her research on vulnerability and its connection to human connection, shame, and empathy. She employed rhetorical strategies such as repetition and rhetorical questions to drive her points home. One example of repetition is when the speaker says, “And so I thought, you know what, this is the career for me, because I am interested in some messy topics. But I want to be able to make them not messy. I want to understand them. I want to hack into these things that I know are important and lay the code out for everyone to see.” The repetition of “I want” emphasizes the speaker’s desire to understand and organize complex topics.
Another example of repetition is when the speaker repeats the phrase “storyteller” several times, emphasizing their role as a researcher who collects and tells stories. Similarly, Brown uses rhetorical questions throughout the speech. For example, when she asks, “Why not ‘magic pixie’?” This rhetorical question is used to humorously challenge the idea of being labeled as a “storyteller” and to make the audience laugh. Brown effectively seized the moment by sharing her experiences with vulnerability and connecting with the audience personally.
Rhetorical Triangle
To demonstrate her authority on the subject of vulnerability, Brown used ethos in her presentation. The speaker must gain the audience’s trust quickly and then build on that trust throughout the speech. By sharing that she worked in the social services field for a decade, Brown adds to her legitimacy. Through her job as a social worker, she saw the effects of vulnerability personally on the lives of her clients. Her capability to connect with individuals in vulnerable situations while simultaneously offering help to enhance her clients’ lives is a testament to her expertise on the issue of conquering vulnerability, which she discusses as a crucial element in achieving success.
Her research and the steps she undertook to fully engage herself in the concept of vulnerability via her study of tens of thousands of testimonials show her application of logos as a researcher. She further establishes her authority by elaborating on how her study of vulnerability has informed her understanding of the factors that contribute to it. Most notably, Brown uses other scientific research and findings, such as the importance of connection in our neurobiology, to support their argument and provide logical evidence for their claims.
Her presentation is complete with examples of her using pathos to connect with her listeners. Essentially, she is good at using her voice to evoke feelings. She has excellent oratory skills, and when she wants to stress an issue, she changes the tone and loudness of her voice to do so. Her listeners become more invested in what she is saying when she raises her voice, pauses after key lines, or uses more of her normal vocal range. For instance, Brown uses humor and relatable examples, such as getting an evaluation from a boss to engage the audience and connect with them emotionally. There is also the use of hand gestures; when she wants to stress a point, she makes more dramatic motions with her hands and is more restrained while discussing sensitive topics. Another technique to evoke pathos is to talk about meaningful things to the listeners. It is common knowledge that succeeding professionally and personally requires cultivating and sustaining significant ties. Throughout her talk, Brown emphasizes the need to overcome shame and vulnerability to strengthen relationships with those who matter most.
Brown employed various rhetorical methods during her TED Talk, including outlining her talk in the most effective way possible. Her audience’s acceptance of her views was significantly affected by her employing ethos and logos to build her authority. Her quick rapport with the gathering made them agree with her opinions on vulnerability. She has the benefit of already engaging with an enthusiastic group in her presentation. This makes it easy for Brown to employ pathos in her plea to her readers’ emotions and their need for knowledge about how embracing vulnerability may lead to improved life and career outcomes.
Delivery
Brown’s movements and gestures do not distract from the speech but enhance it. She uses hand gestures and body movements to emphasize specific points and to add emphasis to her words. This helps to keep the audience engaged and to convey her message more effectively. She also uses body language, such as leaning forward or raising her eyebrows, to convey emotion and engage the audience. Overall, her movements enhance the speech and add to the delivery.
Conclusion
Brown’s performance in “The Power of Vulnerability” was engaging and thought-provoking. She effectively used personal anecdotes and research to support her argument and establish ethos, logos, and pathos. Her stage presence was confident and natural, and her gestures emphasized her points without being distracting. A key strength of the presentation is using visual aids to support her arguments. However, some potential weaknesses of the performance are the lack of actual findings, for instance, data or statistics from her research findings, and a somewhat slow start to the speech. Overall, Brown’s performance was strong and provided valuable insights into the power of vulnerability.