Persuasive Speech Analysis
In this essay I will be analyzing a persuasive speech given by John Cortes about texting and driving. I will be discussing the method of persuasion that he used, the organizational structure, the use of credible supporting materials, the use of logical and emotional appeals, the acknowledgement of different ideas regarding the issue, and the extent to which the persuasion is or is not effective.
First, I will begin with the methods of persuasion, the organizational structure and the use of current and credible supporting materials. In John Cortes’ speech, it appeared that he used a combination of two methods of persuasion. The first being the direct method pattern and the other method being the casual pattern. I believe that he used a combination of the two methods because the direct method pattern consists of a claim and a list of reasons to support it. Yet, at the same time, it appeared as if he used the causal pattern by first addressing some cause and then sharing what effects resulted. By mentioning the methods of persuasion, one begins to think of the organizational structure of the speech as well. It seemed as if John Cortes’ organizational structure was weak; He did not list his main points and
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His speech began with an emergency siren which immediately attained one’s attention. Next, he used emotional appeal by asking one to imagine a car accident scene and described it in great detail. He also used emotional appeal by explaining how it could affect each listener personally, whether that be through friends or family, or anyone else. Later, he used logical appeal through the use of statistics, stating how it death caused by texting and driving can be prevented if one would put their phone away. It didn’t appear as if he acknowledged the different ideas on the issue of texting and