Adyson Caputo
Mrs. Korey
English 2 Advanced Honors
28 March 2023
‘You’ve got to find what you love’: Rhetorical Strategies in
Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech In his incredibly persuasive and deliberately explained speech delivered at his Stanford University commencement speech, Steve Jobs effectively and relentlessly conveyed his message of living life to its greatest extent through his clever use of anecdotes. Steve Jobs appeals to his audience emotionally, and establishes credibility by giving his own personal life experiences. Steve Jobs' use of anecdotes allows the audience to feel sympathy and emotions towards him. Authentically he states, "I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned Coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple". By sharing his lifestyle in college Jobs' influence on the audience can make them feel compassion for the adversity he faced. He further informs, "My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order,
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Jobs briefs, "We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired". This lets the audience feel relatable to him as it's very likely that many of them have been fired from their jobs at some point in their lives. Continuing to establish his authority, Jobs voices, "Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become". He clearly has countless amounts of meaningful, useful life experiences and is full of wisdom. His reliable advice establishes that he's gone through enough adversity to have the capability of expressing such a bold