rhetorical analysis on steve jobs commencement speech

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech Analysis

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Looking for Steve Jobs commencement speech analysis? Want to understand how Jobs uses ethos, logos, pathos, and figurative language? Take a look at Steve Jobs Stanford speech analysis below.

Introduction

• Speech Analysis
• Rhetorical Appeals Used

Is it necessary to follow passions or reasons while choosing a career? What effects can losses and failures have on a person’s life? In spite of the complex character and deep ethical, philosophical, and psychological meanings hidden in these questions, they are answered completely in Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, Inc., is known as one of the world-famous and successful entrepreneurs whose unique approaches to business and marketing provoked the great public’s interest. That is why Jobs’ speech on the importance of finding an interesting and loved job drew the attention and gained the recognition of the graduates during the Commencement Day at Stanford University in 2005.

Steve Jobs Stanford Speech Analysis

The goal of Steve Jobs’ speech is to persuade the graduates to find jobs that they can truly love because of their passion for definite activities. Thus, Jobs is successful in achieving his goal because of his exclusive approach to structuring the speech and to blending the rhetoric appeals in order to discuss well-known concepts and ideas of love, loss, and death in a unique form; that is why it is appropriate to examine Jobs’ manipulation of methods of persuasion in detail.

In his speech, Jobs demonstrates the virtuous use of rhetoric appeals in the development and presentation of one of the most persuasive commencement speeches in order to draw the student’s attention to the significant questions which can contribute to changing a person’s life.

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech: Rhetorical Appeals

The strategies used in developing the structure of the speech and the rhetorical strategies are closely connected. Jobs’ speech can be divided into five parts which are the introductory part to evoke the graduates’ interest regarding the topic discussed, the three life anecdotes, and the concluding part, which restates and supports the author’s arguments presented in the main part of the speech.

It is important to note that each of the three stories told by Jobs is also developed according to the definite structure pattern where the first sentences of the stories can be referred to the pathos, the personal experience can be discussed with references to the ethos, and the final parts of the stories are organized as the logical conclusions, using the logos.

The first reference to ethos is observed in the introductory part when Jobs states, “I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation” (Jobs).

The uniqueness of Jobs’ approach is in the use of the reverse variant of the ethos as the rhetorical appeal because Jobs has no credibility to discuss the importance of university education, but he has the credibility to discuss the points necessary for professional success because of stating his position as the co-founder of Apple, Inc., NeXT, and Pixar.

The next three stories presented in the speech are used to develop Jobs’ argument about the necessity of doing what a person loves and the importance of finding these things and activities. This argument is developed with references to the concluding or logical parts of the author’s stories which are also highly emotional in their character. Steve Jobs uses pathos in the first sentences while telling his stories.

Thus, the discussion of the details of the child adoption in the first story, the reflection on the happiness of building the first company, and the mentioning of the main question in life, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”, contribute to the audience’s emotional reaction because of describing the author’s own feelings and emotions (Jobs).

The credibility of Jobs’ considerations depends on the presentation of his own personal and life background and experiences to support his ideas. The use of pathos in the speech is observed when the author concludes with the results of his experience: “If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do” (Jobs).

Discussing the near death experience, the author uses the sentence “About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer,” which combines the ethos and pathos strategies (Jobs). Thus, Jobs can use more than one rhetorical appeal in a sentence.

Nevertheless, Jobs’ goal is to persuade the graduates to act and find the things that they love to do, and the focus on logos is observed in the stories’ concluding sentences when Jobs provides the logical argument: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work” (Jobs). These concluding remarks are based on the logical rethinking of the evidence and facts presented as examples from the author’s experience.

The repetition of such phrases as “Don’t settle” and the final phrase, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish,” contributes to drawing the audience’s interest in the presented facts and ideas (Jobs). The effectiveness of using rhetorical appeals depends on the author’s style and his use of repetitive structures and imperative sentences, which sound persuasive.

In his speech, Steve Jobs achieves the main goals of the speech by focusing on ethos, logos, and pathos and by using the author’s unique style. Jobs presents his developed vision of his career and passions in life with references to the ideas of love and death and supports considerations with autobiographical facts.

Works Cited

Jobs, Steve. ‘You’ve Got to Find What You Love,’ Jobs Says: Text of the Address . 2005. Web.

Further Study: FAQ

📌 what is the purpose of steve jobs’s commencement speech, 📌 what is the ethos in steve jobs’s commencement speech, 📌 what is another commencement speech example, 📌 what was the tone of steve jobs speech at stanford university.

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Rhetorical Analysis of Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech

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Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech: Rhetorical Analysis and Main Points

• by Anastasiya Yakubovska
• 16.08.2022 04.05.2024

The famous commencement speech to Stanford graduates “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” is direct proof that Steve Jobs was a talented public speaker. 

From the article, you will learn what principle this motivational speech is built on and what rhetorical and stylistic devices Steve Jobs used.

Table of Contents

Why did steve jobs give the commencement address at stanford.

• Did you know? 
• Structure of Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech 
• The Tone of Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech 

What Rhetorical Devices (Figures and Tropes) Did Steve Jobs Use in Stanford Commencement Speech

Steve jobs’ commencement speech: 5 key points.

Steve Jobs, like no other, knew what success is. But he also was well aware of how difficult it is to find yourself, your purpose, and your dream job. 

Over the 56 years of his life, Jobs mastered several professions (without graduating from university), founded not one, but three companies – Apple Computer, NeXT, and Pixar Animation Studios.

Absolutely deservedly and rightly so, Steve Jobs was invited to Stanford University, California. Stanford is ranked among the top universities in the world. Therefore, Steve Jobs faced quite a challenge – with his motivational speech to help students make the right choice and to direct them to the right path.

Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address

Photo: stanford.edu

On June 12, 2005, Steve Jobs gave his famous commencement speech “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish!” to Stanford graduates. 

Did you know?

The text of Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement address is hidden in the Apple.txt system file on Mac.

“I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.”

This is how Steve Jobs begins his famous speech : clearly, honestly, and frankly, thus disposing to himself and focusing everyone’s attention.

Of course, Steve Jobs was a gifted public speaker (remember his successful presentations of Apple products). Therefore, like any professional speaker, Jobs used rhetorical devices, figures, and literary tropes in his speeches.

Read more about rhetorical devices in the post “How to Write a Persuasive Essay and Article: Complete Guide”.

Structure of Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech

Steve Jobs’ speech has a classic structure and consists of 3 parts:

• Introduction . 

The introduction includes a greeting and a short preface:

2. The main part.

These are the three stories from Steve Jobs:

“ The first story is about connecting the dots.”

“My second story is about love and loss.” 

“My third story is about death.”

At the end of each story, Steve Jobs draws a conclusion and emphasizes the main idea. For example:

“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

3. Conclusion:

“On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Thank you all very much.”

The Tone of Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech

The tone of the commencement address and the style of presentation are informal (colloquial) with elements of slang:

“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.” 

Steve Jobs knows and understands his audience very well, talks about simple but important things: family and studies, friends and love, career, ups and downs, life and death.

Steve Jobs’ speech lasted 15 minutes – the perfect time by all the canons of an oratory.

Rhetorical Analysis of the Commencement Speech: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Steve Jobs used three modes of persuasion in his Stanford commencement address – ethos, logos, and pathos.

Used ethos to build trust and gain the favor of the public:

“I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world.” 

“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.”

Logos is a mode of persuasion using logic, common sense, and reason:

“Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees.”

“But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.”

Steve Jobs used pathos to emotionally amplify his speech and evoke the necessary response from the public:

“ My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife.”

“ 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.”

“I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down — that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me.” 

“About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months.”

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.”

In addition to the basic modes of persuasion, Steve Jobs, a brilliant speaker, used several rhetorical devices in his motivational speech. Let’s consider some of them:

• The rule of three is a rhetorical device that involves the expression of thoughts through three words or phrases. 

Of course, the most striking example of the rule of three is the idea of the commencement speech itself – three stories from Steve Jobs’ life. 

More examples of the rule of three (triad):

• “It was beautiful , historical , artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.” 
• “ It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.” 
• “This was in the late 1960s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters , scissors and Polaroid cameras .” 
• “Because almost everything — all external expectations , all pride , all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”

2. Antithesis is the opposition of words, concepts, and images that are interconnected by common features (contrast):

“If I had never dropped out , I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class…” 

“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward ; you can only connect them looking backward .” 

“The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner.”

“I had been rejected, but I was still in love.”

“because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life… It clears out the old to make way for the new .”

3. A rhetorical question is a question-statement that does not require a direct answer:

• “I really quit. So why did I drop out?” 
• “We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started?” 

4. Anaphora is the repetition of the same initial words or sound combinations:

• “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” 
• “ No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.”
• “ Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” 
• “And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.” 

5. Lexical repetition is a stylistic figure that consists of the deliberate repetition of the same word or speech construction in a visible section of the text:

• ” Beneath it were the words: “ Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish . And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”
• “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories .” 
• “about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great .” 
• “But it was very , very clear looking backward 10 years later.”
• “If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out , I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.”
• “And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work . And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” 
• “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle . As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle .”
• ” I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out.”
• “Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed.”
• “This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades.” 

6. Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonants in several words:

• “I was l ucky — I found what I l oved to do ear l y in l ife.”
• “The heaviness of b eing successful was replaced b y the lightness of b eing a b eginner again, less sure about everything.” 
• “all f ear of embarrassment or f ailure — these things just f all away in the f ace of death…” 

7. Comparison :

“I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down — that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me.” 

8. Metaphor is a hidden comparison, the use of words in a figurative sense based on similarity and analogy with the characteristics of some object or phenomenon (a waterfall of stars, a wall of fire, a pearl of art, a bear of a problem).

Metaphor gives imagery to speech, helps to keep the listener’s attention, and influences their imagination:

• “It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” 
• “the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance.” 
• “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick.”
• “these things just fall away in the face of death…” 
• “This was the closest I’ve been to facing death…” 
• “There is no reason not to follow your heart”. 

9. Parallelism is the identical or the same construction of various words or sentences of the text:  

• “If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.”
• ” Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
• “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life… Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”
• “It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.” 

In conclusion, I would like to highlight 5 main points that Steve Jobs wanted to convey to graduates of Stanford University:

• Listen to your heart, do not follow someone else’s advice.
• Sometimes you just need to “go with the flow” – to trust God, fate, intuition, or circumstances. And then, looking back – into the past, you will be able to understand why all these events happened in your life.
• Sometimes the worst thing that happened in your life can lead to the best events and changes in the future.
• Do you want to be happy? Love what you are doing.
• The memory of death cleanses a person of all that is unnecessary. Our time is limited. So always “stay hungry, stay foolish”.

Text of Steve Jobs’ commencement speech

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Steve Jobs’ Commencement: Rhetorical Analysis

Introduction.

The speech by Steve Jobs titled “Commencement” was a part of Stanford University’s graduation ceremony. A commencement ceremony is a traditional part of graduation, where the students get a chance to listen to advice from others, which should help them make better life choices. In his speech, Jobs described several lessons from his life that helped him become successful and overcome failure. This paper aims to analyze the “Commencement” speech by Jobs and discuss its artistic measures.

At the time of the speech, Jobs was well-known as one of Apple’s founders, and he was also the CEO of Pixar and NeXT. The popularity and revolutionary nature of Apple’s products made Jobs’ speech well-known. The core theme that he discussed is his life journey and the choices he made that led him to become who he was. For instance, he mentions dropping out of college and how this decision allowed him to attend classes he enjoyed, instead of going to compulsory lectures. The fact that Jobs uses personal examples from his life to persuade the audience is essential because this adds personality and trustworthiness to his words.

Notably, the speech has a defined structure, allowing the audience to understand the message better. Jobs begins with a small introduction and outlines the fact that the following parts will include three stories. Jobs begins each story with a simple message that he repeats afterward. For instance, “the first story is about connecting the dots,” and he ends this story by saying, “you cannot connect the dots looking forward” ( You’ve got to find what you love ). He uses a similar strategy for the second and third stories. All the stories share a similar idea – despite the difficulties, the fact that he was fired from Apple and his cancer diagnosis, Jobs continued to move on and do the things he loved.

Finally, he ends his speech by mentioning the “The Whole Earth Catalog,” which seized to exist in the 1970s when a more advanced technology emerged because its final edition ended with the words “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” ( You’ve got to find what you love ). This was the message for the audience that suggested the need to always be in the search for something, and Jobs did not merely state this idea. Instead, he used the words that once inspired him. Therefore, the artistic measures that Jobs used in his speech allowed the structure and the arguments to be more persuasive.

Logos in rhetorics is connected to logic and arguments that use facts, such as dates or historical events. In his speech, Jobs mentioned a lot of important dates from his personal life. For instance, he discusses how he dropped out of college at 17. Moreover, Jobs mentioned the history of Apple, from its initiation to the first Macintosh, which made the company successful. Therefore, Jobs does not refer to any general historical fact, and he only uses his example as an appeal to logic. While one can argue that this approach can be biased because it relies on one person’s opinion, Jobs mentioned well-known facts, such as the revenue of Apple and the number of employees ten years after the establishment, which helped ensure credibility of his words and create a better connection with the audience.

Ethos refers to the author’s persona, in this case, Steve Jobs, and his character as the primary element of persuading the audience. While Jobs’s persona serves as a credibility instrument itself, because he established a world-famous technology company and went on to work in animation, he also mentioned several other facts that allow enhancing the meaning of his words. For instance, in the beginning, he states that he went to Reed College, which suggests that he is aware of the frustrations and challenges that the graduates may face. He goes on to talk about why he had to go to college in the first place, and the difficulties he had after deciding to quit. Regardless, Job points out that he has no regrets as he did what he believed was right.

Pathos is an element that refers to the use of emotions as the main element that allows one to connect with the audience. Arguably, this is one of the most challenging elements to use, out of the three, because unlike ethos and logos, it requires one to use creativity. Jobs, however, applied this element throughout his speech because it is a collection of stories from his life. As was mentioned, he begins by stating that he had never graduated and explained why it was vital for him to go to college. Through these stories, he can convey the difficulties, sorrow, and happiness he experienced throughout his life.

Overall, the 2005 speech by Steve Jobs is remarkable because it captures the attention of the audience. The author uses rhetorical elements to capture the attention of the audience. Through ethos, he refers to his personal experience and his credibility as a technology company CEO. By using logos, Jobs points out several facts from his biography that were the turning points in his life. Finally, Jobs applies pathos throughout his speech when discussing his life, which helps the audience experience an array of emotions.

“You’ve got to find what you love,” Jobs says.” Stanford , 2005.

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Rhetorical Analysis of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address

This essay will conduct a rhetorical analysis of Steve Jobs’ famous commencement address at Stanford University. It will dissect the speech’s structure, use of rhetorical devices, and the effectiveness of Jobs’ storytelling technique. The discussion will also delve into how Jobs’ personal experiences and philosophies are woven into his message, and the impact this speech has had on graduates and the wider public in terms of inspiration and life lessons. On PapersOwl, there’s also a selection of free essay templates associated with Analysis.

How it works

Steve Jobs’ commencement address to graduating class of 2005 at Stanford University is a wonderful example of how rhetorical devices should be used while giving a speech. In his address, Jobs aims to connect with his audience by using humor, personal experiences, and reflections throughout his life along with many other rhetorical devices. He also appeals to the ethos, pathos, and logos of his audience to strengthen his argument and urge them to pursue their dreams even if things don’t go according to plan.

Jobs can express his message of not settling for anything and striving to achieve happiness and fulfillment.

Steve Jobs begins his commencement address by appealing to the emotions of his audience when he compliments the graduates of Stanford University by stating, “I’m honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world.” Soon after, he claims that he never graduated college and that being on that stage was the closest thing he will ever get to college graduation. By sharing these two statements, Jobs establishes a sense of pathos by showing his humbleness and making the audience feel very accomplished for their achievements of graduating from Stanford. Later in his address, Jobs uses pathos, again, to tell of his cancer diagnosis and to make the most out of your life before you die.

After his short introduction, Jobs lays out the structure of his speech by saying, “Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life. That is s it. No big deal. Just three stories.” This simple structure helps the audience understand and follow his stories with relative ease. In the first of three stories, Jobs shares how his “biological mother was a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption.” He also talks about his adoptive parents and how they saved all their money to send Jobs to college which eventually resulted in Jobs dropping out. By including this anecdote and the anecdote of his adoptive parents not being college graduates and of himself dropping out, it shows the audience that success is not limited to anyone and that you don’t have to be the most privileged to reach success. Hard work and dedication to your craft can lead to great things. Near the end of the first story, Jobs includes some humor to lighten the mood when he describes his path to success and the creation of the Mac. He claimed, “If I had never dropped in on that single course [the calligraphy class] in college, the “Mac” would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, no personal computer would likely have them.”

Jobs provided logos in his address when he described the hardships faced when he was struggling with what to do with his life. He faced tough times after dropping out of Reed College. Jobs exclaimed, “It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms. I returned coke bottles for the five-cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple.” By telling the graduates of his struggle, he is trying to relate to his audience in any way possible. Additionally, if Steve Jobs can overcome so much hardship, the smart graduates of Stanford University can too. Near the end of the first story, Jobs uses antithesis to explain his idea. He says, “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever — because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.” Jobs uses this to develop the meaning of his story and to transition to story number two.

In story number two, about love and loss, Jobs aims to build more ethos into his story and he does it well because he is a credible source on going through failure and rebounding to greater success afterward. He starts by talking about what he loves and how he and his friend, Woz, “started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20.” He goes on to explain how he and Woz worked hard and after ten years, they had built Apple into a two-billion-dollar company with over four thousand employees. By doing, Jobs lays out his credibility in a way that showed his brilliance to see how he was able to turn Apple into a multibillion-dollar company. Additionally, Jobs provides ethos in his address by telling his audience everything on how he was fired from Apple and “tried to apologize for screwing up so badly” to David Packard and Bob Noyce. This shows the audience the mistakes he has made and that everyone makes mistakes and it is up to them on how they recover from them. His tremendous success after recovering from past failures (starting NeXT and Pixar) shows that adversity makes people stronger. His life went well when starting Apple, took a bad turn after being fired from Apple, and then became better after starting NeXT, Pixar, and eventually returning to Apple. The struggle Jobs faced establishes his ethos because he knew what it was like to be fired, to lose everything he built, and to recover. This allows his audience to learn how true success can be achieved even if obstacles arise, and Jobs is perfect to tell about the ups and downs of life.

Near the end of his second story, Jobs used repetition very well to emphasize his ideas of not settling and always staying hungry in life. He says, “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking — and don’t settle.” This repetition emphasizes his idea of never settling for anything and always working to get better. And, at the end of the speech, he repeats the phrase, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” This phrase is a great way to use repetition to further Jobs’ ideas and it perfectly summarizes the theme of his Commencement Address. Jobs wants the graduates to never settle, always aim to learn new things, and push themselves to face new challenges.

Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address to the Stanford graduates of 2005 should be seen as a masterpiece on how rhetorical devices should be incorporated in a speech. His use of ethos, logos, and pathos along with repetition, humor, etc. help him accomplish his goal of explaining his message. Through this address, Jobs can deliver his message to never settle and strive for excellence in a very effective way for his audience to grasp and understand.

Work Cited:

University, Stanford. “Text of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address (2005).” Stanford News, 12 June 2017, https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/.

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Three Stories of Life: Rhetorical Analysis of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech

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Steve Jobs – Figures of Speech

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Introduction

Steve Jobs uses various different rhetorical measures to create emotional appeals in the audience. Some rhetorical figures and other elements may not be used without direct intention or even by accident. An indirect intentional use would be if a speaker wanted to create a certain effect and choose unconsciously an according action, e.g., a rhetorical figure. In this article we take a closer look on his use of figures of speech in the iPhone Presentation (MacWorld 2007 Keynote).

Jobs uses various rhetorical figures of speech. He applies these figures mostly in parts that appear to be well prepared, an indicator for these parts is is the low frequency of “uh”s and generally the style has a higher level in these areas, e.g., less colloquial language. Steve Jobs used figures of speech in his previous speeches, for an analysis of Steve Jobs Commencement Speech at Stanford University in 2005, take a look at the public speaking blog “Six Minutes” from the coach and public speaker Andrew Dlugan.

Rhetorical figures create certain impressions at the audience, yet these impressions depend on the context. Due to the large number of figures a description of the effects of each figure is omitted. What follows is a brief description of the structure of the applied figures with examples from the keynote in combination with an approximate timestamp. Since many figures are used in combination a note is added in parenthesis, if there is more than one figure present in a word sequence.

Figures of Speech used by Steve Jobs

Here is a list of the used figures with selected examples from the speech; roughly ordered by the frequency of appearances in descending order:

• Interrogatio is a rhetorical question, thus the answer is self-evident from the situation of the speaker.
• “…and I’d love to show it [a new ad] to you now, if you’d like to see it?” ([00:03:39])
• “Isn’t that unbelievable?” ([00:06:26])
• “Isn’t that incredible?” ([00:07:34])
• “Want to see that again?” ([00:41:47])
• “Pretty cool, huh?” ([00:47:30])
• Anaphora is the repetition of a beginning word (sequence) after a comma or colon.
• “As you know, we’ve got the.. the iPod, best music player in the world. We’ve got the iPod nanos, brand new models, colors are back. We’ve got the amazing new iPod Shuffle.” ([0:05:01])
• “We solved it in computers 20 years ago. We solved it with a bit-mapped screen that could display anything we want. Put any user interface up. And a pointing device. We solved it with the mouse. Right? We solved this problem.” ([00:32:27])
• Epiphora is the repetition of a concluding word (sequence) before a comma or colon. Most epiphoras are used in combination with anaphoras, thus they become symplokes.
• “Well, these are their these are their home screens. And again, as you recall, this is iPhone’s home screen. uhm this this is what their contacts look like. This is what iPhone’s contacts look like, and again,” ([01:27:23])
• Symploke is the combination of one or several anaphora(s) with one or several epiphora(s).
• “Our new colleagues at Intel really helped us. Thank you very much. Our thir… Our third-party developers rapidly moving their apps to universal versions to run at native speeds on Intel processors. Thank you very much.” ([00:02:02])
• “In 1984, we introduced the Macintosh, it didn’t just change Apple, it changed the whole computer industry. In 2001, we introduced the first iPod, and… it didn’t just – it didn’t just change the way we all listen to music, it changed the entire music industry.” ([00:27:12] with parallelism and geminatio)
• “We’re gonna use the best pointing device in the world. We’re gonna use a pointing device that we’re all born with – we’re born with ten of them. We’re gonna use our fingers. We’re gonna touch this with our fingers.” ([00:33:33])
• “The first rich html e-mail on a phone. The first real Web browser on a phone.” ([01:15:35])
• Geminatio is the repetition of a word or word group within one sentence.
• “That’s 58 songs every second of every minute of every hour of every day.” ([00:06:26] with syndeton, parallelism, and climax.)
• “And the problem is that they’re not so smart and they’re not so easy to use, so if you kinda make a… Business School 101 graph of the smart axis and the easy-to-use axis, phones, regular cell phones are kinda right there, they’re not so smart, and they’re – you know – not so easy to use.” ([00:30:28])
• “And so I’ve got voice mail how I wanna listen to it, when I wanna listen to it, in any order I wanna listen to it with visual voice mail.” ([00:56:49] with asyndeton)
• Subiectio is a mock dialogue (thus a monologue) with question and answer, included in the speech to enhance the line of thought.
• “What does this mean? It means you can take one of the computers in your house, and right from iTunes, just like you would set up an iPod, you could set up your Apple TV.” ([0:15:00], with exemplum)
• “Well, how do you solve this? Hmm. It turns out, we have solved it!” ([00:32:27] with exclamatio)
• “And, what’s wrong with their user interfaces? Well, the problem with them is really sort of in the bottom 40 there. It’s, it’s this stuff right here.” ([00:31:33], with the message visually underlined on the slides)
• “How many of you do that? I bet more than a few.” ([00:49:19])
• Apostrophe is the turning away from the normal audience to another audience.
• “Phil, what do you got on your MacBook. You got some content we could watch?” [00:23:31]
• Exclamatio is an exclamation that expresses the emotional affection of the speaker.
• “I just take my unit here, and I turn it landscape mode, oh, look what happens! I’m in cover flow.” ([00:43:43])
• “The killer app is making calls!” ([00:49:04])
• “Wah, whoa, what is this?” ([00:52:30])
• “Oh, look, Apple’s up! That’s great!” ([01:11:13])
• Onomatopoeia is the use or invention a word whose sound imitates that which it names, due to the union of phonetics and semantics.
• “Boom.” (several times)
• Hyperbole is an exaggeration of the characteristics of an object or circumstance.
• “We also have the coolest photo management app uh ever, certainly on a mobile device, but I think maybe ever.” ([00:58:42])
• “It’s the coolest one that we’ve ever seen.” ([01:29:12])
• “Best version of Google Maps on the planet, widgets, and all with Edge and wi-fi networking.” ([01:15:56])
• “It’s the ultimate digital device.” ([01:30:53])
• Simile is an explicit comparison between two things, usually using “as” or “like”.
• “It [multitouch] works like magic.” ([00:33:33])
• “Now, software on mobile phones is like is like baby software.” ([00:34:55])
• “Just like you’d set up an iPod or an Apple TV. And you set up what you want synced to your iPhone. And it’s just like an iPod. Charge and sync. So sync with iTunes.” ([00:37:55])
• “Same as a BlackBerry.” ([01:03:51])
• Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound beginnings, especially of consonants, of at least two successive or neighboring words of a syntactical unit.
• “there was an article recently that said iTunes sales had slowed dramatically.” ([00:06:26])
• “Well, we don’t have data for December yet,” ([00:09:23])
• “It doesn’t work because the buttons and the controls can’t change. They can’t change…” ([00:32:22])
• “Now, we’ve also got some stuff you can’t see.” ([00:39:38])
• “I’ve got a camera here so you can see what I’m doing with my finger for a few seconds.” ([00:41:47])
• “And the third app I wanna show you as part of the phone package is photos.” ([00:58:42])
• “Starbucks, so I’m gonna search for Starbucks, and sure enough, there’s all the Starbucks.” ([01:13:02])
• Aporia is a (feigned) statement of doubt by the speaker and a question to the audience, about how he should act.
• “Now, how are we gonna communicate this? We don’t wanna carry around a mouse, right? So what are we gonna do?” ([00:32:54])
• “Well, how do I scroll through my lists of artists? How do I do this?” ([00:42:29])
• “So what should we price it at? Well, what do these things normally cost?” ([01:30:53])
• “What should we charge for iPhone?” ([01:31:46])
• “So how much more than $499 should we price iPhone?” ( [01:32:15])
• Climax is the increase from a weaker to a stronger expression. Thus, a word (sequence) is arranged in ascending order.
• “But smart phones are definitely a little smarter, but they actually are harder to use. They’re really complicated. Just for the basic stuff a hard time figuring out how to use them.” ([00:30:41])
• “First was the mouse. The second was the click wheel. And now, we’re gonna bring multi-touch to the market.” ([00:34:20])
• “And rather than just give you a WAP version of the New York Times, rather than give you this wrapped version all around, we’re showing you the whole New York Times Web site, and there it is.” ([01:08:00]; also includes a geminatio (”rather than”))
• “Wouldn’t it be great – if you didn’t – if you had six voice mails if you didn’t have to listen to five of them first before you wanted to listen to the sixth? Wouldn’t that be great if you had random access voice mail? Well, we’ve got it.” ([0:49:58] with interrogatio and anaphora)
• Asyndeton is a sequence of words or similar expression without the use of conjunctions.
• “We’ve got movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, photos.” ([00:16:06])
• “But it also syncs a ton of data: Your contacts, your calendars and your photos, which you can get on your iPod today, your notes, your..your bookmarks from your Web browser, your e-mail accounts, your whole e-mail set-up.” ([00:37:19])
• “Thinner than the Q, thinner than the BlackJack, thinner than all of them.” ([00:38:31] with anaphora.)
• “A lot of custom silicon. Tremendous power management. OSX inside a mobile device. Featherweight precision enclosures. Three advanced sensors.” ([01:30:00])
• Anadiplosis is the repetition of the last word of a sentence or sequence that is also the first word of the following sentence or sequence.
• “And they garnered two percent market share. Two percent market share. uh iPod had 62 percent market share, and the rest had 36.” ([00:09:43])
• “And they all have these control buttons that are fixed in plastic and are the same for every application. Well, every application wants a slightly different user interface, a slightly optimized set of buttons, just for it.” ([00:32:07])
• “It doesn’t work because the buttons and the controls can’t change. They can’t change for each application, and they can’t change down the road if you think of another great idea you wanna add to this product.” ([00:32:22])
• Personification is the attribution of human properties towards things or animals. In the following examples “it” refers to the iPhone.
• “It already knows how to power manage.” ([00:35:00])
• “And if there’s a new message it will tell me.” ([00:57:27])
• “Now it knows who Phil is cause he is in my address book.” ([01:25:00])
• Polyptoton is the repetition of the same word but in a different form. In the following cases for verbs:
• “Ok, now, you also can’t think about the Internet without thinking about Yahoo.” ([01:19:51])
• “It automatically pairs with iPhone so you don’t have to worry about pairing.” ([01:29:00])
• Antitheton is the opposition of two facts of contrasting content. The opposite may be expressed in speech by means of single words, word groups, or sentences.
• “They all have these keyboards that are there whether you need them or not to be there.” ([00:31:43], also a geminatio “there”)
• “The kind of things you would find on a typical phone, but in a very untypical way now.” ([00:50:00])
• Euphemism is a substitution of an agreeable or non-offensive expression for one whose ordinary meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.
• “We wanted the best web browser in the world on our phone, not a baby web browser or a WAP browser, a real Web browser, and we picked the best one in the world, Safari, and we have Safari running on iPhone.” ([01:02:00])
• Confessio is the confession of an error or weak spot. In its original form it was the confession of an error towards the opposition.
• “… so I’ll probably stumble and call this iTV five times today by mistake. I apologize. So Apple TV.” ([00:12:32])
• “And I didn’t sleep a wink last night.” ([01:44:14])
• “It does error prot uh prevention and correction. Not that I won’t make some, I probably will.” ([00:57:45])
• Distributio is the division of the main concept in sub concepts. Due to expended visualization the main concept gains a greater importance.
• “So, three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls; a revolutionary mobile phone; and a breakthrough Internet communications device. An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone … are you getting it? These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it iPhone.” ([0:28:44] with parallelism)
• “So, Internet communicator, an iPod and a phone.” ([01:23:20])
• Polysyndeton is the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses.
• “It’s got everything from Cocoa and the graphics and it’s got core animation built in and it’s got the audio and video that OSX is famous for.” ([0:35:43] with geminatio)
• Metaphor is a “comparison made by referring to one thing as another.” Steve Jobs seems to prefer the figure simile to metaphor.
• “A huge, heart transplant to Intel microprocessors.” ([00:01:03])
• “What we wanna do is make a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been, and super-easy to use.” ([00:30:53])
• Allusio is an implicit reference to an opus, text, person, etc.
• “He told me this, he said, you had me at scrolling.” ([00:48:45]; is a reference to the movie Jerry Maguire, with the quote “you had me at hello”.)
• Anastrophe is the reversal of the normal sequence of two words in direct succession.
• “… and they all have these plastic little keyboards on them.” (instead of “little plastic”; [00:30:00])
• “And boy, have we patented it.” (instead of “we have”; [00:33:54])
• “… and up pop my favorites , …” ([00:54:30])
• Ambiguity is the polysemy of a word (sequence).
• “And you can guess who our next Target might be.” ([00:06:59]; “Target” is a chain of discount department stores and was selling more music than Apple.)
• Irony is the expression of something by means of a word or sentence that describes the opposite.
• “Oh, a stylus, right? We’re gonna use a stylus.” ([00:33:00])

Distribution and Usage of Figures of Speech in different Parts of the Presentation

The frequency of figures is not constant throughout the keynote. For the upcoming analysis the keynote was separated in five different parts, which are named Beginning, iPhone Intro, iPhone Demo, Summary, and Fade-out. The following analysis relates the frequency of the figures to that of the “uh”s. Here you can find a complete transcript of the iPhone keynote (MacWorld 2007) .

The size of the transcript was used in relationship to the distribution of figures and “uh”s, since it is difficult to use the time as an indicator, because there are various interruptions in form of advertisements, video clips, guest speakers, and other performances. Therefore, the size of the transcript without timestamps is used.

In the first 26 minutes, before the iPhone is presented, there are only a few figures. Also the number of “uh”s is about 55, which is nearly one third of all “uh”s in the whole keynote. The intro takes up about one quarter (23 %) of the transcripted text.

From [00:26:22] to [00:41:08], where Steve Jobs talks about the iPhone before he shows it to the audience, the use of figures is the highest in the keynote. This part takes a little less than 16 % of the whole transcripted text, but only about 2 % of the number of “uh”s. Thus, there is a strong negative correlation between the number of “uh”s and the usage of figures of speech. Additionally, the complexity of the figures of speech is high.

In the part from [0:41:10] to [1:26:56], where the iPhone is presented in detail during various demos, the use of figures is low to moderate, yet most figures are questioning figures like subiecto (self-answered questions) and the interrogatio (rhetorical questions) or simple effects like hyperboles (exaggerations) and onomatopoeia (”boom”). This part takes a little more than 43 % of the whole transcripted text and nearly 58 % of the number of “uh”s. Due to the many tech demos this is not unsurprisingly. The aforementioned figures fit to this purpose, because they are not too elaborate, yet provide aesthetics and certain degree of variation. Additionally, a lot of these figures are seen as the trademark phrases of Steve Jobs.

From [01:27:00] to [01:45:20] Steve Jobs makes a summary about the iPhone, then he continues with the price and the market. In this section of the keynote, the quantity and complexity of the figures is the second largest in the keynote. The “uh”s account for almost 5 % of all “uh”s in the keynote, whereas this part contains about 14 % of the transcripted text. This part uses mainly rhythm and speed figures, like long anaphoras (repetition of the beginning) and asyndetons (no use of conjunctions). Additionally, Steve Jobs used the aporia extensively, when he asked the audience how much Apple should price the iPhone.

The fadeout of the keynote lasts from about [1:45:21] to the end, where Steve Jobs thanks the families and introduces John Mayer. It contains almost 5 % “uh”s, which is the same number as the previous part. Yet, it amounts for only 2.5 % of text.

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My Favorite Speeches for Rhetorical Analysis: 10 Speeches for Middle School ELA and High School English

Teaching rhetorical analysis is one of my absolute favorite units to complete with my students. I love teaching my students about rhetorical strategies and devices, analyzing what makes an effective and persuasive argument, and reading critical speeches with my students. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite speeches for rhetorical analysis.

I absolutely LOVE teaching rhetorical analysis. I think it might be one of my favorite units to teach to my high school students. There are just so many different text options to choose from. Here is a list of some of my favorite speeches to include in my rhetorical analysis teaching unit.

10 Speeches for Teaching Rhetorical Analysis

1. the gettysburg address (abraham lincoln).

Some notable things to mention in this speech include allusion and parallel structure. To make your analysis more meaningful, point out these devices to students and explain how these devices enhance the meaning of the text.

Teaching Resource : The Gettysburg Address Rhetorical Analysis Activity Packet

2. Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech (Lou Gehrig)

This speech is one that many of my athletes love to analyze, and it is an excellent exemplar text to teach pathos. And like The Gettysburg Address, it is short. This is another speech that you can read, analyze, and even write about in one class period.

When I use this speech in my class, I have students look for examples of pathos. Mainly, I have them look at word choice, tone, and mood. How does Lou Gehrig’s choice of words affect his tone and the overall mood of the speech?

3. I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King,  Jr.)

In the classroom, it is important to point out the sermonic feel to the speech and also to have your students look for calls to action and pathos. Have your students look for tone, allusions, and word choice to help them notice these rhetoric expressions throughout it.

Teaching Resource : I Have a Dream Close Read and Rhetorical Analysis

4. Speech at the March on Washington (Josephine Baker)

This is another important speech that held a lot of importance for the changes that needed to be made in America. The speech is a shorter one, so in the classroom, it will not take as long to analyze it, and students can understand the significance of the use of rhetoric in a shorter amount of time than some other speeches.

When teaching this speech, I like to remind my students to search for devices that portray an excellent example of the pathos that is so present in this speech. Some of these devices could be mood, repetition, and diction.

5. Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech (Steve Jobs)

In class, it is good to have your students annotate and analyze the speech just as they have done for the others. The organization of the speech will help them to notice the similarities and differences between each point Jobs makes.

6. Space Shuttle Challenger (Ronald Reagan)

This speech represents a strong sense of pathos as a movement to help the American people cope with loss after the deaths of the astronauts aboard the Challenger. It is another speech that is not too long, so it should not take a long time to both analyze and annotate the entire speech.

When teaching this speech in class, be sure to mention how pathos is the driving force behind the speech, through the tone and the diction. How does Reagan use emotion to focus on the astronauts as humans, rather than solely focusing on the tragedy?

7. The Perils of Indifference (Elie Wiesel)

This speech is a good one to teach because it both makes students question their own lives, but also how the world works. The speech relies on pathos, and a little ethos too, to get the audience to feel the full effect of the tragedy of the Holocaust and what the speaker went through. It is a long speech so it may take longer for the students to fully grasp all the details that make it such a persuasive speech.

When I teach this speech, I like to have students annotate every place they notice an example of pathos, and then have them explain why in their annotations this makes them feel an emotion. The same with the ethos, and then we can further analyze the rest together.

8. 9/11 Address to the Nation (George W. Bush)

This speech shows another example of the use of pathos in the midst of a tragedy. The President wanted to show the American people how much he was feeling for those lost in the tragedy of 9/11. It is not a long speech, but the amount of emotion within the words is significant for students to notice.

When teaching this speech, it is essential that students look very closely at each part of it, noticing each piece that reveals tone, mood, and other literary devices. How do the different devices add to the pathos of the speech?

FREE TEACHING ACTIVITY : September 11 Address to the Nation Sampler

Teaching Resource : September 11 Address to the Nation Rhetorical Analysis Unit

9. We are Virginia Tech (Nikki Giovanni)

This speech is probably the shortest speech on this list but provides one of the most emotional and pathos-filled rhetoric. This describes another tragedy that is spoken about with pathos to give the audience a safe feeling after such an emotional thing. Students can spend time analyzing the different devices that make the piece so strong in its emotion.

In the classroom, make sure your students make a note of the repetition, and what that does for the speech. Does it make the emotion more impactful? How does it make the audience feel like they are a part of something bigger?

10. Woman’s Right to the Suffrage (Susan B. Anthony)

This is another short speech that holds a lot of power within it. A lot of students will enjoy reading this to see how much the country has changed, and how this speech may have some part in influencing this change. It is a great speech to help teach logos in the classroom, and it will not take a long time to analyze.

Make sure your students notice, and they also understand, the use of allusions within the speech. These allusions help to establish the use of logos, as Anthony wants the use of American historical documents to show how logical her argument is.

Ready-For-You Rhetorical Analysis Teaching Unit

You might also be interested in my blog post about 15 rhetorical analysis questions to ask your students.

Teaching rhetorical analysis and speeches in the classroom is a great way to teach informational text reading standards.

Rhetorical Analysis Teaching Resources:

These resources follow reading standards for informational text and are ideal for secondary ELA teachers.

• Rhetorical Analysis Unit with Sticky Notes
• Ethos, Pathos, Logos: Understanding Rhetorical Appeals\
• Rhetorical Analysis Mini Flip Book

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Commencement Speech Rhetorical Analysis: Steve Jobs at Stanford

• PDF Frequently assigned in Easel

Description

A rhetorical analysis activity in which students watch a commencement speech of Steve Jobs at Stanford University and then practice analyzing it. Includes note-taking guide as students watch speech, analysis questions, and an overview of rhetorical terms that they should use in their analysis. Also includes a hyperlink/QR code to the video online.

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