Invention: Ethos: Victor Rios immediately establishes his credibility by describing how he was one of the very troubled teens he is speaking about. By doing this, he shows us that he understands the topic he is discussing and has a unique perspective and ability to see the issue. Moreover, because he was one of them, he is unlikely to give us false information about the issue. He also shows that has the best interests of this group at heart because he was part of this group.
Indeed, he has a vested interest in the wellbeing of these teens and has no reason to lie to us about them. Rios has a lifetime of knowledge at his disposal, and he makes this clear. In addition, he speaks with confidence and no notes which establishes that he has researched and understood his topic well, which makes him credible. He established himself as someone who has good character and who is knowledgeable about what he is talking about because he not only researches it, he lived it.
Pathos: Rios introduces his speech by describing his personal experience as a young adult in the school system. He discusses how his best friend was killed by the time he was fifteen and how he watched his uncle be shot and then bleed out while waiting over an hour for an ambulance. By this point, he had also been in Juvenile detention three times. This introduction hooks the audience emotionally by describing the reality of life for a child like Rios. By informing the audience about his own experiences, Rios sets the audience up to be understanding and ready to hear his points.
In addition, when he goes on to speak about William, a child that Rios program has helped, he gives his program a human face and a success story. Rios makes the people he is speaking about real to his listeners. Next, Rios describes the teacher who changed everything for him. Her name was Mrs. Russ and she made it clear that she was always going to be there for him and she respected his culture. She helped him go back to school and graduate with his class and then go on to college. Rios uses Mrs. Russ to show the audience the proper attitude needed to help these children.
By tapping in to the emotional side of the issue and using the context of people, Rios is able to makes Pathos a compelling part of his speech. Logos: Rios uses his own success story and the success stories of some of the students he has worked with to prove that the system has failed these kids and that we can help them. He tells the story of a boy named William who had dropped out of school and was labeled as a gang member and a criminal. With the help of Rios and his program William was able to find purpose in life by helping his community.
William was able to go back to school and finish his credits and after that he earned his security guard certificate and now he works at a local school district. This story and Rios experience as described above are logical proof that his system works. William and Rios himself are tangible proof that using programs like Rios, we can help these children. Arrangement: Rios briefly introduces his speech by stating that he studies young adults who have been pushed out of school. He gives us some background information about these children and explains that he was once one of these children.
This serves as an introduction and a hook to make the audience care about what Rios has to say. After this, he continues to use his life to guide the speech chronologically through his journey from a delinquent child to a college graduate studying and helping children in schools. After explaining his experience, Rios leads into what we can do to help these children. First, we need to stop labeling these children as “bad” having a “culture of violence” or just “those people. ” Second, we should value what children bring with them because their stories are what make them who they are.
Third, it is essential that we provide resources to young people. After describing what needs to be done, Rios explains that he has worked to implement these ideas with a group of forty young adults who had been pushed out of school. This program was a success and he shows this by telling the story of William who went from drop out to a high school graduate and then a security guard. Rios concludes with a summary of his points, a strong quote, and a call to action for everyone to believe in these young people just like Mrs. Russ believed in him.
Rios does a wonderful job of introducing his topic, telling us what needs to be done, explaining how it has worked, and then concluding with a call to action. Style The style used in this speech is middle-high. Rios speaks in a clear solid voice bringing passion about his topic when necessary. He does not just present facts and statistics, which would make it a low speech. He instead brings emotion into the mix by using personal stories and passion. He is using this style to convey that it is an important topic, but he is not trying to completely rally us into a rebellion.
Memory Rios did not use note cards or any other form of physical outline. From what I could see, he also did not use any kind of teleprompter. It was clear from his performance that he knew exactly what he was talking about and had practiced to the point of not needing notes. From the confident way he spoke, it was evident that he memorized the main points of his speech but was not trying to recite the speech word-for-word. He sounded like he had made himself an expert on his topic and therefore, did not need to read off what he was saying.
He had a plan for how he was going to deliver the speech and had clearly practiced. Delivery This speech was delivered with confidence and passion using both nonverbal and verbal communication. Rios took a firm stance on the stage and used open body language by never crossing his arms or legs. In addition, Rios used his gestures to illustrate points and did not let his hands hang by his sides. He also made constant eye contact with the audience and did not look at notes. Furthermore, he used the tone of his voice to convey the importance of what he was saying.
When he was calling the audience to action, he would raise his voice, he did not yell, but instead projected his voice to the audience. In some of the more heartfelt or solemn moments, he would soften his voice to follow the tone of the story. Equally important, Rios spoke the audience in a conversations manner that made him easily relatable. What is more, he repeated one or two points that were important throughout the speech. Lastly, while listening to the speech, I never heard Rios say “Um” or hesitate in what he was saying. The entire speech was smooth and confident.
