I chose a speech by Jamie deWolf that I found on Upworthy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_hfUKXEAvk
I am going to analyze the end of his speech from about 6 minutes to 8 minutes. I highly recommend that you watch the whole thing.
First, I want to talk about his speaking technique. His voice is quite dynamic. He’s telling a story about a girl who went missing from his apartment complex. His voice rises and falls as he gets angry, sad and even defeated. He moves the hand that is not holding the microphone. His tense gestures show his emotions. His slow speech and tense motions show that he has to work to control his emotions.
DeWolf relies heavily on emotional appeals. He talks about the gapped tooth little girl who lived in his building to familiarize the audience with Ziana. He talks about his feelings when Ziana doesn’t come home after 8 months and his anger when her step-father (the suspected killer and a convicted child abuser) asks him for a cigarette. The audience feels his sorrow and his anger. He talks about his own fear as he stays awake by his daughter’s crib. Any parent in the audience can only imagine his terror at the thought that his baby would meet the same fate as Ziana. Similarly his description of the girl who goes missing after Ziana disturbs the audience. He describes how her abducted was shopping for “a body bag to fit her height” when she got away. He describes his frustration at not recognizing the predator, at trusting him, at letting him into the building and near Ziana and other girls.
DeWolf’s story also depends on his own ethos. He describes who he is as a father. He describes how he lived in a rundown, unsafe apartment complex. He opens up his emotions as someone who feels partially responsibility for Ziana’s death. His admission that he let the predator into the building helps the audience know that he speaks honestly. His emotional investment shows the audience how important this issue is.
DeWolf’s speech is stirring and horrifying. His point is painfully clear and hard to ignore. He is not a very charismatic speaker, but his emotions carry the message. I think that anyone who listens to this speech will be moved. I don’t know if this speech ever caused someone to open their doors to a neglected child or if this speech helped save a girl like Ziana, but I think that it very well might have.
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