Analysis: State of the Union Address 2012 by President Barack Obama - Speech or Presentation Example

Speech Analysis: State of the Union Address speech 2012 by President Barack Obama Introduction The key aim of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the State of the Union Address speech 2012 given by the United States President, Barack Obama. Foremost, this essay will examine the context, purpose and themes of the speech. Secondly, it will examine how the speech was delivered by the speaker particularly with regards to the non-verbal cues used or the body language of the speaker. In this case, it will also examine the media that publicize this speech. Moreover, this essay will critically examine the way in which language is used in this speech particularly with regards to the rhetorical devices employed in the speech. It will also provide my personal opinion regarding the speech. In this case, I will state whether, I agree or disagree with the contents of the speech. In addition to this, it will examine the effectiveness of the speech. With regards to logos, ethos, and pathos, this essay will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the speech. Generally, President Obama’s speech is effective mainly because it employs persuasion elements like ethos, pathos and logos. Context, themes and purpose of the speech The State of the Union address is an annual speech delivered by the United States President to the United States congress. Basically in most cases, this speech focuses on highlighting the legislative agenda and national priorities of the president and reporting the current condition of the country. The delivery of this speech is embedded in the United States constitution Section 3 Article II which provides that the president shall deliver an address to the Congress from time to time (Hoffman & Howard, 2006). The 2012 State of the Union Address speech was given by the United States’ president, Barack Obama to the Congress on January 24, 2012. In this speech president Obama talks about education reform, the restoration of America’s infrastructure and the creation of new energy sources (White House, 2012). In this speech President Obama talks about the country’s economic state before and after his inauguration. He recommends to the Congress to extend the payroll tax cut so as to help working-class families. He also urges colleges and universities to make school fees more affordable and cautions educational institutions which do not cut down their tuition fees, that they will loose federal funding. Moreover in this speech, President Obama calls for better education, job training, reduction of mortgage interest rates and the expansion of domestic energy supplies. Generally, this speech can be regarded as a form of logos mainly because it centers on providing a logical appeal aimed at convincing the audience by using reason or logic. Basically, the purpose of this speech was to inform the United States Congress and citizens in general about the current state of the country’s economy and the president’s legislative agenda’s. This speech also focuses on setting agenda and influencing the opinion of Congress members, the media, the general public and leaders of other nations (Aune, & Medhurst, 2008). The delivery of the speech In verbal speeches, speakers use both words and nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, intonation, body postures and eye contacts to deliver their message. Nonverbal cues are very important when it comes to engaging the audience to listen, showing emotion and emphasizing (Chrisler & McCreary, 2010; Gabbott & Hogg, 2001). In the 2012, State of the Union Address, president Obama uses a number of non-verbal cues when delivering his message. A critical look at the way he delivers his speech, shows that some of the common non-verbal cues that he uses include; intonation, eye movements, facial expressions, body posture and body gestures Intonation is a reoccurring nonverbal cue throughout President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address. When delivering this speech, his pitch of voice rises and falls at different intervals during the speech. For instance, at the beginning of every agenda he raises the pitch of his voice however, after he talks about a certain agenda his pitch falls gradually. In some cases, his pitch falls at the beginning of a different agenda and rises at the end. President Obama uses intonation when emphasizing on a particular idea. Moreover, in the course of the speech Presidents Obama’s body posture is stable and static thus conveying a high degree of formality. His body posture helps to portray his attitude and intentions for the speech (Leathers & Eaves, 2008). He also uses hand gestures to express, confirm, back up and accentuate on his intentions and ideas. Furthermore, throughout his speech, President Obama maintains serious and cordial facial expressions. In some instances, he raises his eye brows when emphasizing on an idea. He also makes eye movements throughout his speech by interchangeably looking at the written speech on the podium and the audience. He makes frequent eye contact with the audience so as to connect with them (Leathers & Eaves, 2008). Media platforms that publicize this speech include television networks and internet platforms. Language elements in the speech A critical analysis of the language elements embedded in President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address one can evidently identify several rhetoric devices. One of the evident rhetoric devices used in this speech are metaphors. For instance, at the beginning of the speech, President Obama talks about how he went to Andrews Air Force Base to welcome the country’s last troops to serve in Iraq. In this case, he use a metaphors to describe the how proud he was about the dedication of soldiers who serve in Iraq. He states, “Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought and several thousand gave their lives…..” (White House, 2012). Similarly, when talking about the impact of the recession he uses a metaphor. He notes that, “Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores…” This is to imply that jobs opportunities and manufacturing processes started to become scarce. Another rhetoric device used by President Obama in this speech is alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sounds at the start of a sequence of several words (Gransden, 1991). For instance, when talking about the selflessness and team work of the American Armed Forces he notes that; “They’re not consumed with personal ambition.  They don’t obsess over their differences.  They focus on the mission at hand.  They work together. ” Additionally, he uses asyndeton. Asyndeton can be described as the absence of conjunctions where necessary. For example, at the end of the speech he notes that; “This nation is great because we built it together.  This nation is great because we worked as a team.  This nation is great because we get each other’s backs…. “(White House, 2012). Personally, I think that President Obama’s speech is well presented and insightful. I agree with the sentiments presented in this speech mainly because they are based on a rational or reasonable appeal. In this speech, President Obama centers on calls for better education, job training, reduction of mortgage interest rates and the expansion of domestic energy supplies by providing a logical and convincing appeal. The effectiveness of the speech Generally, President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address speech is effective mainly because it employs different persuasion elements. Some of the apparent modes of persuasion evident in his speech include; ethos, pathos logos. Ethos can be described as an ethical appeal aimed at convincing the audience about the character of the speakers. In his speech, President Obama employs ethos by incorporating appropriate language, appropriate vocabulary and correct grammar that is suitable for the audience and the subject matter. His presentation is fair minded, restrained and sincere. As a result, he manages to demonstrate his reliability, competence, value and respect for his audience through the use appropriate language elements and general support of his sentiments with rational views (Planalp, 1999). However, one of the apparent limitation of President Obama’s speech when it comes to the use of ethos, it that it centered too much on issues and fails to effectively demonstrate his ability and competence. With regards to Logos, President Obama uses both historical and literal events to justify his sentiments. For instance, he provides the example of his grandparent during World War II to show how far America has come. He also uses factual statistics and data to convince the audience. For example, he cites that; “In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly 4 million jobs.  And we lost another 4 million before our policies were in full effect. Those are the facts.  But so are these, in the last 22 months, businesses have created more than 3 million jobs….” (White House, 2012). As a result of his effective use of logos, he is able to evoke a rational and logical response from the audience. In addition to this, President Obama employs pathos by providing emotional examples and vivid descriptions. Due to this, he is able to evoke an emotional response from the audience (Planalp, 1999). Conclusion Basically, this paper has provided a critical analysis of the State of the Union Address speech 2012 given by the United States President, Barrack Obama. In most cases, this speech focuses on highlighting the legislative agenda and national priorities of the president and reporting the current condition of the country. In delivering this speech, President Obama uses Non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, intonation, body postures and eye contacts to deliver his message. Moreover, some of the evident rhetoric devices used in this speech include metaphors, alliteration and asyndeton. Generally, President Obama’s speech is effective mainly because it employs persuasion elements like ethos, pathos and logos. References Aune, J. & Medhurst, M. (2008). The Prospect of Presidential Rhetoric. Texas: Texas A&M University Press. Chrisler, J. & McCreary, D. (2010). Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology. London: Springer. Gabbott, M. & Hogg, G. (2001). ‘The role of Non-verbal communication in service encounters: A conceptual framework’. Journal of Marketing and Management 17(1):5-26. Gransden, A. (1991). Aenied. Volume 11. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hoffman, D. & Howard, A. (2006). Addressing the state of the union: the evolution and impact of the president’s big speech. New York: Lynne Reinner. Leathers, D. & Eaves, M. (2008). Successful nonverbal communication: principles and applications. New York: Allyn & Bacon. Planalp, S.(1999). Communicating emotion: social, moral and cultural process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The White House (2012). Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address. Retrieved on May 10, 2012 from Read More