Analysis of Steve Job´s Commencement Speech on June 12th, 2005 at Stanford University

Executive speechwriter Anthony Trendl once wrote “A commencement speech, simply, is an opportunity to share your experience, values and advice. The precise form is up to you. This affords the speaker a platform to say amazing, unlimited things.” Steve Jobs’ Commencement address to the graduates at Stanford University was delivered on June 12th, 2005. Jobs is well known for being the CEO of Apple Computer, Pixar Animation Studios, and the inspiration of many rising entrepreneurs. In his speech, Jobs makes it clear that his delivery will be outlined by three short, but important stories pertaining to his life experiences. Each story contains one or two main lessons intended to help these Stanford Graduates as they move on into a new world. Jobs’ over all speech structure, sense of wisdom and experience, topped by his widely recognized success, empowers his speech to be strongly convincing. However, with the happily ever after stories, promises in leaps of faith, and ideally controversial context with college graduates, the speech seems to be a bit less relatively persuasive .
Jobs begins by expressing his honor to be the commencement speaker. He admits to never actually graduating college himself and explains to the graduates that he will tell just three stories. He goes on to tell the first of three stories that he says is about connecting the dots. He briefly explains how he was raised at an early age and jumps to his short lived college days. Jobs explains that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he had ever made. From connecting the dots he moves on to his second story of “Love and Loss.” Here he describes the unbelievable success he had from creating Apple Computers out of a garage with his frie...

... middle of paper ...

...entment. Thus, taking this rout was quite a brave and also risky decision by Jobs. Throughout the speech, Jobs implements little to no counter-argumentation, which can sometimes be used as a strong persuasive tool. However the lack there of doesn’t seem to be a major impact on Jobs’ presentation.
Overall the speech-structure, sense of wisdom, and experience, topped by his widely recognized success, empowers his speech to be strongly convincing. Meanwhile, the fallacies and faith requiring combinations of propositions Jobs’ gives, topped by a bit of contradictory context in the eyes of the audience, deducts from the intensity of his overall persuasion. Given the circumstances, the audience, and the situation, Steve Jobs was able to deliver a notably strong, somewhat inspirational and lifting final word to the Stanford graduates that day on June 12th 2005.