Sonia Sotomayor's Speech

Public Speaking Evaluation
The Supreme Court has the highest authority in this country and throughout its existence the diversity of people in it had been lacking. On May 29, 2009 a new Supreme Court Justice was nominated, she was the first Latina to be appointed to this position and eventually was confirmed by the senate. Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination speech was a moment that brought joy to many Latinos who often did not feel represented in higher positions of authority in this country. She was the first to break the norm for this and in the speech she delivered to the country via new stations she was able to present to the country what qualified her as a Supreme Court Justice. Former President Barack Obama presented Sotomayor as a person

who is an example of the American dream and she defended his statements about her.
Sonia Sotomayor began her speech by showing how thankful she wass of the opportunities that were given to her.

She quickly transitions to explaining how it was not only opportunity but also hard work that got her to where she was. In opening sentence she states, “I was just counseled not to be nervous, that’s almost impossible.” This was the first sentence of her speech, it opened it up with a bit of humor as the entire crowd she wass talking to laughed. The feedback she received from her audience almost gives her slight ease, she feels like she has their full attention. Being nominated to the highest court house in the nation must have really caused her excitement. As she is talking she sometimes slows down to a point where it seems she doesn’t want to lose track of what she is saying. This can be due to psychological noise she might have been experiencing while delivering her speech. The excitement of being nominated for the high ranking position would have made most people have wondering thoughts about the future that awaits

them.
This speech is about seven minutes long. It thanks the people that helped her accomplish her goals. It is filled with emotion, she appeals to the emotion of her audience to transmit the excitement she was experiencing at the moment. Sotomayor states, “My heart today is bursting with gratitude.” Statements like these allowed the audience to understand a little more how important and honorable the nomination was to her. She does not state she is simply thankful, her diction reflects the great importance of that moment. After thanking the president she then thanks her entire family for supporting her goals. She doesn’t go straight to the most important person, she names each one. By doing this she reveals to her audience how family oriented she is. The way she presents her whole family might have been a tactic to show that she is a person of tradition and that she believes with a strong family come great accomplishments. She continues to appeal to emotion by mentioning the death of her father and explaining that although it was an obstacle to overcome her mom did her best to give her a rewarding education. She states, “I am all I am because of her”, this might have helped the audience trust her more because she doesn’t give credit for all her success to herself, she gives it to her mother a person that most people would credit for the accomplishments in their lives.
Connecting with her audience by appealing to their emotions was a good tactic but it only earned her some respect. Not many people knew who she was. To fix that she gave them a glimpse of how she was qualified to be a future Justice. She gives background information of essential jobs she has had that had prepared her for the new one. She said she believed in the “rule of law” and the “achievements of the founding father” both these give her credibility that she will be a Justice that rules on the nation’s values are. She speaks about following values that have lasted more than two centuries. With this she might have also tried to reach the audience who were opposed to her nomination. At that time many conservatives did not support Obama’s choice to nominate her. In stating that she would honor the values that are centuries old she might have attempted to gain the trust of many who saw her as someone who would decide liberally on every kind of case the Supreme Court would vote for.
Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination speech was well written for the occasion.

Although it was not the best, she got the attention she wanted from the audience. She would soon serve an important role for the whole country and they already were interested in what she had to say. She maintained constant eye contact with her audience and at times looked down at her outline to keep herself on track and possibly to stay in the time frame she was given. Her voice was strong at times though it seemed the strong emotions she had at the moment interfered with the delivery of the speech. She would sometimes lose her breath and at other times she would talk extremely slow both which distracted from what she was saying. She showed much enthusiasm about her nomination stating how humbled she felt for being considered. Lastly, while Sotomayor did get her message across she sometimes sounded monotone and she moved little. When she was giving her speech she hardly moved and she sounded and looked almost like a robot, however her job did not entitle giving speeches rather it consisted of making decision and standing by them which is the domineer she

gave.
This speech was given when strong emotions were running through her, the adrenaline she had was not used to her advantage instead she sounded nervous. Even through this Sotomayor was able to express her emotions clearly and she was also able to give herself credibility and state the qualifications she had to be a Justice. Her speech was great, the delivery of her speech was not but it got the job done and potentially it convinced some congressmen to confirm her nomination.