Comparative Analysis of the Speech by Martin Luther King and Sam Berns
Introduction
To deliver a good speech with the capability of grasping the audience’s attention and convincing them is not an easy task. In fact, the deliverance of an influential and persuasive speech requires a lot of preparation and the knowledge of rhetoric devices. The detailed analysis of the style of famous speakers can help in discovering the secret of their success and assess their techniques in building the connection with the audience. The approaches can greatly vary ascan be observed in the case of the speeches by Martin Luther King and Sam Berns. However, the main task is to provoke the listeners for some thought process and actions.
Speech By Martin Luther King
The speech, “The Street Sweeper” or “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life”, was delivered on April 9th, 1967, at New Covenant Baptist Church in Chicago (Free My People, 2016). The manner in which Martin Luther King speaks is very emotional and expressive. He uses many rhetorical pauses to highlight the most important moments of the message and interacts with the public (that supports the speaker with exclamations). In addition, the speaker seems to have chosen a perfect topic and place for the speech as it relies on Christian beliefs and references the Bible: “You shall reap what you sow”. To make his words more credible and persuasive to the audience, Martin Luther King uses a real example of the street sweeper. He mentions this common but unpopular profession to convince the people that any job should be done properly. The speaker uses simple words and short sentences to make the speech understandable for the broader audience and ties all his beliefs to the real life. He emphasizes that doing everything in the best way possible is not enough. In fact, it is also necessary to possess a clear mind and kind intentions.
The words of Martin Luther King are met with applauses because of the demonstration of his logical and expressive ideas that correspond to the beliefs of the listeners. In this manner, he was triumphant in inspiring people to take significant actions and giving them the appropriate advices to change their lives.
Speech by Sam Berns
On the other hand, “My philosophy for a happy life” speech is presented in a typical TEDx Talks format where the speaker can be seen making use of bright humor and references to his life (TEDx Talks, 2013). Sam Berns, a patient with the rare illness known as Progeria, shares his thoughts and perspectives with the healthy people to share his secret of happiness. The main effect of this speech is built on the contrast between the stereotypes about the people who live with severe diseases and the real case of Sam Berns – an individual who is absolutely satisfied with his life. During the whole speech, the speaker relies on his personal experience and mentions three components of happiness. He supports all his statements by sharing the actual examples from his life.
In this manner, Sam Berns makes the speech more credible and realistic. Moreover, he looks genuinely content with his life reflected in his positive tone and cheerful mood. Sam supports his ideas with the references of famous peoples’ quotations – people who managed to achieve greatness during their lives. The speaker uses humor to establish a close connection with the audience and is perfectly successful in doing so. The message of this speech is clear and logical: if the boy with the Progeria is happy, any healthy person has all the reasons to be happy too.
Conclusion of Comparative Analysis
Despite the fact that the two discussed speeches have a lot of differences, both of them are convincing and use a great variety of rhetorical devices. The speakers manage to convey their ideas to the audience to inspire them to change their minds and act positively different. Martin Luther King is more emotional and expressive especially when he presents the words of God. He does not refer to his life but uses the story of the street sweeper – an individual who believes in doing his job with honesty. In contrast, Sam Berns uses his personal example and tells about the simple joys of life to let the audience understand the essence of happiness. Both speeches prove that it is excessively important to take the potential audience, time, circumstances of the speech, usage of bright examples, and interaction with the public into account. All these characteristics make it possible for one to become a successful speaker.
References
TEDx Talks. (2013, Dec 13). My philosophy for a happy life | Sam Berns | TEDxMidAtlantic. [Video file]. Tedx. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36m1o-tM05g
Free My People. (2016, Apr 9). “The Street Sweeper” Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [Video file]. Free My People. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozwv1Va4RpE
Home » Research »