1. First of all, I thought it was clever how he used a student in the area to do the opening because it gives students watching a sense of familiarity right off the bat, also making Obama seem more relatable.
2. I just found it strange how there was not a single Caucasian kid in the background, making it seem as if he was just talking to the minority of the population when really he was speaking to every "young person" (as he would say) in America. In fact, the girl introduces Obama's speech by saying he "represents students all over America." It just seems ironic to me.
3. The girl at the beginning said their school had a 100% graduation rate, which to me almost seems uheard of. This statistic I believe also boosts Obama's credibility because the teachers, parents and even him are guiding this nation's children to success.
4. As soon as Obama came to the podium and began to talk I actually had to turn down my volume quite a bit! He was speaking so loud, but had a huge grin on his face when acknowledging certain teachers and had a certain liveliness to him that made the audience excited to listen to him and feel as if they are welcomed.
5. Throughout Obama looks down at his (what I would assume note cards) a lot. However, it seems more like it is just a nervous habit than actually looking at what to say because he glances down for less than a second, and in my opinion I think that is too quick to actually read anything.
6. Right away Obama acknowledges that kids these days are busy in school and also with extracurricular activites, boosting his relatability and credibility because he knows what kids are up to and that they do have a lot going on in their life.
7. At the beginning of Obama's speech his voice is quite loud but in an enthusiastic tone instead of an angry one. Throughout he is quiter but also much more intense, saying the future rests in our hands. At the end he remains quiet, but lightens up again when he closes his speech.
8. Another aspect of his speech that boosts his credibility and relatability is when he mentions Facebook and Twitter, showing he keeps up with the current times and can relate to his audience.
9. Often Obama throws in short, quick and snappy sentences such as "You have to wonder, you have to explore, you have to question." (8:15) These statements make an impact on the listener.
10. I noticed Obama is very expressive with his hands, and is constantly making hand gestures. He tends to point when he is giving facts that are suppossed to make an impact and he wants the kids in the audience to really listen up. Almost as if he is pointing at the kids and saying "these facts pertain to you, all of you, and I want you to listen."
11. At 6:15, after he cracks the joke about Twitter, he takes a more serious tone and slows down and sounds less intense as he brings up the touchy subject of the economy.
12. Obama uses repitition to get his point across, often by saying "we're the future" and "right now." We need you "now, right now." Showing his urgency as well as his desire to bury that thought deep in our brains. Another example of repitition is using the word "diverse" multiple times as well as "try new things."
13. Around 9:30 Obama brings up his own school experience, and how he wasn't the best student and didn't like some of his classes." He is constantly trying to increase his likeability and credibility while boosting his relatibility to kids and how he knows what being a kids in school is like. By throwing his own experiences in there it gets other kids to listen and believe in what he says, and that if the President wasn't that good at school but has turned into something great, so can the kids today.
14. Obama uses the examples of kids who are already doing something great, and I feel that can either encourage some kids or discourage them. For me I thought "wow, I am really behind."
15. Obama has a way of connecting with the audience with eye contact and also throwing in pieces of information that make him more relatable. He often looks to one side of the audience, quickly glances at his notecard and then glances to the other side, making sure to give even attention to everyone.
16. The quick glimpses of the setting that we were able to see was when the girl was talking at the beginning, and it appeared to me that they were in the high school gym. Although this doesn't allow much room for spectators, however I thought is was the perfect place to hold a "back to school speech." However, some might argue that Obama is trying too hard to be relatable and liked.
17. Obama's speech is usually fairly slow, however he tends to speak slow when he is addressing a main point and then speeds up the slightest bit when backing it up with facts or examples.
18. He seems to settle down by the end of the speech and closes it quietly, as if to seem not so intense.
No comments:
Post a Comment