A Talented Speaker Does A Speech Wonders
Throughout history, there have been numerous speeches given. But what makes certain speeches stand out compared to others is the life behind the speaker’s words. For without this certain quality the speech becomes a string of pointless words that at most elicits yawns from the audience listening. Shane Koyczan, the speaker behind the inspirational speech To This Day, is a prime example of having the ability to move people with the conviction of his words. His speech was given at a Ted conference in February 2013 with the purpose of both enlightening people about the harsh reality of bullying and encouraging bully victims that they can overcome their struggles. Koyczan is no stranger of bullying. Growing…show more content… He first exhibits logos by supporting every claim he makes with evidence to back up what he is saying. For example, he makes a claim towards the end of his speech that the bullies are wrong about what they call their victims. He supports this claim by deducing the fact that they must have been wrong because why else would the victims, like him, still be here. This indicates that victims are not what they were called because they were told they would never be loved and yet they found a spouse that loves them showing they ‘made it’. Also Koyczan uses an example of society always cheering on for the underdogs. This proves bullies are wrong because we live in a society that cheers on the underdogs or the victims because we see ourselves in them and we want them to persevere (Koyczan 2013). Secondly, he uses logos by describing the ineffectiveness of sayings that were used as ‘encouragements’ for victims. For example, Koyczan thoroughly explains why the famous catch phrase about sticks and stones has no logic behind it what so ever. This is because he says just because words do not hurt you physically like sticks and stones does not mean it does not hurt a person. In fact, he reveals evidence that indicates it is much worse than physical pain because emotional pain cannot be fixed by a doctor, cannot be extracted out by a surgeon, and it cannot heal like a broken bone. Another example he uses is a piece of advice that is mostly, if not always, given to victims of bullying, which is to stand up for yourself. But Koyczan points out that to stand up for yourself you first need to know who you are which is hard to do in a society where people constantly try to tell you who you are for you or where people try to shoot down your beliefs of who you are. Examples he gives of this is when bullies try to label their victims with harsh slurs like geek or freak so often that the victims begin to