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Rain Varney

Dr. Marianne Arini

English 102-04

February 12, 2020

Motivational Speakers and Their Rhetorical Strategies

I was recommended by a friend to listen to two different motivational speakers, Sean

Stephenson and Nick Vujicic. I found it very interesting how both speakers have disabilities yet

they both focus strongly on a mindset of positivity, confidence, and a drive to accomplish their

goals. Despite the differences within their stories, they both deliver their messages using very

similar tactics. I will be analyzing both motivational speakers and how they choose to relate to

their audience through humor, how they deliver their message, and strategies of their storytelling.

Sean Stephenson was born with a rare bone disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. This

condition stunted his growth, making his bones very fragile. Born May 5, 1979,

and passing away August 28, 2019, he lived way longer than any doctor thought

he would. In 1998, Stephenson was mentored by one of his idols Tony Robbins.

Robbins is a very well-known motivational speaker, who speaks on methods and

strategies to improve personal well-being. Sean Stephenson was always inspired

by motivational speakers, inspiring him to become one himself. In 2012, Stephenson married

Mindie Kniss. At this point, he had gone through school and had become an author, a therapist

with his own practice, and a motivational speaker. Sean Stephenson's goal was to help people

mend their insecurities and inspire people to be happier.

The fist rhetoric device I'll be analyzing within Stephenson’s speech was found within a

Ted Talk called The Prison of Your Mind. Right off the bat, he starts with a joke, an early hook
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for the audience, then transitions into his first point. “Never believe a prediction that doesn't

empower you.” (The Prison ,0:46) He slows his vocal cadence and takes on a more serious tone.

He talks about how he was told by the doctors that he wouldn't live long after he was born. This

makes me a little sad and I'm sure others as well. He makes you feel happy by saying he's thirty-

five now, as a smile slides onto his face. I feel this is a smart strategy of storytelling by bringing

you through these emotions so fast; contrasting happiness with sadness really hooks you in. Then

he goes into saying, “I don't have a clue, what any of you are going through in your life’s.” (The

Prison, 2:28). This is a strategy, to make the viewers feel more personally connected to what he's

saying. “I have chosen a life of strength, I am here to help you choose a life of strength.” (The

Prison, 4:08) By using words like “Strength” and “Help you” Stephenson emphasizes these ideas

and makes them stand out to the audience. I feel these are powerful words, probably chosen on

purpose to give the audience hope that he can help them. I was interested when he said, “I was

born to rid this world of insecurities.” (The Prison, 6:36) He talks himself up a lot using his ethos

to get the audience to trust what he's saying because he seems like a more credible source. He

strongly focuses on talking directly to the audience and his use of ethos encourages people to

actually listen to what he's saying.

Stephenson passed away August 29th, 2019, so I was curious if his Facebook was still

active. His Facebook page is now called Sean Stephenson Legacy. I wanted to see how people

are reacting to the page still being open and how they are choosing to interact with the audience.

The first thing that grabbed my attention on his Facebook page was a drawing of him. When I

looked at the comments, one of his supporters had commented on the post saying “He was such a

beautiful soul... I regret not supporting him more with shares and likes while he was alive.”

Something about this though seems very weird to me. I understand that he meant a lot to people,
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but is it wrong that, although he's no longer alive, people are still running his website and his

social media. I continue scrolling through and the next post is for a link to a Go Fund Me for his

medical bills left to his wife after his death. Created 2 days after his passing they asked for

$50,000 however, they made $177,757. “So many people have been reaching out asking how

they could help and I thought this would be the best way to give back to this amazing soul.” I

feel like there is a slight manipulation saying this would be the best way. Although, it is for a

good cause the way the description was worded felt a little contrived.

Something else I was interested in looking at was his website. First thing that I see is a

photo with him facing a large crowd as everyone is looking at him. This is a very strong image,

with the huge crowd looking up at him. This is most likely chosen on purpose because right in

the middle of the photo it says “GET UPDATES ON FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS” which

then links the viewer to a newsletter signup sheet. For me this works because the photo itself is

so eye-catching and right in the middle they are advertising the membership. Stephenson’s

memberships are free; he has one that alerts members of news and another for he and his wife's

podcast, including the last one that they ever made together. There are also lots of promotions for

him, his book, sponsors, videos and the community. Overall, his website is very engaging with

lots of promotions, leading visitors to more of his work and a clean aesthetic which makes this

website very effective.

Nick Vujicic was born with no limbs. Doctors don't know why he was born this way, but

he was told he would never walk or have a normal life. However, he learned how to walk in his

own way and has always been pushed by his parents to try everything. Inspired by his experience

with god he wanted to spread his story and preach to people. Vujicic started his own non-profit
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ministry called Life Without Limbs. His message differs depending on the audience, but a

common message he often talks about, whether subtle or aggressive,

is his coming to religion.

I will be analyzing his motivational speech Love Without

Limbs. In this speech, his audience is Southwest High School, where

he talks about life and his personal story. In this speech he uses lots

of humor. I feel that he really focuses on humor since he is talking to

a younger demographic. He starts with first introducing himself, where he is from, and who he is.

Very similar to Stephenson, he starts with getting a reaction out of the audience by telling them a

funny story. Then goes to an inspirational story about how his parents pushed him to do things he

was told not to do. He asked the audience to repeat after him “love”, once again involving the

audience. He interacts with the audience a lot by narrating what they are thinking, “You had kids

picking on you? How heartless are those kids?” (Love Without, 5:33) He talks about the time he

was bullied and he focuses on engaging them with humor. He uses the words “We”, “Is”, and

“You're” while directly talking to the audience. Personally, I think this is very effective, because

you get the audience to understand the image and start thinking of what you are saying. He goes

into yet another story about childhood bullying before suddenly shifting stories into those

regarding suicide attempts. I feel like it personally grabbed me when he said this because it threw

me off and caught me by surprise. Overall, he focuses on a part of his story to match the

audience, which happens to be childhood.

I thought it was interesting to see that Nick Vujicic not only talks to kids at high school

but he talks to prisoners as well. I looked over his speech he gave to Telford State Prison. He

does something that is very smart, recognizes the audience, and he says “I am not trying to tell
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you a sad story or trying to understand your pain.” (Telford State, 3:18) Once again, this is very

similar to Stephenson. Then he goes back to humor and tells a funny story, the audience loved it

and they were all laughing. He talks about how he has talked around the world and spoken on

3,000 stages. We see the use of ethos again to make the audience trust him. He also did

something that was smart, though I wonder if it was intentional. He asked one of the guards if he

could turn on one of the fans, then he asked the audience if they were ok. He has now humanized

these prisoners' by asking if they are ok or if they are comfortable. He uses similar strategies

during the previous speech with the high school as well, but achieves a different meaning.

Lastly, I wanted to look over Nick Vijcics website. First thing that stands out to me is that

his website is very religiously oriented. From the get go, you can tell every little pop up or little

box you can click says something about religion. Also, I got a pop up on the website to sign up

for a newsletter. It says “Don’t miss a thing! Sign up for our newsletter today.” There is a shop

with merchandise and a box above it encouraging you to buy the package with everything

including the podcast. He has more of a distracting website in my opinion, lots of pop ups and

boxes with all this new information.

They have two different stories and varying struggles. However, they use such similar

techniques to get their message across. Their use of humor, delivery, and story-telling strategies

while speaking are extremely similar. I do feel that they are strong speakers with good messages.

Personally, the tactic they both use that hooks me the most would be their use of humor. They

both share these sad stories of growing up but they both throw in these funny stories or little side

comments that give the audience comic relief. It's more likely to stay in the viewers head if

something made them laugh. They both use these tactics effectively to reach their audience and

keep their viewers interested.

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Works Cited:

“Sean Stephenson.” Sean Stephenson, Lucra, seanstephenson.com/.

“Life Without Limbs // Nick Vujicic.” Edited by Nick Vujicic, Life Without Limbs,

Sidekick, www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/.

Stephenson, Sean. “The prison of your mind.” YouTube, uploaded by TEDx Talks, Jun

12, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaRO5-V1uK0

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Vujicic, Nick. “Love Without Limits - Bully Talk.” YouTube, uploaded by Life

Without Limbs, Feb 25, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l91cgdFCkJ0

Vujicic, Nick. “NickVujicic at Telford State Prison.” YouTube, uploaded by Todd

Scoggins, Aug 15, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ0nmxq9qnU

“ Sean Stephenson Legacy.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/theseanstephenson/