At a high school in Nashville, Tennessee in late January of 2014, Barack Obama delivered a speech in which he stressed the importance of U.S. students receiving a world class education. He discussed the improvements within our education systems that have been made, and those that will be made. He also shared his own personal experiences with his education, talking about the value of learning and the many doors it opens. Throughout his speech, Obama tries to relate with the viewer as much as possible, knowing that if he can relate to the audience, the likelihood of them responding to his speech in a positive manner increases. His tone is positive and uplifting. He wants the viewer to be excited about education and the path this country is taking. To secure these goals, he used various rhetorical devices. First, he was very sympathetic towards the community, which allowed them to open up to what he had to say. Second, he made a point to relate to the audience as much as possible and also attempted to make his speech relevant to everyone in attendance. Lastly, he used a positive tone throughout his speech and made it seem less about solving a problem and more about praising the efforts of the students, teachers, and parents.

President Obama makes himself come across as an empathetic individual to the audience which allows them to open up emotionally to the president and his ideas. He does this by recognizing that it has been a tough week for the school: "I also recognize the past couple days have been hard and have tested people's spirits. Some of you lost a good friend. So I wanted you to know that Michelle and I have been praying for all of you and the community. And I know that all of us are sending prayers to those families that have been so directly impacted. It's been heartbreaking." Being in Tennessee, President Obama knows he is in the Bible belt. By stating at the beginning of his speech that he is praying for the families and the students, it allows him to be accepted in a meaningful way by most of the population. Also, by recognizing that the school has lost a member of their student body, it makes the speech feel more personal from the beginning, which allows the students to open up and become more willing to accept Obama's ideals.

The president also does his best to relate to the audience as much as possible. Being the President of the United States of America, relating to the average American can be a hard thing to do at times, but it is imperative that he try in order to make him seem more trustworthy in the eyes of the viewer. Using his own stories, he is able to provide a bit of motivation to those in attendance and allow them to believe that anything is possible: "I'm not very different than a lot of the students who are here -- except probably I was more irresponsible... but my mother emphasized even then, even when I was six, seven, eight years old, that your ticket is an education... But she understood that if her son, and later her daughter, my sister, got a good education, even if we didn't have a lot, then the world would open up to us" (Obama). This quote shows his ability to make the audience feel as if he was an average person growing up and that because of his education he was able to achieve the highest role in the country. This statement allows him to persuade the viewer into understanding that education is in fact the key to success. Because he was able to achieve the role of the President of the United States, the audience is able to witness the result of the power of education. The implication here is that if he was in a situation worse than I and if was more irresponsible than I, then I have the ability and the opportunity to achieve anything I set my mind to. The president uses this as motivation for all students to encourage them to further their education as much as possible. The president also tells the story of the First Lady and her educational background: "Michelle, my wife, the daughter of a blue-collar worker and a secretary, was able to go to some of the best schools in the country.   And we were able to achieve things that our parents and our grandparents could have never imagined, could have never dreamed of." With this statement, he is able to show the audience that even his wife came from the average blue collar family, like many of those in America, and they have both been able to achieve more than average.

Lastly, President Obama adopts an uplifting tone throughout the speech. The speech did not come across to the viewer like this country has an education problem. He described our education system as one that is currently thriving all over the country. His tone, dialogue, and mannerism allowed the audience to understand that this speech is more of an encouragement to keep education moving in a positive direction. He tends to lean on one arm while talking in order to look casual, and he occasionally cracks a joke to keep the mood light: "You get to learn how to operate a 3D printer, and work on your very own airplane.  That's pretty cool.  I didn't get my own plane until I was 47 years old... Yes, it's a nice plane, but I've got to give it back. That's the only thing.  It's a rental" (Obama). He begins the speech by introducing many people and thanking them for attending and for their help with making education better. He praises the students and the teachers for their hard work and begins to state some positive statistics using borrowed ethos: "So I just want to report on some good news.  We have made progress when it comes to education in America.  Right now our high school graduation rate is the highest that it's been in 30 years.  The dropout rate has been falling and, for example, the Latino dropout rate has been cut in half over the last 10 years" (Obama). By praising the students for these accomplishments, the students feel motivated to do even better than before. The students also are more likely to support and agree with what the president is saying. Because he has praised them and said they have done so much good, the students believe that he is on their side. Also he does not try to make himself sound as if he should take the credit for all of the success. By thanking the principals, teachers, parents, and students, he puts the accomplishments on those other than himself; this makes the president come across as humble and cordial. The audience responds well to this because they feel as if the president is working for the people of the United States and not working above the people. The president's demeanor while speaking also helps him come across as more of a friend to the audience rather than someone who is so high above their social class.

President Obama strategically uses many rhetorical devices throughout the speech in order to get a positive response from his listeners. He makes the speech feel personal towards the audience, has a positive tone and mannerisms that make him seem more of a normal American than the President of the United States, and he also tries his best to relate to everyone as much as possible. These actions not only allowed for the speech to be a success, but it also allowed the students to become motivated to reach their goals and reach new heights with their education. These rhetorical devices are used in almost every professional speech. Without them, it would be difficult for any speaker to effectively get his or her point across to the viewer. Using these devices, the audience becomes engaged and tends to have a more positive response to whatever the speaker is saying.
