'Advice to Graduates', written by George Saunders, may seem like an ordinary
graduation speech. Saunders pulls from his past, telling the audience about a neighbor from his
childhood. He recalls standing by while an awkward girl was teased and did not defend her.
Saunders also asks his audience engaging questions. He asks them about kind people they have
met and how the audience themselves struggle with kindness. All of these contribute to the main
theme Saunders is preaching, a need for more kindness.

This type of format, pulling past experiences, asking questions, and preaching a message,
is seen across the board in graduation speeches. Unlike some of his fellow commencement
speakers, Saunders is very successful in getting his message across. His use of different
rhetorical aspects, kairos and stasis theory, contribute to the speech's success. Having a
rhetorically strong argument helps convince the audience of Saunders point and helps them see
his perspective. In terms of kairos, Saunders is very aware of his audience of college students
and that their graduation is the venue that he is speaking at. Saunders also uses aspects of the
stasis theory by engaging his audience in implicit, direct questions to enforce the argument and
make it personal. The success of George Saunders argument for kindness in 'Advice to
Graduates' is due to his use of kairos and stasis theory to convince the audience of his point and
bring them to his perspective.

The first rhetorical facet Saunders utilizes is kairos. Kairos is a special meaning of time,
referring to the perfect moment. There are many factors that lead to the perfect moment. Part of
kairos is the awareness of the audience and the situation. Saunders starts off his speech by
acknowledging that his audience is one 'with their best years ahead of them'.
With that in mind, he starts giving the graduates advice from the years he has lived. Through
stories of his past experiences and observations, he tells the audience about kindness. Saunders
encourages the audience to become kinder and less self-centered sooner rather than later. He uses
an example that parents are less selfish after having a child, because when you have a child, you
no longer care about yourself as much. He is not only speaking to the graduates, but also to the
other group of people in attendance, their parents. This is another instance of how Saunders is
aware of his audience. He also acknowledges the situation by saying the graduates have,
'accomplished something difficult and tangible that has enlarged you as a person and will make
your life better, from here on in, forever.'. He is praising them for what they have
accomplished in order to be sitting at this commencement. 'Congratulations, by the way' he
finally says to the graduates in the middle of his speech. The closure of Saunders
speech takes on another tone. Instead of drawing from experiences with kindness, Saunders ends
his speech by urging the graduates to be kind. He tells them to hurry up and speed the process
along so that one day they will come back and tell him how wonderful their lives has been.
To really speak to an audience, a speaker must understand who the audience is
and what situation they are in in order to get the message across. Saunders accurately uses these
features of kairos to make his argument for more kindness successful.

Another aspect of kairos is the venue in which the argument is being made. By looking at
the title, the reader learns where the speech is being given. Saunders acknowledges the location
in which he is speaking, a graduation, in the beginning of his speech. He mentions the traditional
form of a graduation speech and how he plans to 'respect that tradition'. By
showing respect to traditions commonly found at a commencement ceremony, Saunders receives
respect and attention from the audience. As mentioned previously, he not only speaks to the
graduates, but also to their parents, who are assumed to be in attendance. He is acknowledging
the type of people that are at this venue, and he is speaking directly to all members of the
audience. Many aspects of kairos overlap, such as the venue and the audience. Recognizing the
audience may coincide with the venue in which the argument is being given. When Saunders
praises the graduates for accomplishing 'something difficult and tangible', he is recognizing that
the venue in which he is speaking is a momentous occasion. To get to this point,
his audience had to endure many struggles and he is applauding them for their accomplishments.
He is acknowledging his audience and the venue they are at. Saunders concludes his speech with
a final 'congratulations' and wishes the graduates 'all the luck in the world'. A
graduation is filled with bright, young minds. Saunders capitalizes on this venue and audience to
preach his argument for more kindness. If a speaker does not recognize the venue in which they
are speaking, they will fail to convince the audience of their argument and be unsuccessful in
sharing their perspective. Saunders takes advantage of his venue, a graduation, to speak to every
member of the audience and show them his perspective toward a need for more kindness.

By asking implicit, direct questions Saunders interacts with his audience. These questions
engage not only the audience, but also their values and beliefs. The first questions Saunders asks
the audience are rhetorical and have to do with Saunders's personal story. Even though they do
not make the audience think about themselves, these questions engage them in the speech and
make them think. Saunders then starts asking questions to support his argument. He engages the
audience in the argument by asking them 'Who, in your life, do you remember most fondly, with
the most undeniable feelings of worth?'. Saunders is getting the audience to start
thinking about kindness, and this is how he introduces his argument. This question makes the
audience think about their lives and past experiences. He then asks them the 'million dollar
question', 'Why aren't we kinder?'. Saunders shares his point of view on the
question and how he thinks we can become more kind. These questions presented the argument
for more kindness by asking the audience to think about their own lives. Then, Saunders
explained to the audience his point of view. This technique lets the audience hear Saunders'
perspective while they are trying to develop their own, hopefully adapting what he says into their
thinking. He also relates to the audience by asking them 'can we succeed?', something all
graduates wonder at this moment in their lives. Saunders understands the position
that his audience is in and is using that to convey his argument to them. He tells them that while
success is important and something they have been working toward for their whole lives, being
more kind will have a greater impact on them. To convey an argument successfully, a speaker
must engage the audience by asking questions that make them think about their morals and
beliefs. These questions serve to make the audience come to the same terms about the argument
that the speaker is trying to convey. Saunders asks his audience implicit questions which serve to
bring them into agreement with him about the need for more kindness in the world.

A successful argument is due to many aspects, all which can be related back to how
rhetorically strong the argument is. A rhetorically strong argument uses kairos and stasis theory
to bring the audience to the speaker's perspective and convince them of the argument at hand.
George Saunders successfully uses elements of both kairos and stasis theory to make his
argument for more kindness successful. Saunders is aware of his audience and the situation they
are in. He uses the venue, a commencement, to speak to a young crowd who hopefully has many
years ahead of them to embrace what he is saying. Lastly, Saunders asks his audience questions
which engage them in his speech and make them think about the argument. These rhetorical
elements come together to make George Saunders argument for more kindness in 'Advice to
Graduates' strong and successful.

