David Foster Wallace wrote “This is Water” to show the reader that everything that surrounds them is life. Everyone looks at life from their personal perspective, but Wallace says that if one chooses to look at life from another’s point of view, they are able to see life in a completely different way. Upon listening to the audio recording of the speech, it was evident that Wallace was nervous and his speaking skills were not strong. However, it was his use of a compelling argument that made the students focus in and listen to what he had to say. Wallace uses intellectual and strong word choices to convince the reader of his credibility. He speaks on a personal level and in first person to make the crowd more vulnerable and to get into their minds. Wallace also uses long, drawn out sentences to get in as many details as possible and convince the reader that water is life. David Foster Wallace uses his strong and passionate opinions to make his points about what we are all surrounded by every day, life. Each of these tactics make the audience listen and dial in to what David Foster Wallace is trying to tell them. 

Wallace uses his strong intellectual word choices to make his points hard hitting. He is very careful in the words that he chooses. The larger the word, the more credible he feels and the reader is likely to believe him. Wallace says, “Given the triumphal academic setting here, an obvious question is how much of this work of adjusting our default-setting involves actual knowledge or intellect.” (Wallace 1) The vocabulary used in this example is not what most people would utilize in their everyday lives. Triumphal and default-setting are not common in everyday word usage. Because of the way David Foster Wallace worded this sentence, he has automatically convinced the reader of his idea. For the average person, this sentence may be on a higher reading level than what they are used to. No one in the audience has any reason to question Wallace’s opinions on life at this point. Wallace also says, “Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude — but the fact is that, in the day-to-day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have life-or-death importance.” (Wallace 2) Again, the average reader or listener is not going to know what this means right off of the top of their head. Chances are, no one is going to take the time to interoperate either. The speaker could be making all of this up, but the way he uses his vocabulary in such a strong manner, makes it easier to believe him without questioning. Wallace’s use of large and intellectual words, allows him more of a cushion to convince his readers and listeners. It is a tactic that works for him. He is able to convince the reader of how they should perceive life, while using what is seen to be as logic to back it up. 

Throughout this literary work, David Foster Wallace is constantly speaking on a personal level. This tactic makes the audience more involved and willing to listen. Wallace says, “But please don't worry that I'm getting ready to preach to you about compassion or other-directedness or the so-called virtues.” (Wallace 3) It feels like Wallace is having a conversation with the audience which in response, is making them more inclined to take what he is saying into consideration. The way David Foster Wallace speaks opens up the minds of his audience. The author also uses cuss words, which in any formal speech is not usually done. This alone puts David Foster Wallace on the same level as the young adults that he is speaking to. Putting himself at a personal level with the audience allows him to tap into their minds and to really get them thinking about his point. 

If you take a look at the manuscript of the speech, you will notice that the sentences are not short and choppy. Most of them are long and drawn out, allowing Wallace to take more time to make his point. Often times, Wallace is repeating something that he has previously said, just in a different way. The longer the sentence, the more detail there is to back up his view points. Wallace knows what he is talking about and that is why he can use long and detailed sentences. In reality, he’s just taking a lot of unnecessary steps to boost his ideas. David Foster Wallace places a lot of details into this speech and uses a lot of examples. He has so much information about his topic that the reader or listener probably would not even question him. As a college freshman, would you bother to test someone who had pages and pages of information and told you it was true? Most likely, you are probably not going to. The fact that Wallace uses long, drawn out, and detailed sentences makes him seem more credible and the audience more vulnerable to believe. 

Wallace proposes the idea that life is water. He tells us that we are the center of the universe, and everything that happens we are at the very center. Which if we think about it, the world is viewed from our perspective and we are involved in everything around us. Just like this fish surrounded by water, we are surrounded by life. David says, “There is no experience you've had that you were not at the absolute center of. The world as you experience it is right there in front of you, or behind you, to the left or right of you, on your TV, or your monitor, or whatever.” (Wallace 4) This goes back to how Wallace connects to his audience on a more personal level. He recognizes the fact that he falls guilty of being at the center of the universe as well. David Foster Wallace also recognizes that society needs to see the world from other people’s points of view. He gives elaborate examples of how another person’s situation at the time may be way worse than yours. David Foster Wallace is able to key the audience and change their minds and their hearts about truly looking into the lives of others. The audience trust Wallace because of the way he is able to deliver his speech. He can tap into your mind and show you that as a whole, you need to pay more attention to the things around you. Everything around us, the water, it is all life, and we should consider other’s point of views. 

David Foster Wallace did a tremendous job of reeling in his audience and getting them to pay attention. He used great word choices that made him seem more credible. The audience believed him and wanted to listen to what he said because his word choices were so different from their everyday speaker. Wallace broke everything down onto a personal level and made friends with the audience. He spoke in a “matter of fact” manner and never gave anyone the chance to question him. The speaker spoke with authority and rightfulness. He used long sentences with a lot of details to pull the audience in and convincing them to give him a chance and listen. Each of these tactics played to his advantage and he walked away with an audience that viewed life in a completely different way: they viewed life how he viewed life. Life is the things that surround us every single day. Life is water. 