Stage fright is something we all experience at one point or another. Whether it be from giving a speech to performing a song, we all become anxious and nervous about how we will perform. Joe Kowan's TED talk video called "How I beat Stage Fright" provides us with a funny and relatable way on how to overcome our fear of stage fright. His engaging stage presence and his song help him connect with his audience and prove that he has overcome his stage fright.  Aristotle came up with the three aspects of persuasion critical to any speech.  These aspects are ethos, pathos, and logos.  Kowan uses all three aspects of ethos (ethics), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic) in his talk through the use of humor and anecdotes, being an accredited speaker, and using facts and statistics. 

Kowan's talk takes place in front of a large crowd and he begins by saying how he has always had stage fright and that it has been a big deal for him as long as he can remember. He tells a story about how when he was a song writer stage fright always held him back from performing. As a song writer he always knew that he had to get out there in order to share his thoughts and ideas, so he decided to go out to an open mic to overcome his fear.  During his first performance he was so nervous that he was visibly shaking and he said the whole experience was awkward for himself and the audience.  After that performance he vowed to himself to go back each week until he was no longer nervous, but that never happened.  As a result of all this nervousness he realized his best chance at over coming this stage fright would be to write and perform a song about having stage fright.  He says this allowed the audience to connect with him and to help them realize what he was going through while he was doing it.  Over time his stage fright song helped him overcome his fear to the point where he no longer has stage fright.

Ethos, the ethical appeal, is a vital part of any speech because the speaker needs to develop a certain trust with his audience. Since Kowan is a speaker for TED we know that he is a credible source for information.  The audience trusts what he tells them which helps keep the audience interested throughout the talk.  His main goal is to get the audience to face their fear of stage fright and to motivate them to put themselves out there. Kowan does a great job of engaging his audience and getting his point across. His talk is intended for everyone because everyone at some point or another has struggled with stage fright.  His stage presence helps keep the audience engaged since he is always moving around and trying to connect his experiences with experiences the audience may have gone through.  His great stage presence contradicts with the topic of stage fright. He speaks like someone who never suffered from stage fright, which shows how far along he has come. One example he used to connect with his audience was his story about how he went to an open mic to overcome his fear.  Every time he went to the open mic he described his experiences there as ones that were always filled with sweaty palms and shaking hands.  Anyone who suffers from stage fright knows these things to be all too true and are major components in holding us back in front of a crowd.  In order to overcome his fear he knew he had to sing a song about it. This way the audience would be able to know what he was feeling as he was performing it live. The song sticks with the audience because of how childish the tune is and how easy the lyrics are to remember. The next time an audience member suffers from stage fright they may be able to look back at the song to help them get through whatever they need to do.

In addition to ethos, pathos, the emotional appeal, is another key component to a speech.  By making an audience laugh it shows that they are interested in listening to you and that they are having fun.  Kowan displays pathos by incorporating jokes and light humor into his talk. His jokes go hand in hand with his story since his talk revolves around his story. Stage fright is often a topic we associate with nerves and tension, but by incorporating jokes Kowan is able to lighten the mood while talking about a not so light topic. He is able to poke fun at himself in his story by saying how he always had sweaty palms and shaking hands no matter how many times he went back. By saying this the audience is able to look back on their experiences with stage fright and can relate emotionally to the struggles they have experienced with stage fright. Near the end of his talk Kowan breaks out his guitar to play the stage fright song he wrote.  He caught the audience off guard with this because they weren't expecting a live performance.  Since Kowan is a goofy guy with a goofy sense of humor this plays right up his alley because the song isn't serious.  The song plays the role of showing the audience how easy it can be to speak publicly because everyone knows what you are going through.  The surprise was affective because it allowed him to finish his talk with a strong ending and it helped reengage the audience because it got them excited to hear him perform a song for them.

The last key component to a speech is logos, or the logical appeal. Logos is important because it's based off of logic and audiences love numbers and statistics because they make the audience feel comfortable. If a speaker were to throw out random statistics and wasn't able to back them up then an audience would become disinterested in the talk because they would feel like they were being lied to. Kowan's presentation is straight forward and easy to follow in order for the audience to remain interested and able to follow along. Going back to the story, Kowan uses Logos to talk about the symptoms of stage fright.  Kowan knows it's common for someone experiencing stage fright to get shaky hands and sweaty palms.  He does this because he knows the audience has experienced these symptoms at one point or another and it makes sense to them that he went through them as well. Had Kowan said he didn't experience any of these symptoms the audience may have become skeptical because it would be inhumane to not experience a little nervousness before a speech.

Ethos (ethical appeal), Pathos (emotional appeal), and Logos (logical appeal) are critical components to every speech. Without one or more of them the speaker lacks the connection needed with an audience to get his point across.  No matter how the speaker utilizes the three aspects whether it be from being an accredited speaker, incorporating humor into their speech, or sharing personal anecdotes, all work in the same way in making that connection.  Kowan created this connection by doing a great job using all three aspects which helped him drive home his point in a fun, light hearted way.

