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Final Paper: Rick Rigsby’s Commencement Speech

Rick Rigsby is a minister, motivational speaker, author, and former college professor. He

gained worldwide recognition after he gave a motivational commencement speech at the

California State University Maritime Academy in 2017. His speech was not only motivational,

but it was full of emotion and was very effective in its purpose of connecting to the audience.

The way he structured this speech and delivered this speech makes this such an exemplary

speech.

The goal of this speech was to motivate the crowd to be strong, well-rounded human

beings. The speech encouraged the crowd to stand strong during testing times that life often

throws at you. The speech is structured almost in a circle. He starts with the oxymoronic story of

his father being the wisest man in his life as well as a third-grade dropout. He starts with the

lessons his father taught him, then ends with how those same lessons helped him as a grown man

in the end. Rick Rigsby developed a friendly relationship with the audience gaining their trust

easily by enticing them with personal and relatable stories. He didn't speak from a position of

power but rather he spoke from the position of an equal. His diction also establishes a friendly

relationship. He didn’t use professional jargon he used jokes and everyday terms. The crowd felt

they could relate to him because of this equality.

Rick Rigsby’s overall tone was empowering. Every sentence said was said with an

empowering tone that just naturally lifts your spirits. His tone is almost demanding as if he is

demanding you to be strong and demanding you to do better and demanding you to strive for the

best. He briefly switches to a sad tone when he shares his touching story about the loss of his
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wife. To establish this tone he fluctuates the volume of his voice throughout his speech. He also

establishes this tone through his hand gestures and motions. He does this very effortlessly.

For Rick Rigsby to establish his credibility with the audience, he tells effective and

interesting stories. The story of his father dropping out in the third grade to help his family on the

farm shows sacrifice. The story of how his father taught himself how to read and write shows his

determination. All of these stories go to Rick Rigsby’s main purpose of his speech which is to

never give up. The speaker also uses emotional appeal when talking about the loss of his wife.

He got the audience emotionally invested with the telling of the loss of his wife.

The intended audience is the crowd of college students going into the new world. This

speech directly connects to this specific group of people because they need to be prepared for

life’s ups and downs. The speaker makes a connection with the audience by saying he has been

through life’s ups and downs. This makes the audience connect with him more on a relatable

level. My favorite aspect of this speech was Rick Rigsby’s ability to make the audience laugh at

certain moments. I believe that making the audience laugh is a very hard thing to do, yet it

benefits the impact of your speech a lot. Making the audience laugh shows that not only is the

audience paying attention, but it makes the speaker more attractive to them.

All in all, Rick Rigby’s speech was done to perfection. He had all the qualities of a

moving speech. He establishes a relationship with the audience; he got the audience emotionally

invested; he had an intriguing hook of the oxymoronic phrase “wise third grade dropout”; he had

a strong structure as well as a strong tone; and he accomplished his goal of the speech which was

to motivate and prepare the future generation for life’s hardships. Studying speeches like this is

important because the ability to give a moving speech is valuable. Speech is apart of everyday
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life, and doing it effectively can give one power. Speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and

Barack Obama had such a large following because of how well they spoke. The ability to deliver

a good speech is something that everyone should strive for.

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References:

● Rigsby, R. (2017, October 5). The Most Inspiring Speech: The Wisdom of a Third Grade

Dropout Will Change Your Life | Rick Rigsby. Retrieved December 2, 2019, from

https://youtu.be/Bg_Q7KYWG1g.