NONATO,FLORENCE R.

BSED Values Education

ED 403

ASSIGNMENT #2

Video #3 — Oprah Winfrey Harvard Commencement Speech (Harvard

Commencement 2013)

Answer the following questions:

1. Do you think the five principles of effective oral communication were

followed?
—After seeing Oprah Winfrey's graduating speech at Harvard in 2013, I believe I
can state that all five principles are followed for giving an excellent speech were
followed. This is due to the message's very clear intention, which is to motivate
the graduates in her address. Additionally, the message was thorough and well-
written. everything about her talk was encouraging and inspiring, from the
opening to her experiences. Oprah also comes out as quite natural in the way
she speaks, in my opinion. I watched a few YouTube snippets of her talk show,
and she always addressed her audience with professionalism. She communicates
sensibly and with assurance.She relates her movements and gestures to the
content, and the audience members' responses show that they are paying close
attention to what she is saying.
2. Which ones were followed? Which ones were not? Why or why not?
—I can confirm that every principle was observed. She makes it quite apparent
what she is trying to say and why. She is someone or a speaker whose depth,
insight, and humility make me want to listen to what she has to say. She began
the speech by effectively introducing the relevant administrators of Harvard, and
she concluded it with a moving message about the success of a homeless
student who had graduated and was in attendance at the moment. She once
more came across as incredibly natural when speaking in front of a large
audience at Harvard. Her speech was well-structured and succinct. She was
definitely ready, as far as I can tell.
3. If you were the speaker, how would you improve this kind of speech?
—If I were the speaker, I would have delivered my address to the graduates
with the same confidence that Oprah Winfrey did. I suppose that's one thing I'll
work on improving for myself. I can accomplish that by outlining the message's
precise goal in advance. I'll spend some time going over my notes multiple times
before practicing the right pronunciation and some hand gestures. Additionally,
I'll make sure I understand my audience and tailor the speech to their needs.I
need to know a lot about my audience since it will influence how I choose my
words, the depth of my material, how I organize the information, how I motivate
the audience, and whether or not I make jokes. I'm willing to hear criticism and
take advice from my blunders since I think that will help me grow.