To better understand President Trump’s techniques as a public orator, let us examine his Address to the Joint Session of Congress for three types of arguments:
- Logical Appeal (logos)
- Ethical Appeal (ethos)
- Emotional Appeal (pathos)
Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement nor is it a critique of the
Trump Administration and its proposed policies. It is a basic
examination of some of the techniques the writer of this speech and
Trump as an orator utilized to convey changing government initiatives
and persuade public opinion. It is up to the reader to determine whether
or not Trump is an effective speaker. According to many news sources,
Trump sounded “Presidential” in his delivery, which is no easy task,
even for skilled or polished orators. As an experienced public speaker
who has presented to Congress, I recognize other nuances that are out of
the scope of this article. For our purpose herein, I will say that I do
not consider Trump polished orator, but I recognize his skill and
admire his fortitude and courage to stand before the public. Independent
of the policies President Trump endorses, or his personal character or
style, as a public speaker I applaud all who have the courage to stand
before the public and utter a single word. We do not live in a forgiving
society. In this respect and for other reasons, Trump’s speech was
effective. In the end, no ship moves without everyone paddling.