How to analyze a speech

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Here are a number of things you should look for when you are to analyze a speech. Beside that, you should, of course, keep your eyes and ears open for anything interesting taht can relate to the elements of the rhetorical pentangle.
Beware that if you have the speech on video (or in an audio file) — as you may have, for instance, in your exam assignment — there will be additional text-external elements to look for in terms of appearance, self presentation and impression management.



Communication sitution
  • Who is speaking to whom on what occasion, in what language and with what intention?
    • Take notes to each heading in the rhetorical pentangle:
      • Speaker: What do you know/what can you find out about the speaker as a person?
      • Audience: What sort of people constitute the audience?
      • Circumstances: On what occasion is the speech made? Under what circumstances (physically/politically/etc.)?
      • Topic: What is the speech about?
      • Language: What sort of language (vocabulary, style, syntax) does the speaker use?
      • Purpose: What seems to be the speaker's purpose?

Content/topic
  • What is the speech about?

Structure
  • Introduction – body – conclusion
    • Is there a governing idea running through the speech?

Coherence
  • Do the various parts of the speech relate logically?

Cohesion
  • How are the individual parts tied together?
    • What connecting words are used?
    • How does referencing work? (e.g. use of personal pronouns)

Stylistical devices
  • Repetition (triads?)
  • Imagery
  • Contrast
  • Irony/sarcasm

Modes of persuasion/forms of appeal
  • Logos
  • Pathos
  • Ethos

Selection of words
  • Word classes:
    • Verbs
    • Nouns
    • Adjectives
  • High/low style
  • Technical/specialized/professional language
  • …

Syntax
  • Short/long sentences
  • Hypotaxis/parataxis


Text-external factors
  • Appearance:
    • How does the speaker stand or move about?
    • How is the speaker dressed?
    • Does the speaker appear emotional or detached? How?
    • Anything noteworthy about the speaker's gestures?
    • Anything noteworthy about the speaker's facial expressions?
  • Which of the above do you consider circumstantial?
  • Which do you consider part of a strategy for self presentation or impression management?
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På denne side kan du finde en hurtig opskrift til analyse af taler.

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