Speech Critique: Billy Joel
Billy Joel is a very well known musician that is respected and acknowledged
all around the world. I think he was an appropriate speaker for a college
graduation.
He used one question at the beginning of the speech that
would catch the audiences curiosity; “Why do musicians give so much time to
charitable causes? and branched out from there to important issues. I think this
showed a sense of organization and importance to the issue of why he was
there.
From the commencement of the speech Billy Joel set a personal and
comfortable tone. He spoke to the graduates on a level of equality using phrases
like “maybe its because we know…”, and “Our experience is not so different from
those who march to the beat of a different drummer.” Which also served as a pun.
He used phrases like “common emotion” and referred to musicians like “family”.
He was able to relate to the graduates and made it easy for the graduates to
relate to him, giving reused questions like “when are you going to get a real
job? When are you going to get serious about life?” that musicians are often
faces with. He also uses the technique of mentioning famous names to catch the
attention of the audience. I also noticed that he chose musicians from different
types of music and different times in history he went from Beethoven to Milli
Vanilli to Bob Marley. So pretty much everyone could relate.
Since Billy
Joel has been so successful, his past experiences can be a way learning and
encouragement for the graduates. He refers back to when he was 19 and explains
how his career began. He spoke about his “little jobs” and how he was barely
making enough money to pay his bills. Most of the graduates are probably going
through that stage in their life now. I think he referred to this as a sense of
motivation for the graduates. Throughout the speech he gives out tips and advice
about making it in the entertainment world. Since he is so respected as a
musician this advice is valuable to the graduates.
He made music sound
like the most important thing in the world, which I think gave a lot of
importance to the graduates. He called the talent they had a gift that only
unique people like them had. The way he explained music, made musicians sound
like the center of it all; music heals, encourages, and even persuades people.
It gave the graduates a feeling of importance like their role in society can
make a difference in the world.
Overall I enjoyed this speech. I think it
was appropriate since it was so encouraging. These graduates are about to embark
on a new stage in life filled with fears and insecurities and they need all the
advice an encouragement they can get. He spoke on a very down to earth level,
which made it easy to understand and relate. I think every graduate could leave
that speech feeling Billy Joel was not only a role model but also a friend.