http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoWiV6Q8qME

Shaquile King

Dr. Cornel West’s speech at the Oxford Union was a captivating and powerful speech. At the meeting his main point was to talk about the Occupy Wall street movement and the injustice found in our American justice system. The manner in which the speech was given was very interesting to me because of the energy Dr. West had and the passion he had for the topic.  One of the first things you’ll notice about the speaker is he engages the audience with his body language. Dr. West throughout his entire presentation frequently uses hand gestures, poses, and other facial gestures to keep the audience interested and focused on what he has to say. In addition he uses his eyes many times to help display certain emotions to the audience.

In addition to his body language Cornel West also has an interesting way of orally presenting his words. His constant use of figurative language and change in tone aids him in setting certain moods. An example of this is when he talks about President Barack Obama’s war activities at the 6:50-7:14 mark. Before he comes to his statement about the president he changes his posture and tone which in a way alerted the audience that he was getting ready to share his main point about the president on the subject. He pauses and calls the President, “A war criminal with a Nobel peace prize.” The statement that Dr. West made was a very controversial statement, but it helped him to maintain the audience’s attention and interest in the speech.

Last but not least Dr. West related to his audience. In the room there were many people with different ethnic and religious backgrounds. He used this to expand his discussion about Injustice in America to Global injustice. While doing this he gave facts and examples about other places in the world and how it related to his point which helped to gain both the audiences sympathy and respect for the Occupy Wall street movement. Through the use of his body language, wording and ability to relate to the audience Dr. West gained applaud and a favorable reaction from the crowd. The speech simply showed that an audience can be greatly influenced by the way a speech is presented to them.