Memorandum

To:

Mrs. Renee Pay

From:

Samuel Allen

Date:

November 9, 2015

Re:

Professional Speaker Analysis

I had the opportunity to attend the 16th Annual Leadership Conference at Utah Valley
University on Monday, October 26, 2015. The title of the conference was, Come Alive.
Hoan Do was the keynote speaker in the conference. He was a very enthusiastic
presenter, he definitely took in account for his audience. Hoan Do had a very enjoyable
and inspirational presentation.
Organization
Hoan Do was a very enthused speaker, he acted younger then he really was. This
allowed him to connect with his audience a little better seeing how they were only high
school students. The feedback he would have received from a room full of adults would
have been less engaging. There were three lessons he was trying to teach us, they
were; Choose the Right Attitude, Find Your Outfit, and Make Meaningful
Connections. Having the right attitude also correlates with the Change the Radio
Station technique. This requires you to change the station if doubt, or negative
thoughts enter your mind. You can do this by telling yourself, Hold Up, That Is Whack.
This allows you to stop and think about what really matters to you. You can take a step
back and evaluate the situation, by doing so you will find that it is easier to move
forward with a new positive attitude than ever before. A very good technique to help you
move forward is Find Your Outfit. Figure out what works best for you personally,
something that you are passionate about, and then wear it (implement it in your life).
Make Meaningful Connections, this is a very good life lesson to keep in mind. The
more people you know, the more options for help you will have. If your connections with
people are genuinely meaningful then they will go out of their way to help you when you
need them most. Those individuals could be your mentors, the people that sacrifice their
time to teach and guide you. Your mates, your closest friends and family. Your mentees,
the people you sacrifice your time and effort to help. It goes hand in hand with
networking, getting to know people.
The organizational pattern Hoan Do used was Problem/Solution. When you run into
situations where everything seems like such a disaster, and you start doubting your
ability to fix it. You are running into a problem that has a solution and can be fixed.
Those solutions are in the three techniques. One thing you need to do is change your
thoughts. Your mind is a powerful thing, just change that radio station to a more positive
one. Hoan Do used Inductive Reasoning. He would give a specific example of from his
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experiences in high school. For example, he told us about how he wasnt a very
confident person in high school. This was a problem that he had to deal with until he
found the solution. The solution to his lack of confidence was to change his attitude as
well as his thoughts. He started acting positive and willing to put himself out there. This
took him out of his comfort zone, but it also made him feel more confident.
Supporting Material
Ethos
Ethos is defined as credibility, convincing the listener that you are worth listening to by
having information to back your statement up with. Hoan Do demonstrated Ethos by
telling us a little about himself beforehand. He gained respect from his audience by
letting them know his qualifications and accomplishments. In the conference program it
stated: Hoan Do is a student success coach, author, and competitor in NBCs hit show,
American Ninja Warrior. From an early age, Hoan understood the sacrifices his
parents had made in their escape to the United States during the Vietnam War. Feeling
indebted to his parents for their courageous pursuit of a better life, Hoan vowed to
ensure that one day, he would be able to take care of his parents. Hoans hard work
took him to Malibu, California, where he attended Pepperdine University. Recognized as
the best youth mentor by the International Examiner, Hoan travels across the North
America speaking at colleges, high schools, and student leadership conferences where
he shares practical advice that helps students to succeed in and out of school. Hoans
engaging style and ability to share important life lessons in a way that resonates with his
audiences has earned him the Verizon Wireless Motivator Award.
Pathos
Pathos is defined as means of persuading by appealing to the listeners emotions. Hoan
Do demonstrated Pathos through life stories and challenges he has gone through. He
made his audience feel empathetic for him and for ourselves. One way he related to his
listeners was through a story about when he was in high school. This is a great way to
create a connection between the speaker and the audience. Using Pathos develops
more interest for the listeners and can strengthen the presentation through feedback.
Another way Hoan Do demonstrated Pathos was through his experience on the show,
American Ninja Warrior. He told us about how hard he had to work and all of the
challenges he faced along the way. I would say Hoan Do was very good at using Pathos
to strengthen his presentation.
Logos
Logos is defined as means of persuading by the use of reasoning. Using logic to
strengthen or back up your statements. Hoan Do had logical reasoning throughout his
whole presentation. One example he used was his, Hold Up, That Is Whack
technique. This was his way to step back, think logically in the situation, and find that
everything is okay. Using Logos helps with building the listeners confidence in the
speakers presentation. A way Hoan Do showed Logos was in is stories of people that
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would put him down. He made it clear that the logical thing was to realize that it doesnt
matter what others think of you, as long as you feel good about yourself.
Delivery
Hoan Do was a very prepared public speaker, he noticeably practiced beforehand. He
had everything memorized and verbally communicated smoothly with no ums or as.
Hoan Do was very enthusiastic, his use of body language was a bit much seeing as
how he would dance and act out his stories. He was very good at keeping his audience
engaged, and involved. He kept eye contact with his listeners throughout the whole
presentation, this built a personal connection between the speaker and his audience.
He delivered his main points very well and demonstrated how to present a professional
speech.
He used a PowerPoint as a visual aid in his presentation. Every slide was short and to
the point, this allowed us to not be distracted by it so we could keep our attention on
him. He also used a cheer leader skirt and a wig so he could dance and sing for us. I
believe that he could have gone without those two items and his presentation would
have actually been better. The dancing and singing was unnecessary.
Motivation
Motivation is a critical element of any speech. If your audience is not motivated by the
end of your presentation then your whole speech was for nothing. Hoan Do was very
motivational, he made his presentation intense, very positive, and engaging with his
audience. His main points were phrases that he did not want us to forget so that we
could implement them in our lives. Those main points were, have the right attitude,
make meaningful connections, and find your outfit. He motivated us enough to
remember those phrases and to actually act on them. I personally have implemented
them many times since the conference.
The feedback Hoan Do received from his audience was one way to see that he
motivated them. When he asked the audience to do something or dance with him they
would do it. This shows that his listeners were interested in trying his methods. He
definitely succeeded in motivating the audience. He told us stories about himself going
through hardships and challenges when he was about our age. He told us the outcomes
of his stories after implementing those three methods. This motivated his audience to try
and achieve what he did, by making meaningful connections, choosing the right attitude,
and finding your outfit.