The Last Lecture Speech

 
   When I hear the phrase "public speaking", I immediately envision Randy Pausch's 'Last Lecture' speech. Hopefully, someday my public speaking ability will reach the level of Pausch's; whether you're already familiar with this lecture or you're watching it for the first time, it's evident that Pausch succeeded in conducting an excellent speech. Pausch discusses a concern, that I'd imagine lies within everyone at some point in their lives; how can an individual succeed in achieving their childhood dream? Pausch reveals early on how he lives to achieve his dreams, and surprises everyone with the revelation that he's also dying with pancreatic cancer. Overall, the topic of the 'Last Lecture' relates to a broad audience, but Pausch's down-to-earth and comedic tone helps to really entrap viewers attention within his words and make the speech so successful. It should also be noted that Pausch practices comfortable eye contact with the audience, and hides any nervous mannerisms that may be haunting him.
    I enjoy listening to the 'Last Lecture' because it is so inspirational, and has been one of the only speeches  that has ever actually affected my personal thoughts to a vast extent. As most people do, I often stress myself out over small and insignificant daily events, which in turn causes me to fill my schedule with unnecessary busy work, and to lose track of my own personal goals. I find that after watching the 'Last Lecture' I seem to review my current situation, and to eliminate a large portion of that burdening stress. Randy Pausch uses himself as an example of how to live and dream, despite the fact that he's living with a huge stress factor; if he can be so relaxed and insightful, knowing that he will die shortly, shouldn't I be more grateful and less stressed out about the situation that I'm living in?  Pausch's speech was able to affect me as an individual, and the success of almost every speech can be measured by it's ability to affect individuals' pathos.