Molly Pardun

Professor Arini

English 102

25 February 2019

Comparative Rhetorical Analysis

Motivational speakers are seen throughout all forms of social media. They have been

making a growing industry for themselves. Although there are an unfathomable amount of

motivational speakers, there are a few who stand out because of their style and overall approach

to speaking. The two that stand out, among many others, are Nick Vujicic and Tony Robbins.

Both men come from interesting pasts, and they like to focus on living their lives differently as

adults.

Nick Vujicic is an Australian man who speaks from an evangelist point of view. He was

born with tetra-amelia syndrome which caused him to be born limbless. While he grew up, he

suffered a lot with not understanding why he was born differently than others. Nick’s thoughts on

his bountiful life with a disability and his experience with Christianity seemed to be a big part of

why he felt to speak out to people. He spoke in a compilation video “Best Motivation by the Man

with No Arms and No Legs”1 about how he felt he was a burden to his family and wanted to take

his own life. The video then goes on showing his clips of his saying people must know their

purpose and why they are here to feel like they belong. He stated that those who do not know

their purpose and destiny are more disabled than him and that seemed to have struck the crowd

deeply. In this video, he is drawing a lot from his own perspective. He considers his experience

1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nknzSWDcUgA
with a disability to not be a burden anymore. The video then cuts to a different clip of a talk

Vujicic gave expanding on why all people feel that they must change the way they look to please

other people and to often desire to be seen as attractive. He goes on to make a point about what

people have said about his looks to him and why there is no reason to change no matter what

circumstances or whoever asked. In this video Nick’s intended audience seems to be anyone and

everyone going through a hard time. He seems to want to help people through their struggles. He

believes everyone has a purpose and a destiny to fulfill and he thinks it can be found through

becoming a follower of God.

Nick Vujicic started a Life Without Limbs organization to spread his undying faith

throughout the world. He uses plenty of ethos and pathos in his approaches and wants the world

to take care of each other. In an advertisement video called “Nick Vujicic | Life Without Limbs”2,

Nick is shown happy and mingling with people of diverse communities with empowering, upbeat

music in the background. His voice overlays in the background of the video explaining that the

world can act as one, can uplift each other, and have done so to over 600 million people out of 7

billion which was made possible by follower donations. In the description of the video Nick

Vujicic states “God has used me in countless schools, churches, prisons, orphanages, hospitals,

stadiums and in face-to-face encounters with individuals, telling them how very precious they are

to God.” Nick’s audience is hoped to be the whole world one day. He hopes to get the point

across that everyone is loved and important to God and that they will be happier in life with that

realization.

2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9dKhUb4Bgg
 In a tweet3 on Nick Vujicic’s Twitter account from December 2018, Nick reads a request

from a follower about being stuck in the past and asking for his help. He essentially says he

understands the thought of feeling like the past keeps rearing its head and directs this follower,

and any others feeling this exact pain, to pray but to also take action and seek counseling because

problems cannot always be prayed away. He hopes to help any others going through that same

feeling even though it is broad advice.

While Nick Vujicic speaks from an evangelist angle and draws a lot from his past, Tony

Robbins calls himself a man of immersion. He does not consider what he does motivational

speaking. He has no true point of exigency, but he speaks out with a need to inform people that

with their own power of logos and pathos they can become successful and happy in life. In a Ted

Talk called “Why We Do what We Do”,4 Tony calls himself the “Why Guy.” He says he wants to

know why we fail or succeed or why we do anything we do. He thinks anything can be done if

there is driving emotion behind it. Emotion can cause one to be resourceful or determined. He

thinks individuals are shaped by what they are feeling and their view on the world. He lists off

the six human needs he came up with which are certainty, uncertainty, significance, connection

and love, growth, and contribute beyond oneself. Tony speaks with comedy and confidence. He

tries to involve his all ages crowds into voting if they have ever felt those ways before and to yell

out ideas at important times of his speech. He thinks all humans have the same underlying needs

3 https://twitter.com/nickvujicic/status/1074076686461886465

4 https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_robbins_asks_why_we_do_what_we_do?language=en#t-44979
and that anyone can take away from his talks because they are explained in logic rather than with

blind hope and motivation of some speakers.

Nowadays, Tony has his own podcast where he can speak regularly to followers. In an

episode called “The 3 Steps to a Breakthrough”,5 Tony describes those three steps to be adjusting

one’s strategy, story and state. Tony thinks people need to have the drive to be in the strategy and

state. People cannot think the world is against and out to get them and that those are just the

cards they have been dealt. People need to work and want bad enough to succeed. Tony is

usually directing his work toward adults with his jokes and swearing throughout his speeches.

His angle seems to always be to get people to look at their issues and lives from a different, more

logical perspective. He wants people to know they have the power in their life to get out of

whatever hole they are in.

Similar to Vujicic, Robbins has a Twitter account of his own where he tweets helpful

information and links. In one tweet 6 from February of this year, Tony links an article he wrote on

his website about marriages to a depressed spouse and how those are nine times more likely to

end. His linked article goes into depth describing the importance of mental health, the difference

of depression in men and women, and how to seek help for these issues. He links helpful

numbers for hotlines to call in time of need and his guide to aid in how to talk with one’s spouse.

This article and tweet is clearly directed to couples in struggles with depression and they will

5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24ooUBw7mko

6 https://twitter.com/TonyRobbins/status/1092664125572947968
most likely take his advice because they are in a place of desperation and he backs his advice

with numbers and definitions.

Although all motivational speakers approach things differently and have different

audiences, they all intend to help. Tony is a very confident, masculine man who makes crude

jokes now and again to bring lightness and a friend-like presence to his speeches. Nick speaks

from an angle of Christianity and with a hope to spread his faith and, simply, hope in each other

and humanity. Tony Robbins and Nick Vujicic differ in many ways but both concentrate on

giving their followers a better quality and more successful life.

In my own opinion, I would be more inclined to watch motivational speakers like Tony

Robbins who speak to the crowd as more of a friendly figure. Although I do appreciate and enjoy

Nick Vujicic’s approach as well, I think he is more directed towards people who are intentionally

seeking guidance in life and religion. I find Tony to be a motivational speaker for individuals not

necessarily seeking specific motivational speaking. He uses a much more broad approach than

one of seeking to spread faith, like Nick’s. Tony’s speech that included his ideas of the six human

needs was very interesting to me and made sense logically. I found that the more rhetorical

devices that I am more partial to were in the speech, the more I was interested in it and I assume

the case to be the same for other viewers. Everyone will find a different speaker more suitable to

their tastes.

 Works Cited

Motiversity. “Best Motivation by the Man with No Arms and No Legs - Nick Vujicic

Inspirational Video.” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=nknzSWDcUgA.

Life Without Limbs. “Nick Vujicic | Life Without Limbs.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Mar. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9dKhUb4Bgg.

Robbins, Tony. “Marriages in Which One of the Partners Is Depressed Are Nine Times More

Likely to End in Divorce, but Don't Think Your Union Is Destined to Fail Just Because

One of You Is Struggling with Depression. Learn More Here: Https://T.co/B6ottN53Za.”

Twitter, Twitter, 5 Feb. 2019, twitter.com/TonyRobbins/status/1092664125572947968.

Robbins, Tony. “The 3 Steps to a Breakthrough | Tony Robbins Podcast.” YouTube, YouTube, 6

Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=24ooUBw7mko

Robbins, Tony. “Why We Do What We Do.” Ted, Ted Talks, Feb. 2006, www.ted.com/talks/

tony_robbins_asks_why_we_do_what_we_do?language=en#t-44979.

Vujicic, Nick. “Is There Something in the Past You Simply Cannot Get over, That Is Keeping

You from Moving Forward? You May Be Feeling the Same Way as Our Friend Mieta.

@LWLhope Pic.twitter.com/BUdCqeyLsP.” Twitter, Twitter, 15 Dec. 2018, twitter.com/

nickvujicic/status/1074076686461886465.