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Memorandum
To: Mrs. Renee Pay
From: Allie Shaw
Date: November 1, 2013
Re: Professional Speaker Analysis

I had the opportunity to attend the 14
th
Annual Leadership Conference at Utah Valley
University on Monday, October 21, 2013. The title of the conference was STEP UP: Fighting the
Fear; Finding Your Voice. Matt Townsend was the keynote speaker in the conference. Matt
Townsend was a very entertaining and motivational speaker and kept the audience laughing
throughout his speech.
Organization
Matt Townsend demonstrated his propositions through telling stories. His first proposition was
it doesnt matter what you are, it matters what you choose to be. His second was Our fears
are what we become, if we let them. He showed us a picture of a cow and dolphin but only
lightly touched on how sometimes in relationships we are a cow in the water. He told several
stories to support these statements, including a story about how his family wasnt a math
family, but his teacher was going to teach him nonetheless. He told a story about a spelling bee
mishap where he was feeling overconfident and misspelled the word lion and was then given
the nickname loin boy. The moral of this story was that even though he knew how to spell the
word, he was overstruck by confidence and that ultimately affected his performance. After this
he told a story about when he went on a Scout trip, and as they were sitting around the fireside,
the Scout leaders began to tell stories about Vietnam. While this was happening, Townsend was
just finishing up some of his jam and decided to throw it in the fireplace. As he did this, the
fireplace exploded and from then on he was known as The Jam Bomber.
Matt Townsend then goes on to tell a story about going to a dance with a girl named Amanda.
Amanda was in a wheelchair and had never been asked to a dance before. Other dances that
Townsend had attended, he always took awful dance pictures and could never understand why
he got so nervous. For this dance, however, Townsend chose not to think of himself and took
the best dance picture he had ever taken. The moral of this story was to not think of yourself
but of the other person. He then tells a story about visiting Craig, who was one of Matt
Townsends fellow scout friend, who had been diagnosed with serious form of sclerosis.
Townsend didnt know if he should visit Craig because he had no idea what he would say. He
decided to visit him anyway, and when he got there, Craigs dad answered the door and told
Townsend that Craig was sleeping. Townsend didnt care and went into Craigs room and
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watched him sleep. Once Craig woke up, he smiled at Townsend and expressed his gratitude for
Townsend coming to visit him. Townsend then realized it wasnt about knowing what to say in
that situation, but just being there that truly mattered.
The organizational pattern that Matt Townsend used was the Cause-and-Effect. He gave all of
his stories which represented the cause, which in turn led to the effect. For example, the story
about his over confidence at the spelling bee was the cause of his misspelling of the word which
led to the effect of him being called loin boy. In the story about Amanda, he was able to focus
on someone other than himself which was the cause and the effect was an amazing dance
picture. In his speech, Townsend used deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is the top-
down process. It starts with all of the examples and ends with the conclusion. I believe that
Townsend used this reasoning because he began the speech by stating his proposition at the
beginning of his speech, and as he further progressed into it, told many stories that elaborated
on the point that Townsend was trying to make. This organizational pattern was appropriate for
the audience because his stories were focused around the age group that he was presenting to.
His stories were relatable and kept the audience engaged. Through deductive reasoning, he was
able to reach the audience as well as keep a well-organized speech.
Supporting Material
Ethos
Ethos is defined as your level of credibility as perceived by your audience. Matt Townsend has
an incredible amount of credibility (Ethos). The audience was aware of his reputation as a
speaker which made him more valuable to have at the conference. Matt Townsend has trained
with Franklin Covey for nine years. He is also the founder and president of the Townsend
Relationship Center, which helps build skills. He is a teacher and a coach for the Relationship
Center and used these skills to empower the audience in his speech. He has a Bachelors and
Masters degree in Communication, as well as another Masters and recently earned his
Doctorate in Human Development. He also has his own radio program that he hosts every
Saturday morning from 11 to noon called The Matt Townsend Show that is broadcasted on
KSL News Radio, where he talks about different relationship topics. Townsend also is on KSL
TVs morning show Studio 5. He has a radio show that is on weekly on BYU radio on Sirius XM
143. He has written a book called Starved Stuff Feeding the 7 Basic Needs of Healthy
Relationships that is available on Amazon.com as well as Deseret Book.
Pathos
Pathos is defined as the emotional connection to the audience. Matt Townsend demonstrated
Pathos through the time frame in which his stories took place. He kept an emotional connection
with the audience by keeping his stories relatable. He was able to engage the audience by using
humor and acting whatever age he was when his story took place. Rather than share his story in
a monotone rehearsed way, he was able to move the audience to act in the ways he would
share the ways he had acted. For example, the story about how he reacted when he was called
loin boy. He gave examples of relationships that the audience could relate to and compared it
to a cow and a dolphin working together. He kept the audience entertained as well as
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compelled in the stories that required a more serious mood, such as the story about visiting
Craig. Because all of his stories took place in his elementary through high school years, the
audience was able to relate more to the topics which allowed them to have an emotional
connection with the stories that Townsend told.
Logos
Logos is defined as the logical argument. Matt Townsend demonstrated this by using facts and
evidence that he had experienced in his own life. His arguments were logic the way that he
would justify his stories with how they affected his life and how they affected those around him.
For example, the story he told about the girl named Yoda. Through his stories, he was able to
give examples and show his audience just how effective the actions he took were. The results of
his stories were proof that what he had accomplished was achieved through the lessons he had
learned, such as the story about the dance, where he put Amanda first. His argument was valid
and had evidence that logically backed up.
Delivery
Matt Townsend was a very prepared public speaker. He was able to deliver his message
verbally as well as through several nonverbals. Throughout his speech he made good eye
contact with the audience, making sure not to just focus on one area of the crowd but everyone
from the front to back. His facial expressions were humorous and allowed the audience to
experience how he was feeling with a simple expression. He also used hand gestures, but
enough so that it wasnt overbearing or distracting. When he was trying to get a point across or
describe something elaborate he would use his hands. The inflection in his voice held the
audience. With exciting things, his voice would elevate, while on more serious matters, he
would have a more calm tone.
Throughout his speech Matt Townsend only used one visual aid. A visual aid enables the
audience to have an example of what the speaker is describing. The visual aid that was used
was a PowerPoint. One of the main slides he focused on was a picture of a cow and dolphin
swimming. With his PowerPoint he was able to stay on task and organized with his discussion.
He had pictures that made the audience laugh as well as key points that he reviewed. He also
included quotes on his slides from other powerful seekers. One of the quotes on the
PowerPoint was by Ghandi and said, You must become the change you seek in your life. The
PowerPoint kept the audience in tune with what he was discussing while also giving them a
visual.
Motivation
Throughout his speech, Townsend quoted many inspirational speakers, including Aristotles
The whole is greater than the sum of its part. He was able to motivate the audience by taking
his word and combining it with that of others. He also mentioned the seven basic needs of
every human. The seven basic needs were safety, trust, appreciation, respect, validation,
encouragement and dedication. With these structures he motivated the audience on how to
incorporate these needs into their lives as well as everyone around them. He assured the
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audience that just because they dont know what to say or do in a situation, just being there is
what matters. Towards the end of his speech Townsend stated, You want more, you BE more.
Be in the now. He motivated the audience to choose to engage themselves to lead, as well as
lead those around them. The motivation that Townsend used was engaging as well encouraging
and helping to move the audience to not only stand, but to have others stand with you.