Audience and Style in Dr.

Audience and Style in Dr. Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Delivering his speech before an audience of the Oprah Winfrey Show before he passed away in 2008, Dr. Randy Pausch used his "last lecture" to discuss what really matters in life. Among the topics he covers are having fun, disregarding material things, and following dreams. Throughout the speech, Pausch exhibits a demeanor that most find inspiring. His ability to rationally articulate the fact that he is facing death and his decision not to waste time complaining or wondering why, but to embrace every moment is unique and requires a great deal of strength. Indeed, strength is a topic that Pausch addresses in the last lecture, getting down to do push-ups before the audience, exhibiting his strength so that viewers would see his ailment did not necessarily make him physically weak. Despite the fact that Pausch's last lecture is certainly inspirational to all, however, at the end he bites back tears as he says it was written, primarily, for three people, as the screen flashes a photograph of Pausch and his three children. An examination of the speech's inspirational value for both Pausch's children and a general audience will allow viewers to understand that Pausch is only an inspirational man, but also a truly amazing orator.

For his three children, Pausch's last lecture can serve as both an instruction book and reminder for his children. Offering sage advice to his children, Pausch delivers his speech in an informal style, although it is clear that, as a university professor, he is skilled at delivering speeches to an audience. Although Pausch identifies his children as his audience and speaks in informally, his speech does not necessarily take the tone of a lecture. When one thinks of a parent delivering a lecture to his or her child, images of a punishment are immediately conjured. Instead of lecturing with this type of format, however, Pausch simply speaks to his primary audience, his children, with a tone of openness and honesty. He simply presents the information he has, gives personal examples in order to explain why his advice makes sense, and offers it to his children to take and learn.

Further, Pausch makes the fact that his audience is his children clear by offering them not only instructions, but also memories through which to remember him. Pausch's lecture is incredibly authentic. He presents himself as who he is, a man who is a father, a professor, a caring husband, and an interested intellectual. Now that he is gone, Pausch's children can look back on this lecture to remember who their father was, not just through photos of him and others' memories, but through a an excerpt of him showing what his personality was like -- authentically. By bringing personal memories and anecdotes into the speech, Pausch also allows his children to put him in their own history, even though he will have passed away before they reach the age of majority. Through telling silly stories of his past, Pausch allows his children to experience a bit of his life, just as they would if he were there to tell them these stories throughout their lives. Thus, Pausch's lecture is clearly intended for his two children, through he offers instructions, as well as a snippet of himself through which they can remember him.

But if this lecture is for an audience of Pausch's children, then why is an entire audience of Oprah Show viewers and You Tube users awed by it? Why has it inspired books and conversations around the country? The answer to this question is contained within the speech's content and the orator. As already discussed, the content of this speech is quite unique. Pausch acknowledges that professors often deliver a hypothetical last lecture, but that his lecture is unique because it is, truly, a last lecture, as he is suffering a terminal disease. The content of this speech, then, is amazing because it casts a bridge between death and life and allows the forbidden subject of death to be addressed without euphemism. The content of this speech allows listeners to face their worst fears and find that they are not so frightening.