Essay Sample on Vulnerability: a New Take on Strength

“When you ask people about belonging, they’ll tell you their most excruciating experiences of being excluded. And when you ask people about connection, the stories they told me were about disconnection,” (Brown). This quote comes from the Ted Talk “The Power of Vulnerability” given by Doctor Brené Brown on June 1st, 2010. In this talk, Brown shares her findings regarding a study she conducted that focused on human connection and the hidden power that lies within vulnerability. Throughout the talk, it is very apparent that Brown knows how to communicate her point of view in a very compelling manner. The reason she is compelling as a speaker has to do with her utilization of the three rhetorical appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. It is through these three appeals that Brown is able to convincingly share her perspective and effectively prove her conclusions.

Being able to emotionally connect with an audience is one of the most important aspects of public speaking. By connecting with the audience on a more personal level, a speaker's chances of persuading an audience to agree with them skyrocket. This art of appealing to the emotional side of people is known as pathos. While the use of pathos can take various different shapes, its ultimate goal is to use words or body language to influence people's emotions in order to inspire them in some form. In “The Power of Vulnerability”, Brown uses pathos several times throughout her speech, and she uses this specific rhetorical appeal very efficiently. From the start of the speech, it is obvious that Brown is extremely charismatic. She even opens her speech with a joke that invites the audience to pay close attention to what she is about to say. After her initial captivation of the audience, Brown dives into the heart of her topic, which suddenly takes a more stoic tone. She explains the importance of connection, why some people isolate themselves, and why vulnerability strengthens connections with others. However, she uses personal accounts from her research to not only prove her points better, but that also pulls on the audience's heart strings.

“I roughly took the people I interviewed and divided them into people who really have a sense of worthiness — that’s what this comes down to, a sense of worthiness — they have a strong sense of love and belonging — and folks who struggle for it, and folks who are always wondering if they’re good enough,” (Brown).

At this point, Brown really buckles down and talks about her experience with people and how some people feel loved and others do not. She explains this in a pretty serious manner, as her tone becomes more serious and her charismatic movements cease. Moments like these are commonplace when points of emphasis are reached. “They had the compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others, because, as it turns out, we can’t practice compassion with other people if we can’t treat ourselves kindly,” (Brown). These personal stories she shares with the audience are incredibly moving and reveal just how passionate she truly is about her research. This in turn helps the listeners to identify with Brown and her work.

By far, the most used rhetorical appeal used in Brown’s speech is that of ethos. Ethos is defined as, “a means of convincing an audience via the authority or credibility of the persuader, be it a notable or experienced figure in the field or even a popular celebrity,” (Yourdictionary.com). As the majority of the talk covers Brown’s doctoral research, it is of no surprise then that ample time is given to proving to the audience that she is a credible source. “I have a bachelor’s in social work, a master’s in social work, and I was getting my Ph.D. in social work,” (Brown). Right away, she explains to her audience that she is quite qualified in her field of study, and through these qualifications, is a voice the listeners can trust. On top of this, as the majority of her speech is based on the research she conducted, she elaborates on the processes she used for her research. She outlines her methods and processes very clearly so that the audience almost has a step-by-step guide as to how she arrived at the conclusions she so avidly defends. From the books she published, to the many interviews she conducted over the course of several years, Brown’s evident conviction and qualifications as both a scientist and writer prove to the audience of her expertise and knowledge of her work.

Unlike Brown’s use of pathos and ethos, her use of the last rhetorical appeal is by far the weakest of the three, with this last appeal being logos. Logos, like pathos and ethos, is a tool used to persuade an audience. However, it is different from the other two in that it relies on facts and logic to persuade people regarding certain topics. Other than the “facts” used from her own research, Bown does not use other sources to prove her points, and other than the accounts of the interviewees, no statistics, outside sources, or hard data are used to back her claims. She even fails to mention some key aspects that would further prove the legitimacy of her own study. Was her study peer reviewed, and if so, by who? Of the thousands of people she interviewed, how did she ensure that the samples were truly random and not biased? Listeners asking questions like these will not get an answer from Brown in this particular talk, and they will need to look more in depth at her published works to gain a better sense of understanding of the authenticity of her research. Another critique of Brown’s use of logos simply lies within the fact that no other outside sources were mentioned in the talk itself. When building an argument, it is always beneficial to have other credible sources that back one’s position. Because of Brown’s lack of outside resources, her use of logos is fairly weak in comparison to her use of pathos and ethos. However, in her brief use of logos, the numbers she uses are relatively convincing. “My one year turned into six years: thousands of stories, hundreds of long interviews, focus groups. At one point, people were sending me journal pages and sending me their stories — thousands of pieces of data in six years,” (Brown). Collecting thousands of personal stories is no small feat, and that is clearly shown based on the fact that it took six years to compile all of this evidence. While this is a good start, explaining where these accounts came from and whether or not her claims are supported by other data would have made her appeal to logos much stronger.

In conclusion, Brené Brown is a wonderful speaker who knows how to prove a point. While her use of logos may have some room for improvement, her use of pathos and ethos are quite exceptional. It is with these rhetorical tools that Brown is able to captivate the audience so effortlessly. With their held interests, she is able to convince her listeners of the importance of connection and the power of being vulnerable. With all this information presented, there is one thing Brown stresses at the end of her speech. No matter what happens in life, always try to take care of yourself. Try, even if there is no guarantee of goodness, to maintain connection with loved ones. Because at the end of the day, you are worthy of being loved by those around you.

Works Cited

“The Power of Vulnerability | Brené Brown.” YouTube, uploaded by Brené Brown, 3 Jan. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o. 

S, Pangambam. “The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown (Transcript).” The Singju Post, 16 Apr. 2020, singjupost.com/power-vulnerability-brene-brown-transcript/?singlepage=1.

“Examples of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.” YouDictionary, examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-ethos-logos-and-pathos.html.